Progression in Employment: A brief overview of policy options and evidence

The Progression in Employment project

The Progression in Employment project, of which this paper forms a part, is designed to capture evidence and insights on developing and implementing upskilling pathways for low-skilled adults. The project aims to identify effective employer practice in supporting the in-work progression of adults in low-skilled and low-paid work, and to share the learning from this practice with employers through the creation of an employer toolkit and a range of dissemination activities.

This paper provides an outline of why in-work progression is of increasing importance in public policy, the levers and approaches available to policymakers to facilitate in-work progression, and a short summary of the current evidence on what works. The paper also provides some suggestions on ways forward.

This report is published by IES with the support of J.P. Morgan under their global New Skills at Work initiative.