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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies encompass a wide range of socio-economic profiles - poor to rich, young to old, regulated to free market. How economies and regions manage demographic change will define their success in what will be an 'ageing century'. This overview paper on the role of demographic change on labour force and economic growth in APEC uses a supply-side, gross domestic product (GDP) accounting framework to decompose the contribution of population, participation, and productivity to GDP per capita (the 3Ps). The authors use this modelling to examine historic and projected demographic and macro-economic trends to inform policy discussions and decisions. The authors begin by presenting this framework and the central projections. The following sections discuss each of the above-mentioned three contributors to growth in turn. The paper concludes by summarising the findings and policy responses.

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[This report] presents the findings of research into the highest prior qualifications levels of adult learners (aged 19 and over) who undertook full level 2 or full level 3 Train to Gain learning in November 2010. It covers some of the last groups of learners to be funded under Train to Gain. [It] aims to better understand the extent to which investment in Train to Gain has been directed towards up-skilling individuals with lower skill levels. [It] also explores the profile of learners undertaking learning under Train to Gain and those undertaking their first level 2 learning, in demographics, employment status and income, and investigates why they take up Train to Gain learning.

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The research covers adult learners (aged 19 plus) undertaking Skills for Life courses in literacy, numeracy and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). It also includes adult learners undertaking: Skills for Life courses funded as mainstream classroom-based Adult Learner Responsive (ALR) provision; and courses in a work setting, funded under the Train to Gain service. The survey was conducted between October and December 2011, and included over 4,400 learners.

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Britain faces a difficult period of economic recovery and an increasingly competitive global economy. Shaping the conditions for growth and job creation and an active approach to investing in the nation's capacities for growth are now central to national recovery. Britain's success in achieving this will be measured not just in its aggregate performance as a country, but in ensuring that economic and jobs growth reaches into all of Britain's regions and localities, with each place performing to its full economic potential.

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The Skills for Life 2011 Survey (SfL2011) was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and designed to measure basic skills amongst people aged between 16 and 65 (inclusive) in England. In a large part, the survey replicated the Skills for Life 2003 Survey (SfL2003), using the same literacy and numeracy tools to assess people's skills. The aim of SfL2011 was to provide an evidence base upon which the government could judge what progress has been made on literacy and numeracy amongst adults of working age in England since 2003, while providing robust evidence on the standard of [information and communication technology] ICT skills in the population. This was achieved by administering 25-minute-long, computerised assessments in literacy, numeracy and ICT topics to respondents during their interviews. Additional information was collected from respondents during the face-to-face interviews to help understand the demographic, social and motivational factors related to basic skills. In all, 7,230 interviews were conducted between May 2010 and February 2011. Literacy levels were established for 5,824 individuals, and numeracy levels for 5,823 individuals. Over 2,220 people were rated on one or more of their ICT skills: specifically, 2,253 on their word processing abilities, 2,247 on their email skills, 2,228 on their skills in using spreadsheets, and 2,274 on their general ICT knowledge (based on answers given to a multiple choice questionnaire). This report presents the main findings from SfL2011.

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Demographic and technological changes are two megatrends set to transform labour markets around the world. These shifts are already under way and are expected to accelerate, particularly in East and South East Asia, which is home to the world's oldest and fastest ageing societies and a region with an enviable pace of economic development. The literature on the nature and impacts of each trend is vast, but the study of the interactions between them is often incidental and rarely in the Asian setting. Yet demography, technology, structural change and economic development are all related. Rapid economic development seen in many parts of Asia is the product of beneficial demographic trends as well as technological catch-up to the production productivity frontier. And technological advancements in medicine have precipitated the increasing levels of life expectancy seen around the world. While more years in good health raise prospects of working for longer, technological and structural change risk leaving older cohorts behind.

As Asia continues its demographic transition: (1) will an older population result in slower rates of invention, innovation, and diffusion of new technologies - and therefore impact on productivity growth?; (2) how might such trends play out across workplaces, occupations, and industries?; (3) how do specific technologies interact with the immediate challenges of population ageing; and (4) what policy strategies and further research are needed to ensure that labour markets perform at optimum? The purpose of this discussion paper is to map out evidence that may help answer these questions and identify different types of strategies needed to make the most of the dual challenge of rapid population ageing and technological advance. Although much of the existing literature originates in developed economies, we draw out the implications for the labour markets in East and South East Asia.

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The research looks at adult learners (aged 19 plus) undertaking full level two and full level three courses classified as Adult Learner Responsive (ALR) provision by the Skills Funding Agency. These courses are largely classroom-based. All of the learners in this research were undertaking courses with a vocational focus. The research looked specifically at the highest prior qualifications of adult learners (aged 19 plus) who were undertaking full level two or full level three classroom-based ALR courses in further education (FE) in November 2011. It examined how far investment in this stream of learning has been directed towards up-skilling individuals with lower skill levels, especially those without prior attainment at full level two (equivalent to five [General Certificates of Secondary Education] GCSEs at grades A to C or [National Vocational Qualification] NVQ level two). The research looked at the demographics, employment status and income of learners undertaking such courses and those undertaking their first level two learning.

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This report brings together information on postgraduate applications to English higher education institutions (HEIs) from the academic years 2005 to 2006 through to 2011 to 2012. HEIs provided data on postgraduate applications broken down by demographic factors, type and level of course studied, subject, domicile, previous HEI attended and offers. The report examines how student demand has changed and how it may have been affected by levels of student debt.

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The research looked at the background of adults who decided to undertake apprenticeships. It also covered how far investment in apprenticeships has been directed towards up-skilling individuals with lower skill levels, especially for those without prior attainment at full level two (equivalent to five [General Certificates of Secondary Education] GCSEs at grades A to C or [National Vocational Qualification] NVQ level two). The research explored apprentices, in terms of: demographics; income; whether they had worked for their employer prior to undertaking the apprenticeship and for how long; and the size of their employer. The research looked specifically at the highest prior qualifications of adults (aged 19 plus) who were undertaking apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships in November 2011.

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This document reports on research into the experiences of students taking ‘alternative routes into and pathways through higher education’. It also examines the relationships between these routes and disability, socioeconomic group, age, gender and ethnic minorities. It aims to inform government policies on widening participation. Key objectives were to: develop a typology of students that includes as many alternative routes and pathways through HE experiences as possible and that informs the qualitative nature of the work; conduct a limited quantitative investigation that provides at least the magnitude of overall patterns and summary characteristics of alternative routes; construct an interview guide that addresses as many of the study hypotheses as possible (a list of the study hypotheses can be found in Annex A); identify a sampling frame for students on alternative routes or a method by which these students may be accessed and interviewed; conduct a qualitative investigation of a sufficient number of students drawn from the identified typologies to address the detailed hypothesis; provide a report on the analysis addressed to a policy audience with policy implications made explicit; and provide a technical annex to the report in sufficient detail to allow the study to be replicated by others in future. The report is set out as follows: Study definitions and typology; Methodology and approach; Quantitative investigation; The interview sample; Key findings; Key messages and policy implications; Annex A - Study questionnaire; Annex B - Methodology technical annex; Annex C - Data tables. Show less