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This report describes the characteristics of the unemployed from the Family and Working Lives Survey (FWLS). The intention was to analyse the characteristics of the unemployed to begin to answer some questions. How does an individual's unemployment history interact with other aspects of personal history and with general economic events? How does the labour market status of partners interact when one of them becomes unemployed? What is the effect of benefit receipt on re-employment probabilities? What are the effects of training on various types of re-employment probabilities following unemployment? What are the destinations of the long-term unemployed? What are the job search methods of the unemployed? This report identifies the most important determinants of the duration and incidence of individual unemployment and how these compare and contrast. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Engineering Sector Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in the engineering sector. The introductory chapter provides details of the scope and coverage of the dialogue and describes the context, main economic trends and other factors influencing engineering skill requirements. Chapter two contains a discussion of the evidence on trends in demand for engineering skills and chapter three examines the supply and availability of such skills. Chapter four investigates the main demand-supply imbalances. The key messages are: (1) there is still a strong demand for engineering skills in the UK economy despite the long-term decline in much of engineering manufacturing; (2) there is particular demand in the fast-growing electronics and telecommunications industries; (3) a number of engineering employers are experiencing difficulty in recruiting staff mainly because of a shortage of people with relevant skills and experience; (4) skill shortages are apparent at all levels but particularly at the higher end of the occupational spectrum; and (5) the main skill gaps are in specific technical and practical skill areas but personal and generic skills are also in short supply. Show less

This study aimed to estimate employers' total financial contribution to Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) and Youth Training (YT) in England for the period 1995 to 1996. This is the payment made directly to the trainee or on the trainee's behalf by the employer. Other contributions by the employer, such as on-the-job supervision and premise overheads, were not covered. Show less

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.

In part 1 of this paper, 'The demand and supply of intermediate level vocational skills: a review of recent trends', Lloyd discusses employer requirements for intermediate-level skills and the extent to which these skills are changing. Using existing research from survey and case studies, she addresses five issues of concern: is there any evidence for a shortage of intermediate level vocational skills?; can we identify a changing pattern of demand from employers for intermediate skills?; how are jobs at the intermediate level changing?; is there evidence of either upskilling or deskilling?; and, what factors are likely to determine the way that intermediate jobs are changing? In part 2, 'Intermediate skills and productivity - how the UK compares', Steedman examines the supply of intermediate-level skills in Britain compared to other European countries, Singapore and the United States and the importance of these skills for productivity. She analyses the skill profiles, and looks at skill stocks by sector and the links between intermediate vocational skills and productivity, providing tables from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). Both authors conclude that there is a lack of evidence to support the view that there are widespread intermediate skill shortages. In fact, overall, there is a weak demand which reflects the number of firms that only demand low-skilled workers and a consequent weak supply. Analysis of the IALS survey confirms that the United Kingdom (UK) has a skills deficit and that, although more young people have intermediate qualifications, the increases are predominantly academic (A-level) and not vocational. They assert that policy-makers must recognise both these facts and make appropriate decisions if the UK is going to be able to compete with other countries in those markets requiring middle to high level vocational skills.

Other research reports in this series are indexed from TD/TNC 62.633 to TD/TNC 62.635 and from TD/TNC 62.637 to TD/TNC 62.651. Show less

Pre-Vocational Pilots (PVP) and Pre-Vocational Training (PVT) were launched in the United Kingdom in 1996 and 1997/8 to address the needs of people with multiple disadvantages who were not ready to enter mainstream employment programs. Previous research on PVP, undertaken in 1997 (indexed at TD/TNC 63.187) found that while most participants regarded their training as beneficial, a significant proportion (approximately 20 per cent) of participants appeared not to be benefiting from this program. This report sets out the findings of follow-up research carried out in 1999 by BMRB, replicating in part, earlier work but also including a qualitative component focusing on why some participants failed to benefit from PVT programs. The research was carried out in two stages: (1) The quantitative survey of all PVT participants; and (2) The qualitative research with the 'discontented'. The main chapters of the report are: Characteristics of PVT participants; Experiences on PVT; Experiences after PVT; Perceptions of PVT helpfulness; 'Discontented' with PVT: an introduction; A profile of 'discontented' PVT participants; Experiences of pre-vocational training; Perceptions and content and delivery of PVT; Meeting the needs of the discontented. Also included are four appendices: (1) CHAID analysis of discontented participants; (2) The quantitative survey; (3) Qualitative study of discontented participants; (4) Analytical method for qualitative research. Show less

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 how economists forecast skill needs, how the economy responds to a lack of skills and the economic consequences of not anticipating skills needs. Following an introduction and summary, the authors first of all examine skills shortages and why we need to anticipate skill needs. They identify the results of skill shortages such as lower quality, lower productivity and higher wages and note the impact of the measures taken by firms to adjust to these shortages. They then discuss the difficulties implicit in leaving it to market mechanisms to address the problems. Finally, they analyse how economists attempt to forecast skills. They discuss occupational forecasting and whether it can be a useful indicator for predicting skill change, question the links between occupations and skills and present some case study examples of skill changes, particularly multi-skilling, in large organisations.

Other research reports in this series are indexed from TD/TNC 62.634 to TD/TNC 62.651. Show less

This report presents the final evaluation of the European Social Fund (ESF) Objective 3 activities. It is both an assessment of the performance of the current Objective 3 program and a basis for planning and developing Objective 3-type activities for the next program. Sections cover a range of areas including recent trends in the British labour market, project delivery to meet individual needs, what Objective 3 has achieved, program performance, equality, assessment and evaluation. Show less

The Learning and Training at Work (LTW) survey of employers investigates the provision of learning and training at work and the awareness of, and involvement with, existing and new training and development initiatives. The survey covered the following areas: provision of off-the-job training; provision of on-the-job training; cost to employers of providing job-related training; management of training and training delivery; learning opportunities and facilities available for employees; awareness of, and involvement with, training initiatives; skills; and young employees. The main findings of the 2000 study were: approximately 76 per cent of employers had provided training to their employees in the 12 months leading up to the interview; 41 per cent of employers had provided off-the-job training to their employees; 66 per cent of employers had provided on-the-job training; the total cost of providing training for employers with 10 or more employees was 23.5 billion pounds; 46 per cent of employers who provided training reported that some of this training was leading to a formal qualification; 60 per cent of employers possessed a business plan, 39 per cent had a training plan, 27 per cent had a training budget, and 24 per cent had a human resource plan; approximately 63 per cent of employers offered at least one of eight nominated types of learning opportunities and seven per cent of employers reported they had staff or trade union representation at the establishment; National Vocational Qualifications/Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQs/SVQs) was the initiative with the highest level of awareness; 61 per cent of employers believed that the skills required in their average employee were increasing, 33 per cent felt they were static, and four per cent felt they were decreasing; and the qualifications possessed by young employees was higher than the figures reported in 1999. 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 first section of this report describes the aims of the review. The main intention is to appraise the evidence on disadvantaged youth and on the strategies being used to tackle the various facets of the problem. The second section provides more detail on the scope, quality and nature of the evidence available. Different dimensions and parameters of disadvantage are presented and the way in which they interrelate is explored. Quantitative data that describes the scope of each presented dimension is given and where possible compared to evidence for European countries. The third section identifies and describes the various strategies used to tackle different forms of disadvantage. These are evaluated in terms of their impacts, outcomes, replicability, sustainability and reception by different parties. The fourth, and final, section assesses the body of evidence that has been presented, draws out the main findings and their implications, highlights the most successful strategies, and makes recommendations for future research and policy development. Show less