OECD Skills Studies Raising the Basic Skills of Workers in England, United Kingdom
This report provides examples and recommendations to help overcome obstacles to engage low-skilled workers and their employers in skills development. England has implemented impressive measures aimed at helping workers and employers to upskill. Nonetheless, there remains room for improvement.
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| Autor Corporativo: | |
| Formato: | Libro electrónico |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
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Paris :
OECD Publishing
2020.
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| Colección: | OECD skills studies.
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| Materias: | |
| Ver en Biblioteca Universitat Ramon Llull: | https://discovery.url.edu/permalink/34CSUC_URL/1im36ta/alma991009704974206719 |
Tabla de Contenidos:
- Intro
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations and acronyms
- Executive summary
- Key findings and recommendations
- Raising awareness about basic skills
- Making basic skills development more accessible
- Making basic skills development more relevant
- 1 Key insights and recommendations
- The importance of basic skills for England
- Adult basic skills are a determinant of economic and social outcomes
- Upskilling needs are significant in England and the United Kingdom overall
- In an age of automation and digitalisation, basic skills are increasingly important
- The need for strengthened basic skills development in England has been identified in earlier OECD reports
- Identifying low-skilled workers
- Definitions of key concepts
- Challenges in analysing basic skills and basic skills training provision
- Low-skilled workers and their learning patterns in England
- England has a large number of low-skilled workers
- Low-skilled workers and employers in England are not highly engaged in basic skills development
- Low-skilled workers' and employers' limited engagement in learning reflects several factors
- Key policies and programmes for improving the basic skills of workers in England
- England has taken important steps to improve the skills of low-skilled workers, but more progress needs to be made
- Several recent reforms and new policies will influence workers' basic skills
- Basic skills requirements for students have been strengthened
- Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs) reform
- Stronger basic skills requirements were introduced for adult apprenticeships
- Funding for basic skills development has been consolidated
- The National Retraining Scheme has been integrated into the National Skills Fund
- New skills response to COVID-19 provides opportunities to upgrade skills.
- Summary of the policy challenges and options
- Raising awareness about workers' basic skills in England (Chapter 2)
- Policy option 2.1: Setting and promoting the vision for raising the skills of low-skilled workers in England
- Policy option 2.2: Identifying and understanding the learning needs of low-skilled workers, with improved analytics and assessment tools
- Policy option 2.3: Providing tailored guidance and information to low-skilled workers and their employers
- Making basic skills development more accessible to workers and employers in England, United Kingdom (Chapter 3)
- Policy option 3.1: Expanding the provision of basic skills training within workplaces
- Policy option 3.2: Expanding the supply of flexible and non-formal basic skills programmes for low-skilled workers
- Policy option 3.3: Extending training leave entitlements to low-skilled workers in SMEs
- Making basic skills development more relevant for workers and employers in England, United Kingdom (Chapter 4)
- Policy option 4.1: Tailoring basic skills content and programmes to low-skilled workers' vocational contexts
- Policy option 4.2: Strengthening the capacity of further education teachers to deliver flexible and tailored basic skills development programmes
- Policy option 4.3: Using and rewarding workers' basic skills more effectively in workplaces
- References
- Notes
- 2 Raising awareness about workers' basic skills in England, United Kingdom
- The importance of raising awareness about workers' basic skills in England
- Current responsibilities and initiatives for raising awareness in England
- England's performance at raising awareness about workers' basic skills
- England has much potential to demonstrate the benefits of basic skills
- Yet many low-skilled workers seem unaware of the importance of basic skills.
- Employers lack awareness of the importance of raising workers' basic skills
- Policy options for raising awareness about workers' basic skills in England
- Policy option 2.1: Setting and promoting the vision for raising the skills of low-skilled workers in England
- Convene stakeholders to establish England's vision for improving workers' basic skills, as part of a national skills strategy
- Actively promote England's vision for improving workers' basic skills, as part of a broader multimedia campaign
- Policy option 2.2: Identifying and understanding the needs of low-skilled workers, with improved analytics and assessment tools
- Improve data analytics to identify and target workers who are most likely to lack basic skills
- Assess the skills development needs, motivations and barriers of workers likely to have low basic skills
- Policy option 2.3: Providing tailored guidance and information to low-skilled workers and their employers
- References
- Notes
- 3 Making basic skills development accessible to workers and employers in England, United Kingdom
- The importance of accessible basic skills development for workers and employers
- Current responsibilities and initiatives for ensuring accessible basic skills development
- Making basic skills training accessible to workers and employers is a goal shared by multiple departments
- Legal entitlements to basic skills training are fully funded by the Adult Education Budget
- Flexible Learning Fund Pilots sought to explore flexibility in adult skills provision
- England's performance at ensuring the accessibility of basic skills development
- Time-related barriers to participation in basic skills training are significant in England
- Structural factors can leave low-skilled workers with little time for learning.
- Relatively little basic skills training is delivered in workplaces in England
- Policy options for making basic skills development more accessible to workers and employers in England
- Policy option 3.1: Expanding the provision of basic skills training within workplaces to overcome workers' time constraints
- Support Unionlearn in facilitating basic skills training delivery in workplaces
- Expand the role of the public employment service in facilitating delivery of basic skills for workers
- Policy option 3.2: Expanding the supply of flexible basic skills programmes for low-skilled workers
- Make formal basic skills programmes more flexible and accessible to workers
- Support increased provision of non-formal basic skills programmes
- Policy option 3.3: Extending training leave entitlements to low-skilled workers, particularly in SMEs
- Extend training leave entitlements to workers in SMEs who (are likely to) have low basic skill levels
- Provide compensation for employers of low-skilled workers who take training leave, especially SMEs
- References
- Notes
- 4 Making basic skills development more relevant for workers and employers in England, United Kingdom
- The importance of effective and relevant basic skills development for workers and employers
- Current responsibilities and initiatives for ensuring relevant basic skills development
- England's performance at ensuring the effectiveness and relevance of basic skills development
- Basic skills development could be more effective and relevant for workers and employers
- Better utilising and rewarding workers' basic skills could make learning more attractive and impactful
- Policy options for making basic skills development more relevant to workers and employers
- Policy option 4.1: Tailoring basic skills content and programmes to low-skilled workers' vocational contexts.
- Contextualise the basic skills content within vocational qualifications
- Policy option 4.2: Strengthening the capacity of further education teachers to deliver flexible and tailored basic skills
- Strengthen initial training and professional development for further education and skills teachers
- Policy option 4.3: Using and rewarding workers' basic skills more effectively in workplaces, to increase the benefits of training for workers and employers
- Support employers of low-skilled adults to adopt high performance work practices, and provide career progression pathways
- Invest in the management and leadership capabilities of SMEs, to support HPWP and skills use
- References
- Notes
- Annex A. Low-skilled workers and their learning patterns in England, United Kingdom
- Who are England's low-skilled workers?
- More than five million (one in five) working adults in England have low basic skills
- Low basic skills in England are closely tied to adults' socio-economic backgrounds
- Only a small share of low-skilled workers in England are actually low-educated
- Low-skilled workers are quite concentrated in smaller enterprises
- Low-skilled workers are also concentrated in certain sectors and occupations
- Low-skilled workers and employers are not highly engaged in basic skills development
- About half of low-skilled workers in England do not participate in education or training
- Participation in basic skills programmes is declining, in line with broader training trends
- England's employers are not highly engaged in developing the basic skills of workers
- Why is participation and engagement of low-skilled workers and their employers in basic skills so low?
- Low-skilled workers and their employers lack motivation for or face barriers to learning
- The high number of low-skilled jobs in England dampens demand for upskilling.
- Non-standard forms of work may mean lower access to training for low-skilled workers.
