APPENDIX-1: QUESTIONNAIRE ON EMPLOYEE SKILLS SURVEYDear Sir,

As part of our class room exercise, we are conducting this interview. This exercise will help us to learn how to conduct an interview with anexecutive in a corporation. The interview should take no more than 20 minutes of your time. We request you to make it convenient to conduct theinterview at your leisure

A. ESTABLISHMENT DETAILS

Firstly, I would like to ask you some background information about the organisation at this location.

Q1. According to standard industry classifications, the main product or service at this organisation is…

Q2. What is the main product or service of this organisation?Eg. What is the main activity of this establishment?

What exactly is made or done at this establishment?

What material or machinery does that involve using?

Q3. How many employees - full-time _______and Temporary ____

Q4. What is the nature of this organisation? Is it . . . ?

a) Single site 1 c) One of multiple site 3b) Head office 2 d) Don’t know 4

Q5. And is it …..

a) A Private sector organisation 1 d) A Charity organisation 4b) A Public sector organisation 2 e) Other (please specify) 5c) A voluntary sector organisation 3 f) Don’t know 6

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Q6 Is this organisation . . .?.

a) Indian 1b) Foreign 2c) Partnership of Indian and Foreign 3

B. DRIVERS OF FUTURE SKILL NEEDS

Q7 Which of the following statements best describes the activity undertaken in thisorganisation?

We produce goods and services for consumers 1We produce goods and services to other companies 2We produce goods and services to other parts of the

organisation to which we belong3

We focus on Research & Development 4This is an administration office only 5

Don’t know 6 ( )

Q8 Within the last year, has the financial turnover increased or decreased,or has it stayed roughly at the same level?

Increased 1 Don’t know 4

Decreased 2 Too early to tell - have been inbusiness less than a year

5

Roughly at the same level 3

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Q9 Do you agree or disagree with these statements. READ OUT Is that strongly or tend to agree/disagree?Strongly

agreeTend toagree

Neitheragree

nor dis-agree

Tend todisagree

Stronglydisagree

a) My company perceives itself as amajor player in its market

1 2 3 4 5

b) Our business operates in a highlycompetitive market

1 2 3 4 5

c) New product development is crucial tothe success our business

1 2 3 4 5

Q10 Kindly break down your workforce into 9 specific categories. You may want to write downthese categories and your answers. How many of you staff is employed as….…..

1. Managers & Senior Officialsa) Corporate Managersb) Supervisors & Services

2. Professional Occupationsa) Science & Technology professionalsb) Health Professionalsc) Teaching & Research professionalsd) Business & Public Service professionals

3.Associate Professionals & Technical Occupationsa) Science & Technology associate professionalsb) Health professionalsc) Protective service occupationsd) Culture, Media and Sports Occupationse) Business & Public service associate professionals

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4. Admin and Secretarial occupationsa) Admin Occupationsb) Secretarial and Related Occupations

5 Skilled Trade Occupationsa) Skilled Computer and IT related Tradesb) Skilled Metal & Electrical Tradesc) Skilled Construction & Building Tradesd) Textiles, Printing and other skilled Trades

6 Personal Service Occupationsa) Caring personal service occupationsb) Leisure and other personal service occupations

7 Sales and Customer Service Occupationsa) Sales occupationsb) Customer service occupations

8 Process , Plant and Machine operativesa) Process, Plant and Machine operativesb) Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives

9 Elementary Occupationsa) Elementary Trades, Plant and Storage related occupationsb) Elementary Administration and service occupations

C -RECRUITMENT PRACTICES/DIFFICULTIES

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Q11 a) Please could you tell me what are the causes of your hard-to-fill vacancies? (Answerunder Qa Column)

b) And what is the main cause? (answer under Qb column)Qa Qb( ) ( )

Applicants lack motivation/right attitudeApplicants lack the qualifications we want

Applicants lack the relevant experienceApplicants lack the relevant skills we requireCompany/industry unable to pay market rate

Job entails shift work/unsociable hoursLack of applicants/people willing to work for market rate /interested

in this type of workLack of resources to carry out effective recruitment

People with required skills don’t want to relocate to this areaPoor career progression / lack of prospects

Seasonal workOther (SPECIFY)

Don’t know

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D SKILLS

Turning now to the overall skills needed at your location to keep it running effectively.

Q12. I am going to read out a list of generic skills. For each skill, would you to tell me:

a) The level of skill you feel is required in relation to all occupations.

b) What you think the level of skill needed to undertake people in occupational role will be in 3 years?(answer in Colum Qb in the brackets)

Please use a scale of not required, basic, intermediate, high or advanced. (Don’t know is anoption)

Notrequired

Basic Interme-diate

High Advanced

Don’tKnow

Qb

a) Numeracy 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

b) Literacy 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

c) language skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

d) Trade/process skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

e) Problem solving skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

f) Communication skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

g) Ability to follow instructions 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

h) Information Technology skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

i) Ability to learn 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

j) Showing initiative 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

k) Leadership/motivational skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

l) Management skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

m) Organising own learning anddevelopment

1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

n) Team working skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

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o) Understanding customer needs 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

p) Entrepreneurial Skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

q) Adaptability/flexibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

r) Any other skills not mentioned(Please specify)

1 2 3 4 5 6 ( )

Q13 Think about your overall workforce. Would you say there is a significant gap between the type ofskills that your employees have now, and those they need to meet your current business objectives?INTERVIEWER NOTE: By significant, it means, referring to any skills gap that has had an impact onthis organisation’s ability to meet its current business objectives

Yes, gap exists 1 No 2 Don’t know 3IF GAP EXISTSQ 14

You said you are experiencing a skills gap. I’d like to ask how many employees have a skills gap

Q 15 How many employees have skills gap in…. (READ OUT FIRST OCCUPATION CODEDEarlier)

NUMBERNo skills gap in this occupation

category( )

ASK IF RESPONDENT MENTIONS MORE THAN ONE OCCUPATIONQ 16 And in which occupation would you say the skills gap has had the most significant

impact on this organisation?LIST ONLY THOSE OCCUPATIONS THAT RESPONDENT SAY THEY HAVEEXPERIENCED SKILLS GAP

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Q 17 Which generic skills are lacking in (OCCUPATION MENTIONED ABOVE)? PROBE:Anything else?

a) Numeracy 1b) Literacy 2c) language skills 3d) Foreign language skills 4e) Problem solving skills 5f) Communication skills 6g) Ability to follow instructions 7h) Information Technology skills 8i) Ability to learn 9j) Showing initiative 10k) Leadership/motivational skills 11l) Management skills 12m) Organising own learning and development 13n) Team working skills 14o) Understanding customer needs 15p) Entrepreneurial Skills 16q) Adaptability/flexibility 17r) Any other skills not mentioned (Please specify) 18 ( )

Q18. Did any of these deficiencies arise out of technological change? ........................................ Yes. No Don’t Know

Q19. If yes, are these technical changes adoptable in your organisation with some skill up gradation ........................................ Yes. No Don’t KnowQ20. Do you provide training to existing employees or resort to fresh recruitment?

Provide trainingRecruit afresh

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Q21 What impact, if any, have these skills gaps within your current workforce had on thisorganisation? PROBE: Any others?

Loss of business to competitorsLoss of quality in the service

Delays in developing new products/servicesWithdrawal from offering certain products or services

altogetherDifficulties in meeting customer service objectives

Difficulties in introducing technological changesDifficulties in introducing new work practices

Increased running costs due to use of overtime,subcontracting or temporary staff

Difficulties in meeting delivery schedulesLoss of efficiency/increased wastage

Other (specify)

None, no impact on business ( )

Q22 What measures, if any, have you taken to tackle the skills gap?

Nothing, Leave to market 1Increased apprentice/trainee

programmes2

Provided further training 3Changed working practices 4Relocated work elsewhere 5

Increased recruitment activities 6Other (SPECIFY) 7

Don’t Know 8 ( )

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Q23 Do you agree or disagree with these statements? Is that strongly or tend to agree/disagree?Strong

lyagree

Tend toagree

Neitheragree

nor dis-agree

Tend todisagree

Stronglydisagree

a) Our employees have sufficient skillsto meet our business needs

1 2 3 4 5 ( )

b) Investment in skills has broughtbusiness benefits

1 2 3 4 5 ( )

c) Having a skilled workforce is crucialto the success of our business

1 2 3 4 5 ( )

Q24 You say that investment in skills has brought business benefits: could you say inwhat areas? PROBE :

Grow the business faster 1Raise profits 2

Compete on quality 3Compete on customer service 4

Introduce new products and/orprocesses

5

Increased productivity 6Increased Morale 7 ( )

Other (write in) 8Don’t know 9

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Q25 When you recruit new employees how important is each of the following: READ OUT Would yousay it is very important, fairly important, not very important or not at all important?

Important

Fairlyimporta

nt

Notvery

important

Not atall

important

Don’tknow

a) Qualifications 1 2 3 4 5b) Skills 1 2 3 4 5c) Work experience 1 2 3 4 5d) Reputation of previous employer 1 2 3 4 5 ( )

e) Application process/interview skills 1 2 3 4 5

E TRAINING

I now have some questions about off-the-job training. By off-the-job training, we are including all training away from the immediate work position.It can be given at your premises or elsewhere.

Q26 In the past 12 months, have you funded or arranged any off-the-job training for anyemployees at this location?

Yes 1No 2

Don’t know 3 ( )

Q27 And for which of the following categories of employees have you funded or arrangedany off-the-job training over the past year?

1. Managers & Senior Officials 12. Professional Occupations 23. Associate Professionals & Technical Occupations 3 ( )

4. Admin and Secretarial occupations 45. Skilled Trade Occupations 56. Personal Service Occupations 6

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7. Sales and Customer Service Occupations 78. Process , Plant and Machine operatives 89. Elementary Occupations 9

Q28. What are the off-the job training programmes your company, normally use.

1. ____________________________________4. ____________________________________2. ____________________________________5. ____________________________________3. ____________________________________6. ____________________________________

Q29. What are the different on-the job training methods followed by you?

1. ____________________________________4. ____________________________________2. ____________________________________5. ____________________________________3. ____________________________________6. ____________________________________

Q30. Do you practice “multi-skilling” to combat skill obsolescence?Yes 1No 2

Don’t know 3 ( )

Q31. Do you assess “trainability” of employees?Yes 1No 2

Don’t know 3 ( )

Q32. If yes, what factors and you consider.1.______________________2._____________________3.______________________4.______________________

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Q33 Was any of the off-the-job training you have funded or arranged over the last yearsupplied by a provider from outside of this establishment?

Yes 1No 2

Don’t know 3 ( )

Q34 Have you experienced any difficulty over the last year in finding an appropriatetraining provider for the training you need to do - by appropriate I mean capable ofproviding the right type of training or the quality you require?

Yes 1No, haven’t experienced any

difficulty2

Don’t know 3 ( )

Q35 What types of training needs have you found difficult to satisfy through providers outsidethis organisation?

( )

Q36 Do you invest more, less or about the same per employee on off the job training thanyou did 3 years ago?

More 1Less 2

About Same 3 ( )

Don’t know 4Not been in operation for 3 years 5

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Q37 What factors present a barrier to the amount of training undertaken at thisorganisation? PROBE: Any others?

Cost of training in local areaTraining not available locally

PoachingQuality of training offeredRelevance of learning and

information provisionSubjects on offer locally

Time of day courses are runCannot afford staff to have time off

for trainingTraining not relevant to needs of my

businessUninterested staff

Other (specify)( )

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Q38. In general what are the skill requirements of employees for performing their current roles. Record the actual current skill level and note the size of any gap. Also list theaction for filling the gap.

Skill DescriptionRequired level Current Level Skill Gap Action

Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High

Deliver project to achieveobjectiveControl impulses and awareof selfListen to and empathize withotherCommunicate the vision &motivate othersResolve interpersonalconflicts productivelyGive & receive constructivefeedbackDevelop collabourativenetworkDisplay integrity & opennessAssess trends & thinkstrategicallyIdentify opportunities &generate new ideasSolve complex problemanalyticallyPresent ideas verbally &facilitate groupsCommunicate in writingclearly & concisely

THANK RESPONDENT AND CLOSE