Labour Market Info

Background

To inform the Customer Service Qualification Strategy (CSQS),  ICS has carried out two major pieces of work based on extensive employer and other key stakeholder consultation following rigorous Government approval mechanisms.  The research represents coverage across the private, public and third sectors and represents the four UK Governments. It has culminated in the development of these two reports (both available to download):

1. Customer service employment and skills now and the future, 2008
2. Customer service skills development, now and the future, 2008

These reports contain evidence of the:

• growth of customer service occupations
• growth of customer service as a profession
• high levels of skills gaps and shortages in customer service
• cross sector, transferable nature of customer service skills
• projected employment patterns in customer service
• demographics of the customer service workforce
• current availability and provision of customer service qualifications and training

In addition the research highlighted the need for:

• more transparent, consistent and focused inclusion of customer service occupations and skills measurement in all national databases
• different levels of customer service skills in all sectors of the economy and in a wide variety of job roles
• consistent standards to be maintained across all customer service qualifications and training
• more flexible, cost effective qualifications and training which meet business and learner needs
• higher quality provision in existing qualifications and training.

The Customer Service Qualification Strategy

The work carried out to develop a Customer Service Qualification Strategy is based on the evidence found in the reports above and has been written according to a template provided by UKCES and  is therefore not written in the usual ICS ‘house style’.

Nevertheless, the content of the strategy is based solely on our research findings and references to these reports are noted in each stage of the strategy to enable readers to look at the evidence that drew ICS to its conclusions.