A report evaluated the supported internship programme. The programme provided a structured study programme for 16 to 24 year olds with a learning difficulty assessment in England. It included on-the-job training, job coaching, and complementary college-based learning. The evaluation examined whether the trial had been effective in enabling people to progress into sustainable employment, the means of delivery (and any lessons from practice), and the value for money aspects of the programme.
Source: Supported Internship Trial for 16 to 24 Year Old Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities: An evaluation, CooperGibson Research
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined under-representation in apprenticeships by gender and ethnicity. Drawing on a range of data from England and the United Kingdom, it said that women taking apprenticeships were more likely to take on low-paid jobs, and gender stereotyping deterred women from training in traditionally male industries. The report also highlighted that relatively low numbers of black and Asian people undertook apprenticeships, particularly in sectors such as engineering and construction where eventual pay levels were higher. The report made recommendations to increase interest in apprenticeships and to reduce barriers to access.
Source: Joy Williams, Beth Foley, and Becci Newton, Research into Under-Representation, by Gender and Ethnicity, in Apprenticeships, Institute for Employment Studies
Links: Report | TUC press release
Date: 2013-Dec
The government published a series of research reports on the prior qualifications of: adults undertaking workplace learning in further education (Report 117A); adult apprentices 2011/2012 (Report 117B); adults undertaking classroom-based courses in further education 2011/12 (Report 117C); and adults undertaking skills for life courses in 2010/2011 (Report 117D).
Source: , Research Reports 117A/117B/117C/117D, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report A | Report B | Report C | Report D
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined engineering skills in the United Kingdom and made recommendations to government.
Source: Professor John Perkins Review of Engineering Skills, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | DBIS press release | Telegraph report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Nov
A study examined the economic activity and skills levels of households with different incomes, in order to identify the links between poverty, economic status and skills.
Source: Matt Barnes and Chris Lord, Poverty, Economic Status and Skills: What are the links?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Summary | JRF press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank report examined ways to increase the number of young people in employment, education or training. It said that the system of transition between school and work should be reformed, underpinned by a youth allowance to replace existing out of work benefits, and a youth guarantee that offered young people access to further education or vocational training plus intensive support to find work or an apprenticeship. The report called on the government to set national objectives and priorities for the youth guarantee, but envisaged local leadership of its delivery.
Source: Graeme Cooke, No More NEETs: A plan for all young people to be learning or earning, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | Guardian report | Telegraph report | New Statesman article | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank report examined apprenticeships in the adult social care sector. It acknowledged the importance of high quality training to help meet skills shortages, but found that apprenticeships in this sector reflected the general limitations of the current apprenticeship system. In particular, the report noted issues around low pay, job insecurity and limited career progression. It recommended that the educational and training content of apprenticeships should be improved, and outlined a role for government in better regulation and data collection, improving pathways into apprenticeships for young people, and increasing employer engagement with the issues.
Source: Katy Jones, The Road Less Travelled? Improving the apprenticeship pathway for young people, Work Foundation
Links: Report | Summary | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2013-Nov
The government published its response to a consultation on the review of apprenticeships (the Richard Review). The report outlined reforms designed to tailor apprenticeships more towards the needs of employers. The government also published guidelines for the initial trailblazers in eight sectors.
Source: The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation plan, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | Trailblazers guidelines | DBIS press release | NIACE report | AoC press release | CBI press release | London Councils press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A government report examined the measurement of additionality in apprenticeships.
Source: Measuring Additionality in Apprenticeships, Research Report 138, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Oct
The first findings were published from a survey of adult skills in developed (OECD)countries in 2013. The report outlined the prevalence and application of skills including literacy and numeracy, as well as their socio-demographic distribution.
Source: , OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First results from the Survey of Adult Skills, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | OECD press release | BBC report | Northern Ireland Executive press release | CBI press release | AoC press release | NUT press release | IoD press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined the provision of apprenticeships in England. It noted that existing provision fell short of demand, with low level qualifications taken mainly by people aged 25 and older, many of them in work. Recommendations included the creation of 300,000 additional high quality apprenticeships, of mostly three years duration, combining workplace training and off-site learning.
Source: Real Apprenticeships, Sutton Trust
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release | BBC report | AoC press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A report (published by an official advisory body) examined the impact of the 2008-09 recession on work-related training. The recession's impact had not been as severe as many had feared, appearing to have done little to change training activity as measured by its incidence, intensity, and quality. However, a gradual decline in training, in both private and public sectors, had continued over the previous decade.
Source: Alan Felstead, Francis Green, and Nick Jewson, Training in Recession: The impact of the 2008-2009 recession on training at work, Evidence Report 72, UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Date: 2013-Sep
A paper examined trends in the volume, quality, funding, and adequacy of training for employed people since the mid-1990s. The overall participation rate for those in employment peaked in 2002 at 15.1 per cent before falling to 13.1 per cent in 2012, close to the level of the mid 1990s. The duration of training fell sharply, with the result that the average training volume per worker halved between 1997 and 2012: the fall was greatest among young people, those in the private sector, those in the lowest education groups, and those living in Northern Ireland. Employers' funding for training also declined substantially after 2005.
Source: Francis Green, Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, Hande Inanc, and Nick Jewson, What Has Been Happening to the Training of Workers in Britain?, LLAKES Research Paper 43, Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Sep
A report said that England should expand the provision of post-secondary vocational training in order to meet the changing needs of students and employers. Although England had a large and successful university system offering three-year bachelor degrees, too few people were pursuing shorter (one to two years) vocational programmes at the post-secondary level that would give people the skills many employers were seeking.
Source: Pauline Musset and Simon Field, A Skills Beyond School Review of England, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | OECD press release
Date: 2013-Sep
The government began consultation on proposals to reform the funding of apprenticeship training in England, based on the Richard Review (2012). It said that employers would be given freedom to choose the training that was most relevant to the needs of the apprentices and their businesses, and that represented best value.
Source: A Consultation on Funding Reform for Apprenticeships in England, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills/Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | DBIS press release | AELP press release | AOC press release | BCC press release | CBI press release
Date: 2013-Jul
A paper presented a new methodology for calculating effective tax rates on the marginal return on an investment in skills in developed (OECD) countries. The approach took into account costs such as forgone labour earnings and the direct costs of skills formation, as well as the earnings premium and the return of an alternative investment in capital income. It looked in particular at the effects of personal taxes on incentives to acquire skills, to help policy-makers assess the case for tax breaks for post-secondary education and training.
Source: Bert Brys and Carolina Torres, Effective Personal Tax Rates on Marginal Skills Investments in OECD Countries: A new methodology, Taxation Working Paper 16, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Jul
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published its annual report for 2012-13.
Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, HC 35, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jul
An employers' organization said that relying on traditional university courses alone would not meet the growing demand for degree-level, technical skills in key sectors of the economy. The government needed to remove a series of barriers to better co-operation between higher education and industry. There were not enough courses with business links; patchy understanding of student finance; and poor careers advice on options open to young people. A new vocational UCAS-style system could bridge the gap.
Source: Tomorrow s Growth: New routes to higher skills, Confederation of British Industry
Links: Report | CBI press release | AOC press release | ATL press release | Million+ press release | NASUWT press release | NIACE press release | 157 Group press release | Universities UK press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the construction of a measurement and evaluation framework for skills utilization policy.
Source: Jonathan Payne, 'Measure for measure: towards a measurement and evaluation framework for skills utilisation policy in the UK', Journal of Education and Work, Volume 26 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
A new book examined economic and social perspectives on skills and skilled work, and the rationale for government and other forms of social intervention in skills formation and utilization.
Source: Francis Green, Skills and Skilled Work: An economic and social analysis, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jun
A report by an all-party group of MPs and peers said that local enterprise partnerships should be given a greater role in shaping skills provision and back-to-work schemes in order to boost local growth.
Source: Skills and Employment in the Age of Local Growth Deals, All Party Parliamentary Group on Local Growth, Local Enterprise Partnerships and Enterprise Zones
Links: Report | NIACE press release
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the trade-off between temporary employment and training opportunities in European countries. It partially confirmed the negative effects of fixed-term contracts on training opportunities.
Source: Giorgio Cutuli and Raffaele Guetto, 'Fixed-term contracts, economic conjuncture, and training opportunities: a comparative analysis across European labour markets', European Sociological Review, Volume 29 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
An article examined cross-country and cross-period differences in firm-provided training in Europe, in order to explore whether diverse institutional arrangements linked to welfare state regimes could yield discernible cross-country patterns. It highlighted the limits of national skills strategies that were not well embedded in wider institutional environments.
Source: Jorg Markowitsch, Bernd Kapplinger, and Gunter Hefler, 'Firm-provided training in Europe and the limits of national skills strategies', European Journal of Education, Volume 48 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
A study examined the third sector's involvement in the delivery of learning and skills. It identified some of the major challenges that prevent the sector from making a greater contribution, including: the introduction of minimum contract levels; high management fees charged by lead providers; a lack of funding for overhead costs; and a shortage of support for some of the wider activities essential to the engagement of learners outside mainstream provision.
Source: Third Sector Engagement and Participation in the Learning and Skills Sector: Quantitative research report, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | Literature Review and Baseline Report, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Quantitative report | Literature review/baseline report | Summary
Date: 2013-Apr
Three reports were published that drew on the first findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2012, a survey of work and working life conducted every 5-6 years. The proportion of jobs requiring degrees on entry had reached an all-time high, and jobs requiring no qualifications had fallen to historically low levels. Yet the proportion of workers engaged in more than 10 hours' training per year had declined from 38 per cent in 2006 to 34 per cent in 2012, with the fall especially concentrated among women. The proportion of employees reporting that they had a great deal or quite a lot of say over work organization had declined from 36 per cent to 27 per cent between 2001 and 2012.
Source: Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, Francis Green, and Hande Inanc, Skills at Work in Britain, Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies | Francis Green, Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, and Hande Inanc, Training in Britain, Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies | Hande Inanc, Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, and Francis Green, Job Control in Britain, Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Report (3) | IOE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Apr
The coalition government announced plans for a 'technical baccalaureate' for young people in England aged 16-19. The baccalaureate would be a performance measure showing young people's abilities in maths, literacy, and a high-level vocational qualification.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 22 April 2013, columns 41-46WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | DE press release | AOC press release | ASCL press release | ATL press release | Labour Party press release | NUT press release | 157 Group press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined continuing inequalities in work-related training, comparing the experiences of samples of public and private sector employees, in order to identify evidence of polarized access to skills development opportunities. It was found that older, lower-skilled/unqualified, part-time, and temporary workers (among others) remained disadvantaged. Trade union presence had powerful positive effects on participation and reduced some inequalities, especially in the private sector.
Source: Colin Lindsay, Jesus Canduela, and Robert Raeside, 'Polarization in access to work-related training in Great Britain', Economic and Industrial Democracy, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
The coalition government published a revised strategy on skills in England. It included plans to intervene where further education colleges were failing learners. A new FE Commissioner would step in as soon as a college fell into the 'inadequate' category or failed financially; it would report directly to ministers, and could propose a new 'administered college' status, under which colleges would lose freedoms over staff changes, expenditure, or transfer of assets.
Source: Rigour and Responsiveness in Skills, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Strategy | DBIS press release | BCC press release | IOD press release | NIACE press release | 157 Group press release
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the various training measures that had been adopted in Europe since the start of the global economic crisis, and compared countries with different types of training systems. Particular attention was paid to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany. It also considered the role that training measures had played in governments' active labour market programmes. Although the European Commission had called for a 'training-first' approach to unemployed people, 'work-first' principles were in practice becoming even more dominant.
Source: Jason Heyes, 'Vocational training, employability and the post-2008 jobs crisis: responses in the European Union', Economic and Industrial Democracy, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
Researchers examined how well new skills and employment policies/systems were being implemented by Jobcentre Plus, the National Careers Service, and skills providers (colleges and training organizations). In focused on: how aligned the employment and skills systems were; how well local partnerships were working; the claimant experience; and how 'mandating claimants to skill development' (sic) was working in practice. Overall, there were a number of signs of progress towards a greater integration between skills provision and employment services: but there was still scope for further progress across both systems.
Source: Joy Oakley, Beth Foley, and Jim Hillage, Employment, Partnership and Skills, Research Report 830, Department for Work and Pensions
Date: 2013-Mar
The report of an independent commission made a series of recommendations designed to strengthen the system of adult vocational teaching and learning in England.
Source: Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning, It's About Work Excellent adult vocational teaching and learning, Learning and Skills Improvement Service
Links: Report | Commission press release | AOC press release | NIACE press release
Date: 2013-Mar
A report examined the evidence base on the economic returns to vocational qualifications in England.
Source: Review of the Economic Benefits of Training and Qualifications, as Shown by Research Based on Cross-Sectional and Administrative Data, Research Report 105, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Mar
The coalition government published its response to the Richard review of apprenticeships in England. It said that employers would be empowered to design and develop their own apprenticeship standards and qualifications, so that they could address skills shortages.
Source: The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Next Steps from the Richard Review, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Response | Hansard | DBIS press release | AOC press release | ATL press release | CBI press release | FMB press release | IPPR press release | 157 Group press release | Labour Party press release | NIACE press release | PwC press release | UCU press release | Work Foundation blog post | FE news report | Human Resources report | People Management report
See also: Review report (November 2012)
Date: 2013-Mar
A paper said that over two thirds of people gained qualifications in adult life often to enhance their career prospects. 71 per cent of people in England, Scotland, and Wales achieved at least one qualification between the ages of 23 and 50, and more than half (53 per cent) did so between the ages of 33 and 50.
Source: Andrew Jenkins, Learning and the Lifecourse: The acquisition of qualifications in adulthood, Working paper 2013/4, Centre for Longitudinal Studies (University of London)
Links: Paper | CLS press release
Date: 2013-Mar
A briefing paper examined the post-secondary vocational education and training system in England.
Source: Andrew McCoshan (with Jim Hillage), OECD Review: Skills Beyond School Background report for England, UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Mar
An article said that the legitimacy and stability of the social and political order were undermined by persistent inequalities of skills and opportunities. There was a mismatch between the ideal of meritocracy and the reality of a stratified society, both objectively and as they were perceived. This was likely to contribute to the political alienation of disadvantaged groups. In theory adult learning could reduce the skills gap: but in reality it only magnified it, as well educated people and those in work had higher participation rates than poorly educated and unemployed people.
Source: Jan Germen Janmaat and Andy Green, 'Skills inequality, adult learning and social cohesion in the United Kingdom', British Journal of Educational Studies, Volume 61 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on apprenticeships.
Source: Apprenticeships: Government Response to the Committee's Fifth Report, Fifth Special Report (Session 201213), HC 899, House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, TSO
Links: Response | ATL/UCU press release | UnionNews report
Notes: MPs report (November 2012)
Date: 2013-Jan