institute for employment studies

public policy research

Learning and skills

The knowledge and skills that people possess directly influence their life chances. Although there are questions about the extent to which qualifications (vocational or academic) adequately capture people’s aptitude and capability there is overwhelming evidence that better qualified individuals are the stronger their chances of living longer healthier lives and/or contributing productively in a well-paid job.

The relationship between the education and training system and the labour market, the changing demand for skills and the routes and careers that people chart through an increasingly complicated labour market increasingly occupy the attention of public employment policy-makers and researchers are key aspects of current employment policy. They are also reflected in the Institute’s extensive portfolio of work on learning and skills for clients such as the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Business Innovation Skills (BIS), and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) as well as local and sectoral education and skills bodies.

Our work spans all aspects of education and training from when young people first start to prepare for their labour market future in their early teens, through post-16 and tertiary education and training, to learning at work and in the wider community and beyond.

This area of our work has these subthemes:

• young people and the labour market
• vocational education and training
• higher education and the graduate labour market
• careers information, advice and guidance
• the supply of and demand for skills

Key contacts for learning and skills:

• email Jim Hillage or call +44(0)1273 763 427
• email Annette Cox or call +44(0)1273 763 413