Skills Research
Understanding current and future skills needs is critical to ensuring that sectors have the workforce they need to grow, adapt and remain competitive. We have extensive experience in analysing labour market trends, mapping skills supply and demand, and engaging with employers, providers and stakeholders to build a clear knowledge-base for action. Our work helps clients identify skills gaps, anticipate future challenges, and design targeted interventions that make a real difference.
AT OPTIMAT WE:
- Deliver sector-specific skills studies across a wide range of industries, from life and chemical sciences through to energy transition, transport and net zero sectors.
- Combine desk-based labour market intelligence with in-depth consultation to ensure our analysis reflects both data and lived experience.
- Map current provision across education and training pipelines, highlighting where capacity, uptake or alignment with employer demand can be strengthened.
- Forecast future skills needs, using robust methodologies to identify emerging priorities and inform long-term planning.
- Present findings in clear, accessible formats that support skills strategies, investment plans and policy development.
Our work for clients has ranged from developing detailed skills action plans for individual sectors, to producing forecasts of workforce demand in fast-changing industries. This breadth of experience means we can provide insights that are rooted in data, both quantitative and qualitative, and are forward-looking and relevant to the needs of industry, policymakers and education providers.