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This study of the British workforce examines the growing skills shortage problems that are affecting the UK economy. In particular, it considers organisations, such as McDonalds, Ford and Microsoft, that have revolutionised work and training in the UK and are leading the way in taking employees from little or no skills to the higher skills that are of significant benefit to the wider labour market. In 2001, research revealed that over half of all UK businesses were struggling to recruit sufficient skilled workers. The main areas of this skill deficiency were in communication, customer handling and problem-solving. This report finds that the retail and hospitality sectors display some of the most innovative and widespread training and development activity. It finds that organisations such as McDonalds, are doing more than most organisations to develop the skills of their own workforces and also those of the wider labour market. The report warns that if the service sector is not recognised for its true value in the UK labour market, it will be more difficult to meet skill shortages and thus improve the overall productivity of the UK workforce.