After nearly a quarter of a century asking tens of thousands of people literally millions of questions Margaret finished on a high by overseeing the huge Future Skills Wales 2003 Survey of 12,000 people which will be the blueprint for every skill development programme in Wales.
Margaret Baldwin, from Oakdale, Blackwood, has worked in the research industry for over 24 years - the last 17 as Area Manager for MORI covering Wales and the South West. She has been involved in the two biggest surveys ever undertaken in Wales and now, at 65, she has knocked on her last door and is looking forward to a peaceful retirement with her husband Neil.
Margaret said: “I reached retirement age before the end of the survey but such a huge project needed experienced people and really dedicated fieldworkers willing to work in all weathers.”
She saw the survey as a perfect swansong for her career at MORI and enlisted the help of Helen Kay, Area Manager for North Wales and the North West.
FSW 2003 is an ESF-supported survey of the types of skills needed for jobs in Wales, which includes communication skills, team working and leadership skills. This project was commissioned by the National Council – ELWa, the Welsh Assembly Government, the WDA, Careers Wales and a host of other partner organisations.
Fieldworkers have asked 6,000 individuals and 6,000 employers a range of questions about the kind of skills that are needed in the workplace and the results will be available in October.
Margaret said: “The huge number of people that our teams had to interview meant that a co-ordinated campaign would have to act with military precision to deliver the survey on time. Hundreds of people trekked the length and breadth of Wales to speak to a representative sample of people.
“The survey was so huge we needed to borrow MORI interviewers from other units around the country. Support came from London and Plymouth to help to knock the right doors.
“Addresses of potential interviewees had already been selected to ensure a fair representation of the Welsh population but this meant that one of the biggest surveys held in Wales was also one of the most difficult to complete. If a specific person was not at home our interviewers would have to return to that address until someone from that household could be spoken to,” she added.
Originally Margaret trained as a dental nurse and then worked for British Coal before starting a family. In 1979 she joined Marplan a leading research agency that offered flexible hours to fit around a young family. In 1985 she was appointed a local magistrate and in 1986 became Area Manager for MORI.
The two roles have run happily in parallel allowing her to spend time with her two sons and more recently her three grandsons. MORI has always supported employees with social responsibilities and has helped Margaret dedicate time to being a parent and a local Magistrate.
This year’s Future Skills Wales Survey will go even further than the last and reveal the attitudes and approaches to skills and learning among individuals and employers in Wales. This survey has evolved over time to be an integral link between employers, individuals and those who develop learning provision in Wales.
With the data collection complete, the FSW partnership is now concentrating on quality, checking the results and writing reports. New ways of presenting the information will be developed, including an online job outlook database for Welsh jobseekers, resources for careers teachers and easy internet access to the data for people designing courses for colleges and Universities.
Gaynor Witheridge, Chair of Careers Wales Information Group and member of the Future Skills Wales Research Forum, said: “We would like to extend our gratitude to everyone who took the time to complete the survey as well as every member of the fieldwork team who have worked so hard to make this survey successful and especially to Margaret who we wish a very happy retirement.
“Our next step is to present the data in a way that makes the results as accessible as possible to a wide range of audiences.
“Thanks to the efforts of Margaret and her dedicated team, Careers advisors, curriculum planners, local authority education committees, Community Consortia for Education and Training (CCETs), HR staff, policy makers, interested agencies and individuals looking for skills advice will soon be even better informed about the Welsh workforce and its skills needs.
Rachel Williams, Associate Director for MORI said: “Supervisors like Margaret are hard to find. She has the experience and the social skills that made the fieldwork look easy. Her biggest asset is her dedication, which was clear when retirement threatened to stand in the way of her completing the FSW 2003.
“Her long service to MORI and the people of Wales will really help to make a difference to the lives of those looking to get more skills to improve their career prospects,” she added.
FSW Survey 2003 results will be available online from October onwards – see the FSW website www.futureskillswales.com for more information.
