Relates to what is happening inside a business
A company may look for different ways to increase business by considering new markets that it may not have thought about before
Expand market might need different types of employees eg those who can speak other languages or work in different locations.
Less staff may be needed to do a job, different types of staff may be needed and/or existing staff may need to be moved to different jobs.
Assessing the current workforce skills will enable a business to build up a profile of the training, experience and qualifications of existing staff.
Workforce profile includes details such as age, gender, qualifications and abilities.
Help managers to plan in advance such as if a lot of employees leave at the same time because of retirement
Some UK regions have seen a change from primary and manufacturing to the service industry, microelectronic and biotechnology
The trend in unemployment and the types of skills that are needed by employers
Unemployment figures have been increasing for the last few years
If a particular industry is expanding there might be a shortage of suitable potential employees to supply all businesses.
Labour intensive businesses rely more on human resources and therefore need to closely monitor their labour costs
UK labour costs are also governed by legislation such as the National Minimum Wage
Businesses use workforce skills information to consider their future needs and those of their competitors
Government policies on education, work and training has implications for the number of potential employees available.
Employees need to be flexible and able to cope with rapid change.
Today employees need to have a wider range of skills and be willing to change employer and job role in order to stay in work.
Employees can receive different contracts by their employers which benefits both parties.
The rapid growth in technology has changed the way employees work and the type of they now perform.
Unexpected changes in demand for a product or service can be difficult to cope with and may be outside the control of the company.
Changes in the demand for products and services will affect human resource planning
