Working with Scotland’s communities: Workforce Surveys
CLD Workforce Survey Report 2025-2026
In 2026, the CLD Standards Council commissioned Rocket Science to deliver the CLD Workforce Survey. The report updates the evidence base first established in 2015 and then refreshed in 2018. The report provides an updated picture of the size, shape and experiences of the CLD workforce in Scotland, including paid practitioners, volunteers, employers and key stakeholders.
The evidence highlights a sector facing rising demand, constrained capacity and uneven professional support. It points to priority actions for workforce planning, professional learning, and strengthening standards and recognition.
Download the 2026 report
Working with Scotland’s Communities 2018
The Working with Scotland’s Communities 2018 was the first national study of the community learning and development (CLD) workforce in Scotland since 2015. It was commissioned by the CLD Standards Council and Education Scotland, and undertaken by Rocket Science, supported by an advisory group with members from across the CLD field. The report and summary were published in 2019.
Overview of the 2018 report
The Working with Scotland’s Communities 2018 report found that CLD practice was still thriving while highlighting workforce challenges, including unmet demand in communities for CLD skills.
The report provided the most-up-to date analysis available of the CLD workforce, and highlights:
- The reach of the CLD workforce as part of both the 3rd and public sectors, with an estimated 21,000 (full and part-time) paid practitioners in CLD roles across Scotland
- That a large majority of CLD practitioners are employed in the 3rd sector, the number of CLD practitioners employed by local authorities (3,100) has been declining, and large numbers of volunteers play an essential role in CLD
- A widely-shared perception that there is a persistent gap between CLD resources and the needs of communities
- Evidence of high levels of passion and commitment amongst CLD practitioners but also that stress levels are high for many
- Evidence of an emerging skills gap, with staff development needs that many employers are not confident of meeting
- An aging workforce, 25% of whom intend to leave in the next 2 to 5 years, suggesting that more needs to be done to support young people’s routes into the CLD workforce
- Issues over limited ethnic diversity and a gender pay gap
The then CLD Standards Council Chair, Alan Sherry, and Chief Inspector of Education for Scotland, Gayle Gorman, say in the foreword to the report that:
“The CLD Standards Council and Education Scotland recognise that CLD has an essential role in meeting the increasingly complex challenges of the 21st century. We recognise the need for a realistic assessment of how the human resources currently deployed to CLD relate to the needs of communities.
This research confirms that the CLD workforce is an effective resource, animated by high levels of commitment to communities and to the values underpinning the profession.
The CLD Standards Council and Education Scotland are committed to working within our own remits and in partnership to meet the opportunities and challenges facing the CLD workforce. Both organisations recognise the need for the commitment and collaboration of all in the CLD sector, and of wider labour market influencers, to support the professional learning required to grow a dynamic, forward-looking and expert workforce for the future. We look forward to working with you as we strive to deliver for the communities that we serve.”