Wendy Alexander will announce the initiative

At present Scotland is facing a serious skills shortage with many workers, particularly in hi-tech industries, being recruited from abroad.

Under the new plans, the Scottish Labour Market Intelligence Unit will be renamed Future Skills Scotland.

The new body will produce six-monthly "skills maps" pinpointing areas where there is a shortage of qualified workers

It will then set out to "match" jobseekers with appropriate vacancies in their local areas.

'Rapid response'

The move is designed to remove the "guesswork" element in finding workers with suitable skills and ensure that potential economic growth is not stifled.

Ms Alexander will say that Future Skills Scotland will ask "awkward questions" and develop "rapid response tactics" to bridge any skills gaps.

Recent business surveys have shown that recruitment problems are holding back growth among construction firms and manufacturers.

Last year, several electronics firms in Scotland were forced to recruit skilled workers from Slovenia.