Using skills excellence to build back better

If the turbulent months of 2020 have taught us anything, it is that nothing can be taken for granted. Employers and skills providers alike have been forced to rip up their business plans at short notice, as the world adapts to the 'new normal' of life in a pandemic. In terms of education policy, the scenario unfolding before our eyes necessitates serious investment in the skills of the nation. A long-term strategy informed - but not skewed - by the pandemic is essential if we are going to, in the words of the Prime Minister, 'build back better'. And if our island outside of the EU is to...  [+] Show more

If the turbulent months of 2020 have taught us anything, it is that nothing can be taken for granted. Employers and skills providers alike have been forced to rip up their business plans at short notice, as the world adapts to the 'new normal' of life in a pandemic. In terms of education policy, the scenario unfolding before our eyes necessitates serious investment in the skills of the nation. A long-term strategy informed - but not skewed - by the pandemic is essential if we are going to, in the words of the Prime Minister, 'build back better'. And if our island outside of the EU is to compete with other developed nations, our skills must attain international standards of excellence. This is by no means a wildly ambitious pipe dream. WorldSkills' international standards are already in place and having a transformative impact - and not just in the leading lights at the top of the international medal table but here in the UK, as this fascinating collection of essays makes clear. This collection of skill essays and case studies looks at what excellence in skills means for our partners in education, governments and industry.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website.

The content are as follows: Foreword / Neil Bentley-Gockmann; Foreword / Gillian Keegan; Introduction / Stephen Exley; Experiencing excellence / Anne Milton; Understanding excellence / Susan James Relly; Case study: Toyota Manufacturing UK; Excellence and leadership / David Gallagher; Establishing excellence / Ekaterina Loshkareva; Case study: BAE Systems; Striving for excellence / Jennifer Coupland; Embedding excellence / Professor Mehmet Karamanoglu; Case study: Coca-Cola; Stimulating excellence / Matthew Fell.