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This review looks at the framework for determining employment status and provides a snapshot of the UK labour market in 2015. In order to gain a greater understanding of some of the issues being faced, officials were asked to consider what the UK labour market looks like and suggest ways in which government could deliver a framework that strikes the correct balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of business, supporting growth and prosperity in the 21st century. The review involved discussions with a number of stakeholders and this report represents the findings of that review.

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The UK government has published this consultation in response to the ‘Richard review of apprenticeships’, published in November 2012. It sets out the government’s long term vision for apprenticeships, together with proposals for achieving this. The review looked at how apprenticeships in England can meet the needs of the changing economy. This government response accepts the review’s assessment of the challenges and opportunities to come and endorses its recommendations for reform, in particular to: place control of apprenticeships more firmly in the hands of employers; and ensure that all apprenticeships are rigorous and responsive to employers’ needs. The government’s response also launches a consultation on the practical steps needed to turn this vision into reality. The government invites contributions from those interested in the future of apprenticeships by 22 May 2013. These will be considered and used to inform the government’s future approach and implementation plan in 2013.

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This document describes the next generation careers advice service that will be launched in England in August 2010. It will supersede the current Careers Advice Service telephone service (formerly learndirect advice) and local nextstep face to face services, by creating a single, national service available online, by telephone, or face to face. It will provide access to better information about the labour market and new tools to help adults plan their career development; a new professional development framework for careers advisers; and a new brand to raise the service's appeal to the public.

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This business case sets out the rationale for creating a new non-departmental public body and assesses the estimated costs and benefits. Estimates are taken from the impact assessment for the Higher Education and Research Bill, which sets out detail on underlying assumptions. The white paper 'Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice' sets out plans for the creation of the Office for Students (OfS). This new public body will be a new market regulator in place of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).

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This document sets out an investment strategy for the further education system in the UK that will deliver a truly lifelong approach to learning, nurturing sustainable economic growth and social renewal. The document outlines how the government plans to: reduce bureaucracy; remove unnecessary interference from intermediary agencies whether local, regional or national; streamline the organisational skills landscape; remove unnecessary regulation; and, introduce new freedoms and flexibilities. The strategy is based on three principles: (1) fairness, where those most in need are those least able to help themselves, so special attention will be paid to young people and those without basic literacy and numeracy skills; (2) shared responsibility for skill development, including government, employers and citizens; and (3) greater freedom in terms of abolishing bureaucratic impediments and trusting people to do their job.

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Teacher mentors of first-year teachers provided insight into those practices they viewed as essential for their success in the mentoring role. Specifically, they were queried about teacher involvement/support, staff development, administrative support and resource materials. Almost all of the mentor teachers believed a teacher mentoring program that had well-defined goals was necessary for retaining beginning teachers. Some of the mentor teachers considered that staff development that provided strategies to serve students in special populations better was important for retaining beginning teachers. Mentors indicated that the most difficult parts of their duties involved scheduling conflicts with the mentee, receiving little support from administration (e.g. limited release time to meet with beginning teachers), and having no guidelines or preparation for what they were expected to do. Additional comments made by mentors consisted of the need for more time for new teachers to be able to reflect upon their teaching practices and a de-emphasis on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores. They also indicated that because too much time was being spent on students' standardized test scores, schools and schooling were being negatively influenced.

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This publication presents experimental outcome based measures covering the destinations (into employment and learning) and progression of post-19 learners completing funded further education training in 2010 to 2011. The measures make use of administrative datasets already held by government to observe learning and employment activity in 2011 to 2012, and prior attainment of learners to measure progression.

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Apprenticeships in England are undergoing change and a new style of apprenticeship has been developed to accommodate the changing needs of employers, learners and providers. These new apprenticeships are known as 'Trailblazer' apprenticeships and they aim to give employers control in designing apprenticeships, increase the flexibility of delivery, simplify the funding system, and increase the effectiveness of training. A 'Trailblazer' is made up of a group of employers who work together to design new apprenticeship standards for occupations within their sectors. This set of resources provides guidance for groups of employers (Trailblazers) on proposing and developing a new apprenticeship standard. An apprenticeship standard shows what an apprentice will be doing and the skills they need. The guidance sets out the process and policy on: (1) applying to develop an apprenticeship standard; (2) drafting the standard and assessment plan; and (3) using a standard. Show less

No one source of data gives a comprehensive picture of the income of the self-employed. However, by looking at a range of sources, some tentative conclusions can be formed: (1) the self-employed as a group have seen falling income since the recession; (2) but this is mostly down to the changing composition of self-employment; (3) those individuals who have been self-employed over a number of years have seen income levels sustained, although with some self-employment earnings replaced by other sources; and (4) there is little difference in overall life satisfaction levels between the self-employed and the employed.

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This strategy document sets out the UK government's vision for reform of the further education and skills system in order to improve the skills of the workforce, the performance of the economy and engagement in learning. The reform of the skills systems includes: (1) expanding the numbers of adult apprenticeships available, so by 2014-15 there will be 75,000 more adults starting than under the previous government's plans; 200,000 adults will be able to start an apprenticeship; 605 million pounds will be invested in adult apprenticeships in the 2011-12 financial year; (2) fully funding training for young adults aged from 19 up to 24 undertaking their first full level 2 ([General Certificate of Secondary Education] GCSE equivalent) or first level 3 qualification when they do not already have one; (3) fully funding basic skills courses for individuals who left school without basic reading, writing and mathematics; (4) introducing government-backed loans from 2013-14 for learners aged 24 and over undertaking level 3 or higher qualifications; (5) initiating a demand-led growth and innovation fund of up to 50 million pounds of government investment a year, to support employer-led initiatives within sectors; (6) replacing Train to Gain with an [small and medium enterprise] SME focused offer to help small employers train low-skilled staff; and (7) helping people who are on active job-seeking benefits to secure work through labour-market relevant training.

Published summary on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website. Show less