A think-tank report called for changes in the education system to improve social mobility. Their ten key recommendations included: for fairer admissions to comprehensives, grammar schools, and independent schools; to improve access to high quality early years education and care for children from disadvantaged backgrounds; to improve the quality of classroom teaching; for a national programme for highly able state school pupils; for high quality, personalized education and careers guidance; and for expansion in the number of good apprenticeships.
Source: Mobility Manifesto, Sutton Trust
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release
Date: 2014-Sep
An audit report said that the overall value for money of spending on 16-18 year old learning had increased, and that the Department for Education had reduced risk by changing the basis on which providers were paid from per course to per person. It said that the Department needed better information on the effectiveness of its reforms to inform future decisions.
Source: 16- to 18-Year-Old Participation in Education and Training, HC 624 (Session 2014–15), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | Appendix 3 | NAO press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A paper called for a new approach to the development of the younger workforce in the United Kingdom. It called for a range of measures, including: high quality vocational training (through apprenticeships) that led to a valued qualification; a charter to protect young workers; a new framework for the delivery of job creation and welfare-to-work schemes; and statutory obligations for workforce development.
Source: Martyn Sloman, A Black Paper on NEETs and Apprenticeships: A personal view on the crisis in skills and employment facing the UK's young people, Training Journal
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Sep
A report examined ways in which universities and employers might collaborate to improve higher level skills, presenting case studies from existing collaborations across the United Kingdom in six industrial sectors (advanced manufacturing, construction, creative and digital, energy, IT, and life sciences).
Source: CFE Research, Forging Futures: Building higher level skills through university and employer collaboration, UK Commission for Employment and Skills/Universities UK
Links: Report | UKCES press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A report by a committee of MPs said that there was a need to address low adult literacy and numeracy, and that the ability to gain such skills should be considered a fundamental right of all adults. The report called on the government to: make greater use of family learning schemes; adopt different measures of adult skills; develop clear strategies and guaranteed funding, and improve flexibility of provision; work across departments to promote adult literacy and numeracy; and launch a high profile campaign to raise awareness of free training and tuition.
Source: Adult Literacy and Numeracy, Fifth Report (Session 2014–15), HC 557, House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2014-Sep
The Welsh Government began consultation on its proposed 10-year strategic plan for the development of the early years and childcare workforce. The consultation would close on 15 December 2014.
Source: Draft 10-Year Plan for the Early Years, Childcare and Play Workforce in Wales, WG22439, Welsh Government
Links: Consultation document | Draft plan | Welsh Government press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-Sep
A report provided an interim assessment of data on the level of skills held by the United Kingdom population compared with other countries. A more extensive analysis, including projections for the United Kingdom nations and English regions, was to be published later in 2014.
Source: Derek Bosworth, UK Skill Levels and International Competitiveness, 2013, UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Links: Report | UKCES press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A report said that there was a renewed confidence among United Kingdom businesses, but concern about a lack of skills to meet future demands, and about the consequential short to medium term implications for businesses and the economy. The report discussed the need to train young workers to meet the gaps and, in particular, to provide vocational training for unemployed young people.
Source: The Skills Crunch: Upskilling the workforce of the future, Prince's Trust
Links: Report | Princes Trust press release | BBC report
Date: 2014-Aug
A report said that on measures of skills levels, the United Kingdom was being outperformed by other developed countries (especially for younger people). It said that over one-quarter of firms in the United Kingdom faced additional costs, delayed business expansion, and lost business as a result of skills shortages. It said there were persistent pockets of skills deficiency, but also around 4.3 million workers who were employed in jobs below their skill levels. The report outlined policy implications, arguing that the United Kingdom needed to ensure the involvement of employers in the provision of skills and training so that the mismatch between skills supply and demand was limited.
Source: The Labour Market Story: The state of UK skills, UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Aug
A report examined how to promote enterprise in education. It made a range of recommendations across the educational spectrum, including: for the curriculum to teach, and to record extra-curricular activity related to, business skills; developing teachers' skills; and for greater contact between schools and businesses.
Source: David Young, Enterprise for All: The relevance of enterprise in education, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Aug
A think-tank report examined trends in youth unemployment in the United Kingdom, recent policy measures, and lessons learned from policy in Europe. It argued that, for many young people in the United Kingdom who did not go to university, the transition from education to employment was 'ill-defined, poor quality and ineffective'. The report said that economic recovery alone would not solve the structural youth unemployment problem in the UK. It called for policy changes to address the number of young people who were not in education, employment, or training and made a range of recommendations, including for better careers guidance, and the reform of apprenticeships.
Source: Tony Dolphin, Remember the Young Ones: Improving career opportunities for Britain's young people, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | IPPR press release | TUC press release
Date: 2014-Aug
A report examined the extent and nature of the skills gap at the national and local level in England. It said that a continuing trend towards higher skilled jobs would create significant changes in the demand for labour and that a more responsive skills and employment system was needed to meet fast-changing employer requirements, meet local needs, and create opportunities for poverty reduction and social mobility. The report identified a number of barriers, including an ageing workforce, levels of existing youth unemployment, and a need to create a better match between local skills, publicly funded training, and employer demands. It said there was a role for local enterprise partnerships in facilitating the setting of local priorities, and it called on local and central government to work together to shape planning and delivery.
Source: Realising Talent: Employment and skills for the future, Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion
Links: Report | LGA press release | NIACE press release
Date: 2014-Jul
A report provided interim findings from the work of the UK Digital Skills Taskforce. It said that a clear lack of digital skills needed to be addressed, and made a wide range of recommendations across educational sectors, as well as recommendations for workforce retraining.
Source: Digital Skills for Tomorrow's World – interim report, UK Digital Skills Taskforce
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report examined the skills challenges currently facing the United Kingdom, outlining issues facing those trying to begin work (particularly young people), progress within work, and develop higher skills through their work. It called on businesses and training providers to work together to address the issues.
Source: Climbing the Ladder: Skills for sustainable recovery, UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Links: Report | UKCES press release
Date: 2014-Jul
An article examined initiatives designed to increase contact between employers and young people, particularly aged 14-19, within mainstream education. There was some evidence for a causal link between such contact and later wage outcomes: this link was likely to be driven more by increased social capital (such as improved access to information and social networks) than by the development of either technical or 'employability' skills.
Source: Anthony Mann and Christian Percy, 'Employer engagement in British secondary education: wage earning outcomes experienced by young adults', Journal of Education and Work, Volume 27 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jul
A new book examined employer engagement in education in the United Kingdom, how it was delivered, and its differentiated impact on young people as they progressed through schooling and higher education into the labour market. The book also explored the ways in which education supported or constrained social mobility and, in particular, how employer engagement in education could have both positive and negative impacts upon social mobility.
Source: Anthony Mann, Julian Stanley, and Louise Archer (eds), Understanding Employer Engagement in Education: Theories and evidence, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined the need to improve mathematics and science education outcomes in the United Kingdom, both for general use and to improve capacity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics sectors. The report discussed related policy and curriculum matters, including the recommendation that mathematics and science should be taught to age 18 through a baccalaureate-style framework that emphasized practical work and problem-solving.
Source: Vision for Science and Mathematics Education, Royal Society
Links: Report | Summary | Royal Society press release | NAHT press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A think-tank report examined projections on the jobs market in the United Kingdom. It said the creation of high-skilled jobs had not been keeping pace with the increase in higher level education and qualifications, and that in some sectors there was a mismatch between the skills and qualifications needed by employers, and those held by the workforce. It said that a large number of jobs were forecast to be created in sectors that tended to rely on vocational skills and that, in order to remain competitive in the global economy, there was now a need for stronger and better quality vocational education, with greater involvement by employers, alongside new business models that would make better use of workforce skills and enable companies to develop.
Source: Jonathan Clifton, Spencer Thompson, and Craig Thorley, Winning the Global Race? Jobs, skills and the importance of vocational education, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2014-Jun
The government began consultation on changes to funding for the Traineeships Programme in England. The consultation would close on 14 August 2014.
Source: Traineeships Funding in England: Funding reform technical consultation, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Consultation document | DBIS/DE press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined the role of further education in relation to single parent employment, and the impact of qualification levels on pay, job security, and duration of unemployment. The report called for increased government investment in training for single parents, and for the government to fund their training to level 3 qualifications (equivalent to A level).
Source: Making the Grade: How government investment in further education can benefit single parents and the state, Gingerbread
Links: Report | Summary | Gingerbread press release | NIACE press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A report examined employer investment in higher apprenticeships in accounting, including rationales for employer participation, the relative merits of apprenticeships, the structure of training, costs and benefits, and employers' future plans.
Source: Lynn Gambin and Terence Hogarth, Employer Investment in Higher Apprenticeships in Accounting, Research Report 175, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | DBIS press release
Date: 2014-May
A report examined employer investment in health sector apprenticeships. It said that the evidence suggested that apprenticeships delivered the skills that employers needed, and that costs of the training investment could be recouped over one or two years, if they retained the services of their former apprentices.
Source: Beate Baldauf, Lynn Gambin, and Terence Hogarth, Employer Investment in Apprenticeships in the Health Sector, Research Report 174, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | DBIS press release
Date: 2014-May
A report provided findings from longitudinal research into the progression to higher education of six cohorts of advanced level apprentices over a seven year period. Reporting a wide range of complex detail, the report said that 18.8 per cent of advanced level apprentices progressed to higher education, but rates had dipped between the 2005-06 and 2009-10 cohorts, and there were differences in progression rates at regional and framework level that indicated the importance of clear pathways to accessible provision.
Source: Hugh Joslin and Sharon Smith, Progression of Apprentices to Higher Education Cohort Update, Research Report 176, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | Previous report | DBIS press release
Date: 2014-May
A study examined good practice in employer involvement in qualifications delivery and assessment, the factors that drove it, and the scope for qualification specifications to require employer involvement.
Source: Pye Tait Consulting, Employer Involvement in Qualifications Delivery and Assessment, Research Report 341A, Department for Education
Links: Report | Case studies | Brief
Date: 2014-Apr
An article examined the gender training gap (defined as the disadvantage of women in receiving work-related continuing training), drawing on data from the first wave of the Adult Education Survey. The article said that, for women holding a university degree, a training gap was found in one of 22 European countries but, for women without a degree, a significant training gap was found in six countries. It said that institutions were linked to the chances of training, and that the gap was enhanced when vocational education and training was geared towards firm-specific skills.
Source: Caroline Wozny and Martin Schneider, 'A matter of degree: the continuing training gap for women in Europe', Socio-Economic Review, Volume 12 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Apr
A report provided findings from a study of apprenticeship provision that supported key growth sectors in England which had substantial science, technology, engineering, or mathematics content (referred to as Technical Apprenticeships). It considered the capacity of the apprenticeship system to meet the demands from these sectors, and examined key drivers for change, and the various constraints on provision.
Source: Colin McCaig, Terence Hogarth, Lynn Gambin, and Lucy Clague, Technical Apprenticeships: Research into the need for and capacity to deliver STEM related apprenticeship provision in England, Research Report 171, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined early career sector mobility in graduate jobs and considered which degree subjects prepared their graduates better for internal or external occupational mobility.
Source: David Docherty and Rosa Fernandez, Career Portfolios and the Labour Market for Graduates and Postgraduates in the UK: A report to the Higher Education Funding Council of England, National Centre for Universities and Business
Links: Report | NCUB press release | HEFCE press release
Date: 2014-Apr
An article examined vocational education and training systems in 15 European countries, including the United Kingdom.
Source: Marius Busemeyer and Raphaela Schlicht-Schmalzle, 'Partisan power, economic coordination and variations in vocational training systems in Europe', European Journal of Industrial Relations, Volume 20 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
An article examined the key factors that facilitated and inhibited sustainable 'skills for life' (literacy, numeracy, and English for speakers of other languages) workplace provision. National strategy had generated a complex 'ecology of learning' at policy level, whereby a byzantine and shifting funding landscape, with its concomitant bureaucracy and strong emphasis on target-bearing qualifications, had militated against long-term sustainable provision.
Source: Edmund Waite, Karen Evans, and Natasha Kersh, 'The challenge of establishing sustainable workplace "skills for life" provision in the UK: organisational "strategies" and individual "tactics"', Journal of Education and Work, Volume 27 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
The government began consultation on the balance of competences between the United Kingdom and European Union in the areas of education, vocational training, and youth. The consultation would close on 30 June 2014.
Source: Review of the Balance of Competences – Call for Evidence on the Government's Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union: Education, vocational training and youth, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | Written ministerial statement
Date: 2014-Mar
A report provided the findings from research on the barriers and enablers to facilitating greater employer influence on apprenticeships, especially for small and medium sizes businesses.
Source: Claire Johnson, Jo Swiecicka, Matt Colahan, and Rachael Emmett, Employer Influence on Apprenticeships, Research Report 162, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Mar
An article examined the relationship between age and training in 15 European Union countries. Older people were less likely to participate in both training in general and work-related training.
Source: Fiona Carmichael and Marco Ercolani, 'Age-training gaps in the European Union', Ageing and Society, Volume 34 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
A report examined the potential responses of employers to changes in the system of government funding for apprenticeships schemes, following the Richard Review.
Source: Terence Hogarth, Lorna Adams, Lynn Gambin, Erica Garnett, and Mark Winterbotham, Employer Routed Funding: Employer responses to funding reform, Research Report 161, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | Richard Review report
Date: 2014-Mar
A paper examined a randomized controlled trial, run by the United Kingdom government, that offered incentives to disadvantaged people to remain and advance in work and to become self-sufficient. Reporting on data from the Employment and Retention Advancement Demonstration trial, it said that, after five years, the intervention had led to significant reductions in well-being, and people worried more about money, and were increasingly prone to debt.
Source: Richard Dorsett and Andrew Oswald, Human Well-Being and In-Work Benefits: A randomized controlled trial, Warwick Economic Research Paper 1038, University of Warwick
Links: Paper
Date: 2014-Feb
A report examined how local skill strategies to increase employer demand for skills might improve the prospects of low-wage workers. Drawing on a case study of the Sheffield City Deal, it said that low demand for skills could result in a 'low skills equilibrium', a situation where the local labour market had both weak demand for skills and a limited availability of skills among the workforce. The report said that the policy approach in England had been to focus on the supply of skills, whereas other countries had worked on influencing demand among employers, but policy needed to address both. It said that some areas, such as Sheffield, were attempting to devolve power and funding for skills to employers and local areas, and noted the role for Local Enterprise Partnerships in developing policies to improve opportunities for progression for low-wage workers.
Source: Paul Sissons and Katy Jones, How Can Local Skills Strategies Help Low Earners?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2014-Feb
A report examined apprenticeships in the health sector in Wales, the factors underpinning demand, and the barriers to increasing uptake. It said that apprenticeships played an important role in supporting the sector in both clinical and non-clinical roles, but the majority of apprentices had been existing staff, and over half of the new starters were on non-health programmes. Awareness and take-up of health apprenticeships in other parts of the health sector (outside the health boards) was low and, where respondents were aware of apprenticeships, they most often reported that they were for young people, and were not thought of as used in clinical or health-related occupations. The report made recommendations for Skills for Health to work with organisations to improve uptake and opportunities.
Source: Apprenticeships in the Welsh Health Sector: Issues and opportunities to increase uptake, Skills for Health
Links: Report | SfH press release
Date: 2014-Feb
A think-tank report examined the role and experience of apprenticeships in the United Kingdom. It made a range of recommendations for central and local government and for business, including a large increase in apprenticeship numbers, changes to funding through the Youth Contract, and for schools to be held more accountable for the future employability of their pupils.
Source: Jonathan Todd, Up to the Job, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Demos press release
Date: 2014-Feb
The inspectorate for education and children's services examined the work by London colleges to re-engage young people in education and training. The research focused on identifying successful curriculum delivery models and aimed to identify factors that enabled or hindered effective practice. The report said that the welfare of individual students was paramount to success, with colleges describing a process of creating a 'team around the student' of support services targeted at the individual student's needs and aspirations. Barriers identified by the research included a lack of effective information sharing between agencies, and the benefits system.
Source: Supporting Young People to Participate in Education and Training: An AoC/Ofsted project reviewing factors that help or hinder young people aged 16 to 18 living in London to participate in education, employment or training, HMI 140039, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | Supplementary report | OFSTED press release
Date: 2014-Feb
The Welsh Government began consultation on proposals to develop and implement co-investment in adult skills training by government, employers and, in some cases, individuals. The consultation would close on 16 May 2014.
Source: Balancing the Responsibilities for Skills Investment: Proposals for co-investment in post-19 adult skills delivery, Consultation WG21187, Welsh Government
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2014-Feb
A paper examined the employment and occupational skill levels among United Kingdom and foreign nationals. It said that over most of the previous decade, lower skilled employment had risen faster among foreign nationals than among United Kingdom nationals, although this had changed in 2012 and 2013. The paper said that the change had coincided with changes in policy on the student and family immigration routes for non-European Union nationals, and measures to restrict work routes to skilled occupations, although it acknowledged that economic conditions might also have caused shifts in the type of employment taken up by each group.
Source: Stuart Campbell, Jacquie Cooper, and Jon Simmons, Employment and Occupational Skill Levels among UK and Foreign Nationals, Occasional Paper 108, Home Office
Links: Paper | BBC report
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined the 'soft skills' training given as part of a pre-employment training programme that aimed to prepare unemployed participants for work in telephone call centres. Drawing on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, and the concept of 'aesthetic' labour, the paper offered a critique of the programme and identified potential drawbacks.
Source: Julian Clarke, 'Pre-employment training for the unemployed: a case study of a call centre foundation programme', Local Economy, Volume 29 Number 1-2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
A report examined a range of issues affecting the transition of United Kingdom armed services personnel into the civilian workforce, including training, employment, health, housing, welfare and finance. It said that there was no shortage of provision for service leavers, and most did well, although preparation by the individual and the provision of good quality information were essential. It said that the service leavers most likely to struggle got the least help, with early leavers most likely to experience unemployment and other issues, yet ineligible for the full resettlement service. Recommendations included: for a new work placement scheme to be created in partnership with industry; for a single 24/7 contact centre, and a directory of armed forces charities; and for all service leavers who had completed basic training to be eligible for the full transition support package.
Source: Lord Ashcroft, The Veterans Transition Review, Veterans Transition Review
Links: Report | Veterans' Transition Review press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2014-Feb
A report examined inequalities of gender and ethnicity in apprenticeships in the United Kingdom, drawing on a range of existing and new evidence. It made policy recommendations.
Source: Joy Williams, Beth Foley, and Becci Newton, Report for unionlearn and the National Apprenticeship Service: Research into under-representation, by gender and ethnicity, in apprenticeships, Institute for Employment Studies
Links: Report | IES press release
Date: 2014-Jan
The Welsh Government published a policy statement on skills, to inform future action in relation to post-19 skills and employment policy.
Source: Policy Statement on Skills, Welsh Government
Links: Report | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2014-Jan
A report examined the strengths and challenges of postsecondary vocational education and training in Northern Ireland. The report compared and benchmarked provision in an international context, and noted challenges such as qualification reform and progression pathways. The government also published its initial response and said that the findings would feed into ongoing reviews.
Source: Jose-Luis Alvarez-Galvan, A Skills Beyond School Commentary on Northern Ireland, OECD
Links: Report | Departmental response | NIE press release
Date: 2014-Jan