Introduction
   The UK Commission is working to transform the UK’s approach to investing in skills to 
   help secure jobs and growth.  Key to our ambition is the need to encourage greater 
   employer ownership of skills, working to secure long term sustainable partnerships.
   This slide pack and accompanying evidence report present the case for more employers  in 
   this sector to invest in the skills of their people.  It does so by presenting real-life, skill-
   based business solutions that have been used by leading employers to tackle the performance 
   challenges they face and by drawing on examples of the investments being made by the UK 
   Commission through its investment funds.
   There are several determinants of employers’ skills needs and training behaviour including firm 
   size, strategy and location but it is by sector which the strongest variations appear.  Hence this 
   work focuses on the Professional Business Services sector.  Slide packs and reports are also 
   available for a number of other sectors from: Advanced manufacturing, Digital and creative, 
   Health and social care, Energy, Construction and Tourism.  Each of the sectors are important to 
   the economy in terms of employment, productivity or their future potential.
   For information about this slide pack and accompanying report please contact:
   Rebecca Jones at rebecca.jones@ukces.org.uk ; Tel: 0207 227 7839
   Source information can be found in the notes section of each slide
        Storyboard
                     What key skills              The importance of the 
                  challenges are being              Professional and                Imagine where the 
                  faced in Professional             Business Services                 sector could be 
                      and Business                     sector today                     tomorrow?
                        Services?
                      Performance                     Performance                     Performance 
                      challenge (1)                   challenge (2)                   challenge (3)
                      Attracting and              Investing in workforce               Investing in 
                     retaining talent                      skills                     management 
                                                                                        capability
                      Tackling these                                                Key messages for 
                       performance                 Benefits to business             Professional and 
                   challenges: Growth                                               Business services
                      through skills
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 What are Professional and Business 
 Services?
   The UK is a world leader in the provision of Professional and Business Services.
   The Professional Business Services sector includes:
   • Networked services involving transfer of knowledge from one organisation or 
     individual to another, such as Legal and accounting activities; Financial service 
     activities; Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding;  Activities auxiliary to 
     financial services and insurance activities.
   • Intermediary services which add value by making exchanges of products and 
     services more efficient – these include Management consultancy activities; Real 
     estate activities; Renting and leasing activities; and Employment activities  (i.e. 
     recruitment and selection) 
   Nearly all organisations in the economy need to make use of Professional and 
   Business Services to ensure their smooth and efficient running.  These services are of 
   crucial importance for business start-ups.
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  What performance challenges are facing 
  employers in the Professional Business Services 
  sector?
     Adapting to increased regulation 
     The sector is facing increasing regulation at national, European and  global levels in 
     response to the financial crisis and growing pressures for public accountability, leading to 
     increasing  demands for knowledge and skills to ensure firms meet regulatory requirements. 
         Attracting talented individuals
         Financial and professional services sub-sector recruit from Higher Education and employers 
         have relied on access to a global talent pool.  Future migration policy and increased fees for 
         higher education  have potential implications for the global supply of skills to the sector.
           Overcoming skills shortages
           Investing in the workforce is important to ensure that the sector has the 
           skills to remain agile in an increasingly competitive and uncertain environment. Managerial 
           and professional skills are of key importance.  Other areas commonly needing 
           improvement include specialist or job-specific skills, planning and organisational and 
           customer handling skills. 
             Global competition and technology
             Acquisition of the right skills helps Professional and Business Services remain globally competitive, 
             alongside technological advances which change the way in which transactions are carried out and 
             where services are delivered.   
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  Professional Business Services...Matters
  The sector today
  •    Professional and Business Services is an important sector for output and employment growth
  •    The sector generated output of £200,000 (£2006m) in 2010, which is nearly 19% of the UK total
  •    The sector provides jobs for 3.65 million people, accounting for 12% of total employment
                                                          •  Across the Professional and Business services sector, overall 
                                                             employment is projected to increase by 11 per cent from 3,6 million 
                                                             jobs in 2010 to 4m jobs in 2020.
                                                          •  Professional and Business Services rely heavily on highly skilled 
                                                             people – 56% of all jobs in the sector are in managerial, professional 
                                                             and associate professional & technical occupations
                                                          •  The City of London is a world leading international finance, law and 
                                                             business centre. 
                                                          •  London is at the heart of world trade: a large share of ocean 
                                                             transportation of industrial bulk commodities is arranged through the 
                                                             Baltic Exchange in the City.  London is also the global centre for 
                                                             international dispute resolution.
                                                          •  The quality of the workforce is crucial  to this success.  London’s 
                                                                                      st
                                                             workforce is ranked in 1  position on the ‘people’ element of the Global 
                                                             Financial Services Index.  
                                                          •  Although employment in professional and business services is 
                                                             disproportionately concentrated in London and the South East, there 
                                                             are jobs in banks, accountancy and legal firms and in estate agents’ 
                                                             offices across all parts of the UK.
                                                          •  Professional and Business Services make a significant contribution to 
                                                             the UK economy through underpinning and supporting growth in all 
                                                             other sectors.
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