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The public, politicians and policymakers are talking about productivity - the only way a country can improve living standards and workers' their take home pay. This report examines the contribution skills policy has made in recent decades to address the UK 'productivity gap'. Based on quantitative analysis and interviews with leading education experts, including former policy advisers, the authors outline why the UK has been 'running to stand still' when it comes to upgrading skills and qualification levels in the workforce. Despite strong ministerial leadership, including the well-intended efforts of civil servants and delivery bodies, none of the fundamental metrics appear to have shifted in a significantly positive direction since 2008. As the UK prepares for a general election before January 2025, the report provides critical insights into the main skills and policy challenges facing the next government.

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This report presents a summary of the literature on older workers. Older workers, defined for the purposes of this paper as those aged 50 and above, are less likely to have access to training and development opportunities than younger workers, and are also less likely to engage in learning if the opportunities are available to them (e.g. Armstrong-Stassen and Schlosser, 2007). The resulting cycle of underinvestment compounds negative perceptions surrounding older learners in the workplace. Older workers should not simply be defined by age, but be considered as a variable group. They may differ, for example, in terms of personal and professional abilities, as well as their achievements. Some suffer deteriorating health, death of a partner or, in contrast, enjoy excellent health and strong relationships (Foster, 2008). They also differ according to factors such as gender, ethnicity and sector in which they work. Research to date, however, rarely takes these differences into account.

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