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This document sets out the UK Government's suggestions for improving the system for recognising professional qualifications across the European Union (EU). Recent evidence suggests that there is significant untapped potential in EU services, both in terms of productivity and employment. Reforms that improved the single market in services could have a significant impact on growth within the EU. Reforming the process for mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the EU is a key achievable priority in improving the single market in services, and creating growth.

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This study, based on Cohorts 9 and 10 of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS), addresses a number of questions, including: (1) How many students work part-time in Years 12 and 13, and how many hours do they spend in jobs and on their studies? (2) What factors increase the probability of students taking part-time jobs? (3) What kinds of jobs do they do, and how much do they earn? and (4) What impact does part-time employment have on examination results? The extent of part-time employment amongst young people in full time education, both at age 16/17 and age 17/18, is described. Patterns of part-time employment amongst students in different types of courses, as well as the factors that increased theprobability of part-time employment from perspectives of gender, Year 11 results, ethnicity, home background and region, are looked at and a statistical model is fitted to disentangle the impact of these variables. The labour market for students aged 16/17 is analysed, providing information on occupational and industrial structure and wage levels and comparing the student labour market with that of 16/17 year olds who were not in full-time education. Further statistical models that explore the impact of part-time employment on examination results and/or vocational qualifications in Years 12 and 13 are presented. The final section highlights the main findings from the analyses and discusses their relevance to educational policy. Show less

Equality impact assessments are an important framework for demonstrating due regard through considering evidence and analysis to help identify the likely positive and negative impacts that policy proposals may have on certain protected groups of consumers and to estimate whether such impacts disproportionately affect such groups. This assessment takes a summary view of the equality impacts of the changes to the apprenticeship program outlined below: (1) new incentive payments for small employers to take on a young apprentice for the first time; (2) measures to make it quicker and easier for employers to take on an apprentice, including reducing the time it takes an employer to advertise for an apprentice to one month, and stripping back any unnecessary health and safety requirements; (3) requiring apprenticeship providers to offer training in English and Maths up to the standard of a good [General Certificate of Secondary Education] GCSE to all apprentices, and publishing their progress; (4) launching a new employer-led review into the standards and quality of apprenticeships, to ensure every apprenticeship delivers professionally recognised qualifications which employers value; and (5) prioritising the efforts of the National Apprenticeship Service where apprenticeships deliver greatest value, including on younger adults, new employees, higher level qualifications and particular sectors, whilst maintaining a demand-led, all age program open to all sectors across the economy where high quality apprenticeships can be offered.

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This report forms part of the extensive evaluation of the adult basic skills Pathfinder Extension program which was launched by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in September 2001. Stage 2 of the evaluation focused on providing impact estimates and descriptive analyses of learner characteristics, their attitudes and their course experiences. It also introduces outcome measures such as employment outcomes, job changes and new course enrolment. There is a comparison of key characteristics between Pathfinder Extension participants and a comparison group of learners on traditional adult basic skills courses. Estimates of the impacts of Pathfinder activities compared to traditional provisions are given.

There are three accompanying reports on the evaluation of the Pathfinder Extension program: the report of Stage 1 of the evaluation is indexed at TD/TNC 75.222; an overview of the evaluation is indexed at TD/TNC 75.221; and the final report of the evaluation is indexed at TD/TNC 75.224. Show less

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 Foundation Degree Taskforce released its report to UK government Ministers on 2nd September 2004. The report contains several recommendations aimed at embedding Foundation degrees within the UK higher education system. It presents the case for further expansion of Foundation degrees in England, documents the progress already made and outlines the next steps in establishing the new qualification. Research into the current and future skill shortages in the UK reveal a need for associate professional and higher technician level jobs. Foundation degrees have been developed in consultation with employers to address these skill shortages. A number of objectives for the development of Foundation degrees have been identified: (1) to contribute to the reduction in skill shortages at the associate professional and higher technician level by equipping students with a combination of technical skills, academic knowledge and transferable skills that are valued by employers and students; (2) to expand the number and range of Foundation degrees and contribute to widening participation by providing flexible and accessible progression routes for young people starting careers, those in employment, and those returning to work; and (3) to promote collaboration between employers, Regional Development Agencies, Sector Skills Councils, universities, and higher and further education colleges in developing Foundation degrees. Show less

This report presents the findings from UK regional and sectoral analysis to estimate the impact of changes in the stock of educational qualifications on sector productivity. The analysis sought to determine whether the productivity effects of human capital, in particular academic and vocational qualifications, outstrip the wage effects of such qualifications. The existing data analysed covers a period between 1996 and 2001. The analysis reveals: (1) the substantial increase in the proportion of the workforce with academic qualifications has not been matched by similar growth in the stock of vocational qualifications; (2) positive productivity effects from higher level (level 4 and above) academic qualifications at both national and regional level; (3) some positive productivity effects from academic level 2 qualifications; (4) a productivity benefit for employers over and above the wage increase associated with qualifications at academic level 2 and academic level 4+; (5) no systematic and positive impact on productivity from vocational qualifications although it is acknowledged that other studies have identified individual wage returns for higher level vocational qualifications that are not replicated in this sectoral analysis; and (6) an inability for the research to measure the impact of poor basic skills on industry or regional productivity although it was able to demonstrate that those workers with the poorest basic skills are more likely to be unemployed rather than being associated with any particular industrial sector. Show less

In December 2004, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned a mapping of qualifications and training developments across the children and young people's (CYP) workforce. The aims of the research were: to support the creation of a qualifications framework and structure for career progression opportunities for members of the CYP workforce; to map the qualifications and existing training and development provision that is available; to provide information on the current take up of key qualifications and training provision that is available both nationally and locally; and to identify specific variations and gaps in qualifications and training provision and the funding streams available to support individual members of the workforce. The project covered all major occupational groups within the children's workforce, nationally available and approved qualifications from levels one to eight together with a mapping of the detailed content of significant qualifications against the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge. The research was organised in two related strands: the collection data about qualifications and training; and the exploratory development of the workforce through contextualising studies. This report discusses the issues that have arisen in the identification of qualifications and training and in their inclusion in the database, and that could influence any design of an integrated qualifications framework.

This report is one of six, each with a different theme. The reports are indexed from TD/TNC 85.226 to TD/TNC 85.231. 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 Clothing, Textiles, Footwear and Leather, and Furniture, Furnishings and Interiors Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in these industries. These industries have faced a difficult transformation over the past three decades as a result of overseas competition and technological change. The report provides overviews of these industries, examines issues related to the demand for, and supply of, skills, including employment change, occupational change, skill requirements, skills gaps and shortages, and summarises common skills issues. The report suggests that to maintain competitiveness, the industries will need to further enhance skills, particularly in management, marketing and technical expertise. Major skills issues common to these industries are: (1) changes to the skills mix resulting from the transition to a combination of UK and overseas production; (2) overall skills deficiencies exacerbated by lack of experience and of basic skills; (3) skills gaps particularly at management levels and for clerical, craft and plant and machine operatives; (4) the equal demand for soft skills and technical and information technology (IT) related skills; and (5) that recruitment and skills problems are responsible for business problems and delays in developing new products. Show less

SEMTA, the national Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies, launched a national initiative to ensure that all engineering employers and training providers have access to a common trainee feedback system designed to help raise standards and improve trainee satisfaction. The www.apprentice-feedback.com system is designed to capture and analyse the feedback from engineering apprentices in relation to their training provision. Two surveys, one for first year apprentices and one for those in the second, third and fourth years, were conducted during the pilot. The survey results indicate that overall, levels of satisfaction with initial engineering workshop training were high and the overall impressions of post-first-year trainees were generally favourable. The pilot showed that the feedback system ‘raises awareness of the need for improvement, encourages management action, opens a channel of communication with trainees and reveals important sector-wide trends’. This report outlines the structure and content of the National Trainee Feedback System and summarises the methods used to achieve its aims and objectives, how the partners contributed to the project, the outcomes of the project, and the feedback received from project partners and trainees. Show less