Client: Working Directions Group, Department of Labour

Date: May 2006

Author(s): Dr Nicola Chandler, Dr Ganesh Nana, Kel Sanderson and Jason Leung-Wai

This report sets out the development and a selection of indicative applications for a labour forecasting framework for the food and beverage sector.  It provides a tool which may be manipulated by the client to present various scenarios and inform the user of labour requirements according to scenarios or assumptions adopted.

The tool comprised sets of MS Excel worksheets, with default parameters inserted where existing data was not readily available.  The assumptions and data incorporated in the framework were the best available given the resources and time for the study.  The framework tool can be used to either test changes to assumptions, as well as the sensitivity of some of the data.  Some example, or indicative scenario, applications are described in the report.

In the scenarios presented, the annual rate of workforce turnover has by far the largest influence on projections of additional labour requirements.  For example, assuming a halving of workforce turnover rates, compared to the default scenario, reduces additional labour requirements by more than two-thirds in 2010.

BERL#4469