JOB vacancies reached record highs nationally in July as lockdown restrictions were eased.

In Dorset, vacancies reached the highs seen in 2018 as the job economy appears to be improving to better levels than before the pandemic.

With each job comes a set of skill requirements and in a recent report by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) it revealed the most desired in the county.

Read more: Why Dorset’s job economy is showing signs of recovery

Top of the baseline skills list was communication, organisational and detail-oriented.

While for digital skills it was Microsoft Excel, Office and software development which formed the top three.

Head of enterprise skills and industry at Dorset LEP, Rebecca Davies, said: “Employers most frequently requested baselines skills in communication, organisation, detail-orientation and planning.

“The majority of digital skills were stable or growing with MS Excel topping the lead table and Python growing amongst the programming languages.”

The report concluded that nurses, software developers and carers were the most in demand jobs.

Read more: Sandown Mercedes to create jobs with opening of van centre

NHS, J.P.Morgan, councils, Bournemouth University and residential care firms remained the biggest recruiters.

Due to the gap in certain skills a variety of new schemes for all ages have been introduced over the past year or so to help address the job market’s needs.

Bournemouth Echo: Image of Rebecca Davies, head of enterprise, skills and industry at Dorset LEP

Ms Davies added: “To help with the shortages, we have seen the role out of apprenticeship incentives for employers looking to recruit apprentices of all ages, and we have excellent local college provision and private training providers who actively promote and offer quality education for apprentices to develop new skill sets.

Read more: Former Beales business makes £2.6m profit under administrators

“The Department for Work and Pensions have rolled out a number of schemes, with Restart being the leader, to help those who are looking for work to retrain and upskill in areas aligned to local skills gaps.

In a bid to address the skills gap and help people fill the vacancies the Dorset LEP has introduced their own ways for local people to improve their abilities and knowledge.

“We have had a number of skills boot camps, offering free education for those in or out of employment, and there are free level two and level three traineeships available via a number of providers.

Read more: Amigo's future still 'uncertain' despite making a profit at the start of a new year

“We have quality provision at both future and higher education in Dorset with a wide range of courses, but also those that feed directly into Dorset’s skills gaps aligned to health, digital and engineering.

“Dorset LEP continues to promote the work of skills providers, linking business to education and work to ensure we benefit the future prosperity of the county.”