Transcript Skills and social inclusion

Learning + skills: social inclusion and
economic competitiveness
Paul Convery
Director, Center for Economic and Social Inclusion
London, July 18th 2001
www.cesi.org.uk
A skills crisis?
 investment in human capital replacing old
patterns of capital investment
 pressures of competitive globalisation
 shortage of workers who can adapt to advancing
technology and to new working patterns
 people without skills are being left behind – stuck
in precarious jobs that are poorly paid
 successful firms are learning, innovative
businesses
 improving employability throughout working life
www.cesi.org.uk
Improving employability: economic
rationale
 nearly ¾ of employers face recruitment problems;
 1 in 4 now report skill shortage blockages;
 1¼ million vacancies but 1 in 4 employers unable
to recruit because of skill shortages;
 average productivity gap with EU and US of
between 20 and 40 per cent;
 38% of owner managers have qualification levels
below VQ2;
 40% of 16 year olds leave school and give up on
any further learning.
www.cesi.org.uk
Improving employability: Social case
 earnings for level 3 skilled are 25% higher
 unskilled earn 30% less than average
 employment rates for:
– those with level 3 at least - 78%
– those with no qualifications - 52%
 skills must unlock exclusion from work by:
– tackling problems early in education system
– equipping the non-employed
– boosting employability of individuals in work
www.cesi.org.uk
Skill shortages and gaps
 7 million (1 in 5) lacking basic literacy/numeracy
 intermediate level technical skills
 generic skills
 mathematics skills
 IT skills
 management and leadership
www.cesi.org.uk
Learning system lopsided
 excellent learning system at the top end of the
labour market
 about 33% are significantly over-educated
 a fifth of the labour force is totally unqualified
 skilled people tend to get even more trained: 20%
of degree qualified workers regularly receive
employer funded training - compared with only
8% of those qualified to VQ2
www.cesi.org.uk
Government response: young people
 vocational GCSEs, vocational A-levels and
foundation degrees
 50% of young people to enter higher education by
2010
 60 per cent of 21 year-olds to have A-levels by
2004
 an extra 80,000 more 16-18 year olds in full-time
learning from 2004
 growth and quality targets for Apprenticeships
 despite the youth population gradually shrinking
www.cesi.org.uk
Government response: adults
 free basic skills training: 750,000 by 2004
 information advice & guidance
 better job matching and broking services
 individual learning commitment
 new mechanisms & institutions:
 union learning fund
 NTO development
 ICT learning centres
 adult and community education
 workplace and employer initiatives - responsive to need
www.cesi.org.uk
Improving participation and
attainment
 basic skills and core competences
 strengthening vocational learning
 integrating academic and vocational
 culture: institutions, employers & individuals
 new entitlements e.g. all ages level 2
 flexible forms of delivery - “where, when & how”
 targeted support for the disadvantaged
 higher standards: employers and institutions
www.cesi.org.uk