Employability skills: a research and policy briefing

This paper provides a synthesis of recent research on the theme of employability skills. It does not aim to provide a comprehensive literature review, as the relevant literature in this area is vast and wide-ranging. Instead it brings together some key findings on the topic from the last 10 years or so, focusing mainly on literature from the UK. The paper contributes to a wider programme of work being carried out by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills on the best way to develop employability skills within the publicly funded employment and skills system. The paper aims to stimulate discussion amongst the policy-making community on how best to further develop research and policy on employability skills. To this end, we focus on the following key questions: What do we mean by ‘employability skills’? Why are employability skills important? Does the UK have an employability skills problem? What works in employability skills policy? What are the key challenges and barriers in employability skills policy? What still needs to be done?

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