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Member Services

Company members receive a wide range of core services in return for their annual subscription fee. These services include:

• annual Labour Market Statements
• annual Employment Forecasts
• exclusive website services
• free information request service
• seminars, presentations and workshops

More details of these services are given below.

Speak to Chris Brodie if you would like to find out more about how to join SLIMS.

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Labour Market Statements

Each year, SLIMS produces a Labour Market Statement for each council and LEC covered by the membership – currently 18 separate areas across West and Central Scotland.  We also publish reports for the West of Scotland region and for the Glasgow & Clyde Valley Structure Plan Area.

The Statements are a comprehensive round-up and analysis of all the main official economic and labour market indicators for each area.  Topics covered include:

• employment
• unemployment & economic inactivity
• population trends & projections
• employment structure by industry
• wages & household income
• school leaver & graduate results
• the first destinations of graduates by industry & occupation
• qualification levels of the working age population
• the size of the business stock
• business birth, death and survival rates
• business productivity
• export levels
• economic output per resident
• employment forecasts

For each topic, we provide much more than just the latest available figures.  Wherever possible we:

• show trends over the last decade
• benchmark the local area against Scotland and Britain
• state clearly how the area has been performing
• draw attention to any problems with the statistical accuracy of the official information

In addition, the ‘Conclusions’ chapter draws our analysis together, to show how the relative success of the local economy in terms of productivity, exports, business birth rates and industrial structure has influenced the area’s employment performance.  We also highlight the main policy initiatives being taken by local partners to tackle the challenges they face.

In another exclusive service for members, the data on which each Statement is based are available in the form of charts and tables from the members-only pages of this website.

Statements can also be purchased by non-members.  For availability and prices, please contact Susan Mackay.

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SLIMS’ Employment Forecasts

Our annual employment forecasts are a key part of the core services to SLIMS members.

The main forecasts are supplied to SLIMS by one of the most highly respected companies in the field of regional economic modelling, Regional Forecasts Ltd.  They in turn use as their backdrop the UK and global forecasts of the world-renowned Oxford Economic Forecasting.

Members are able to add their local knowledge to these projections before we publish the finished product.  We invite local economic development professionals from all councils and LECs to meetings at which they put forward their views regarding the initial projections from Regional Forecasts.

RF then take account of the comments made before producing the final set of forecasts for the membership.

The geographical areas covered by the forecasts include the UK, Scotland and most of the LEC and council areas within Scotland.

Detail available for each area includes employment broken down by gender, by type (full & part time, self employment), by industry and by occupation.

Projections for both the total and the working age population are also available.

Members receive exclusive data files containing all the detail for their area. The forecasts for each local area are summarised in each year’s Labour Market Statements.  We also produce a summary report for the entire West of Scotland region as part of our Regional LMI Service for Structural Funds applicants.

Additionally, we now offer 2 or 3 ‘alternative scenario’ projections each year.  These look at what might happen if the future turns out to be different from that expected in the main forecasts.

For example, the continuation of the current high levels of immigration from the new EU member states could radically transform local job markets.  Equally, the impact of a global recession could be very significant at the local level.  The results of each of the alternatives for local forecasts are outlined in briefing notes produced exclusively for each member of the company.

Contact Chris Brodie to find out more about our forecast services for members.

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 Website services exclusive to members

Any employee of one of our member organisations can register to have access to the password-protected pages of the website.  The exclusive services include:

• Media Monitoring Service – a database going back 10 years that contains press reports on major job gains and losses in the areas covered by the membership
• SLIMS reports – members can download in full any recent SLIMS report
• Key data – all of the charts and tables that are used in the production of the Labour Market Statements are available exclusively for members on the site
• SLIMS presentations – all presentations made at seminars for members are made available on the site
• Benchmarking reports – the latest figures on key economic and labour market indicators for the whole of the UK, so that you can see how your area compares not just to the rest of Scotland, but its place within the UK as a whole

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SLIMS’ Information Request Service

All members can contact the SLIMS team with ad hoc information requests.  These could cover, for example:

• requests for information covering small geographical areas
• indicators not covered in our Labour Market Statements
• advice on how best to interpret economic and labour market information

This service is free to members. 

Almost all requests are answered in full within 24-48 hours (though if the request is large or unusual, we may need to fit the work around any other commitments that we have at the time). 

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SLIMS’ Seminars, Presentations & Workshops 

SLIMS holds regular seminars that are free for all members. 

These occasions give the team the opportunity to present the findings of our latest research face-to-face (and for colleagues to network and/or gossip over coffee!). 

Topics covered at recent seminars include the SLIMS employment forecasts; the graduate labour market; a summary of our research into 4 key sectors of the economy; and analysis of economic performance and industrial structure. 

There are usually 2 of these seminars each year.  Keep an eye on our website for details of forthcoming seminars during 2007. 

We are also keen to communicate the results of our work to individual member organisations or to groups of members.  Any member can invite our staff to visit them to host a workshop or presentation – for example, to summarise the Labour Market Statement for their area or to focus on particular aspects of their local economy.

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