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The National Skills Task Force has been established by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to assist him in developing a National Skills Agenda. The Task Force was asked to provide advice on the nature, extent and pattern of skill needs and shortages, including associated recruitment difficulties, how these are likely to change and what can be done to ease such problems. This paper is one of a series that has been commissioned to review and evaluate existing literature in a number of skills-related areas.

This paper examines the provision of post-compulsory education and training (PCET) particularly as it relates to vocational qualifications for young people. The author maintains that working through the many options and routes is a daunting task and that the provision is 'fragmented and incoherent, with a number of competing pathways of varying status and value' (Evans et al, 1997). She identifies five key questions which need to be addressed by policy-makers. Do vocational qualifications act as a barrier to young people's participation in vocational education and training? How credible are vocational qualifications and vocational courses in the eyes of young people and employers? How might vocational qualifications and vocational courses be improved and strengthened? How are vocational qualifications and vocational courses viewed by education and training providers? How do vocational qualifications and vocational courses relate to their academic counterparts and how might that relationship be improved? Unwin looks at all the options that 16 year-olds face at the end of compulsory schooling and highlights a plethora of apprenticeships, traineeships and other initiatives. Destination patterns are analysed and the strengths and weaknesses of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) are examined. She presents a range of conclusions to support the young people themselves, the providers of training and the employers, and makes ten policy recommendations to simplify and coordinate the PCET process.

Other research reports in this series are indexed from TD/TNC 62.633 to TD/TNC 62.636 and from TD/TNC 62.638 to TD/TNC 62.651. Show less

The National Skills Task Force was established in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1998 to develop a National Skills Agenda to ensure that the workforce had the necessary skills to maintain high levels of employment, to compete in the global marketplace, and to provide learning and employment opportunities for all individuals. This document from the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, sets out the Department for Education and Employment's (DfEE's) plans to act on the recommendations of the National Skills Task Force to realise the skill development required for economic success. The plan aims to strengthen the link between learning and employment, create excellence in vocational learning, provide second chance learning opportunities for adults, ensure equal opportunities for both men and women in job searching and skill development, and engage employers in the skills agenda.

The White Paper on enterprise, skills and innovation 'Opportunity for all in a world of change', is indexed at TD/IRD 88.20. Show less

The National Skills Task Force was set up to ensure that Britain has the skills needed to ensure high levels of employment, be competitive in the global marketplace and provide opportunities for all. This final report brings together the themes and recommendations of the three interim reports. Proposals for a national skills agenda are presented in three areas: policy actions to improve the supply side of education and training; an approach to managing the system so that employment needs and learning strategies match; and a set of targets and measures to monitor and improve progress. Chapter 1 outlines the vision for a National Skills Agenda; Chapter 2 summarises the findings and is an assessment of the main skills gaps and shortages; Chapter 3 presents the features of a new post-16 education and training system; Chapter 4 examines a strategy for stimulating demand and managing the system; and Chapter 5 looks at the way forward in terms of priorities, targets, roles and responsibilities. The publication also contains five annexes detailing terms of reference, membership of the Task Force, publications list and definitions.

Other reports of the National Skills Task Force are indexed from TD/TNC 62.653 to TD/TNC 62.655 and at TD/TNC 62.657 and an initial response to the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 62.658. Show less

The National Skills Task Force was set up to ensure that Britain has the skills needed to ensure high levels of employment, be competitive in the global marketplace and provide opportunities for all. It presents a vision for modernising Britain's education and training system. This publication reports on the first three months' work of the Task Force, which which will provide advice on skills needs and shortages, practical measures to raise the level of sustainable employment, what changes are needed in the long term and how they can be met, and how to ensure that the education and training system responds appropriately to the identified needs.

Other reports of the National Skills Task Force are indexed from TD/TNC 62.654 to TD/TNC 62.657 and an initial response to the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 62.658. Show less

Young people who do badly in their GCSE examinations at age 16 present two challenges for social policy. The first is to minimise the numbers getting poor results while maintaining credible academic standards in examinations. The second is to mitigate the consequences of poor results by providing opportunities for low achievers to improve their qualifications. It is the second of the challenges that this report addresses. It aims to inform the policy debate on how best to provide for these young people through a detailed study of a cohort of low achievers who reached the end of their compulsory schooling in 1995. This report is not about the causes of low achievement. It is about the recent trends in low achievement, and about how the routes low achievers took after age sixteen differed from those taken by young people with better examination results. The report tracks the low achievers' progress after age sixteen over two and a half years, looking at their educational participation, work-based training, employment, any further qualifications that are gained and their satisfaction with the way that things worked out for them. Show less

Employee Development Schemes (EDSs) which have been in existence in the United Kingdom (UK) since 1989 have two essential features: (1) opportunities to voluntarily engage in learning activities which are wider than those required by the employer; and (2) support from the employer, usually in the form of cash entitlements to spend on learning activities. The overall aim of this research project was to identify the effect of EDSs on individual attitudes and commitment to learning and this report describes the findings of the project. The structure of the report is as follows: section one contains the executive summary; section two introduces the project covering the background, research objectives and methodology; section three presents the main findings and discusses the overall attitudes to, and experience of, learning, individual differences and how they relate to EDS based learning; and the last section presents six case studies. Also included are three appendices: (1) Respondent letter and self completion recruitment sheet; (2) Respondent profile; (3) Detailed topic guides. Show less

This study investigated the characteristics, circumstances, attitudes and employment details of 197 young people aged 16 and 17 who left school without qualifications at level 2, or above, and who are currently in work but not receiving any formal, structured training that would lead to a recognised qualification at that level. Little was known about the attitudes, circumstances or characteristics of this group. Given the objective of finding the range of opinions and circumstances of this group, a qualitative approach using face-to-face discussions was adopted. This study was commissioned to guide and inform policy making in this area. Show less

The Modern Apprenticeship (MA) program was introduced to improve the supply of intermediate level of skills in the United Kingdom (UK). The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) commissioned a study in 1998 to evaluate employers' views and experiences of MAs. This study set out to: (1) evaluate the impact MAs are having on the quantity and quality of work-based training for young people; (2) determine the extent to which the MA program has been effective in overcoming skill shortages and in improving skill levels; (3) assess whether the program provided value for money; and (4) provide some guidance in delivering and maintaining high quality training. The study, based on interviews with employers, found that while there was room for some improvements, overall, the MAs were meeting the needs and expectations of both employers and apprentices. Show less

The National Skills Task Force was set up to ensure that Britain has the skills needed to ensure high levels of employment, be competitive in the global marketplace and provide opportunities for all. This second report deals with three fundamental issues: how to build a system which provides a high level of skill for young people, how to equip all people with the key skills needed for employability and how to ensure that all students and educational institutions have the information they need to make informed choices and appropriate plans. The report is presented in three parts: Part 1 - Skills for young people, which emphasises participation and progression and identifies areas in which changes are needed; Part 2 - Employability and key skills, which presents a national strategy for key skills, including specific targets for mathematics and IT skills; and Part 3 - Information, which looks at gaps in the market and suggests a new strategy for informing the market. Annexes which summarise responses and give the terms of reference complete this publication.

Other reports of the National Skills Task Force are indexed at TD/TNC 62.653 and from TD/TNC 62.655 to TD/TNC 62.657 and an initial response to the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 62.658. Show less

This report provides an evaluation and assessment of existing literature on returns to education in the United Kingdom (UK). It is concerned with returns to human capital, focusing on education as a private decision to invest in human capital and exploring the internal rate of return to that private investment. The study also looks at the available evidence on the social/non-pecuniary returns from investment in education and the effect of family background on schooling decisions. The key findings of this study are: (1) individuals who undertake an additional year of full-time study will earn around seven to nine per cent more than those who do not participate in an extra year of full-time study; (2) there is some evidence suggesting that leaving education the year immediately following the awarding of a qualification may result in a smaller return to that particular year of education; and (3) available evidence, limited in the UK mainly to higher education, suggests that net benefits to the economy are positive, but vary by degree subject. Show less