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The UK government published the National Skills Strategy in November 2009 setting out the active skills approach to equip the UK’s workforce for globalisation and to compete in the industries of the future. This paper sets out the evidence that has informed development of the strategy; the importance of skills in the global economy; progress towards ambitions for skills attainment; the role for government; and the performance of current policies.

This skills strategy sets out an active approach to equipping England for globalisation by ensuring supply of the skills that underwrite the industries of the future: skills for high-tech, low carbon driven growth. To tackle the gap in intermediate skills in England, for example, apprenticeship numbers are to be expanded to create a modern class of technicians. They will have transferable skills, gained as a result of both academic study and practical on-the-job experience. The goal of this strategy is a skills system defined not simply by targets based on achieved qualifications, but by ‘real world’ outcomes, a system that provides a higher level of vocational experience, promoting a greater mix of work and study and encouraging skills that are transferable from job to job. Skills must be taught expertly and carry genuine weight with employers. Opportunities must be broadened for students to progress through further education into higher education.