Parking sector 2011 Workforce survey

The BPA is the recognised standards-setting body for the parking industry, working via a strategic alliance with Asset Skills, to address the skills needs of the sector.

2011 saw the delivery of the UK Parking Sector Skills Strategy, following its launch in 2007. This had the purpose of raising industry standards across the sector by improving the quality of training and development and increasing opportunities for skills advancement.

Four years on the BPA has decided that it would be appropriate and valuable to assess the impacts of the strategy to date, in order to build upon them in the next Five Year Strategy. To achieve this it will be necessary to have an up to date and reliable profile of the parking workforce in the UK.

The BPA commissioned Pye Tait Consulting to carry out research with employers and stakeholders in the parking industry, to help identify the impact of the UKPSSS to date, and to bring up to date data on the size and structure of the workforce.

This has now been completed, in the form of the 2011 Workforce Survey

Headline findings

• The parking sector is estimated to consist of 927 organisations (542 private sector organisations and 385 public sector organisations).
• The parking sector workforce is estimated to consist of 82,000 direct employees (72,000 private sector workers and 10,000 public sector workers).
• Each parking organisation employs an average of 81.8 staff (132.5 in the private sector and 25.6 in the public sector) with just over two thirds of employees being male and 85% work in full-time positions
• The workforce is now generally better qualified with a reduction in employees with no formal qualifications and around 39% holding their highest qualification at level 2.
• However employers have identified some challenges ahead and feel there is a need for more job-specific learning and development.
• The general feeling held by employees is that the parking sector has improved over the last 5 years in terms of professionalism, job satisfaction and consistency. Opportunities for learning and development have also improved.
• Approximately one third of employees are members of the IPP and value the core principles and services available