Blog posts for tags:skills gap, Functional and Key Skills

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Survey reveals significant skills gap

By , Thursday 18 February 2016

The results of the UK Employer Skills Survey 2015 were recently published, shedding light on the extent of the skills gap the UK is currently facing – a quarter of vacancies are unfilled due to a shortage of people with the required skills. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) survey reveals how significant the nation’s skills gap is, which is surprising given the still problematic levels of unemployment in the UK. Over 90,000 employers were surveyed, highlighting the widespread nature of the problem.

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Tackling the skills gap

By , Tuesday 22 September 2015

It was recently announced that most graduates are in non-graduate jobs, a statistic that has raised further awareness of the skills gap crisis the UK is facing. Many recent reports have backed this up; a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) study showed the UK has the worst-equipped school leavers when it comes to essential employment skills, particularly in regards to careers in business.

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Supporting adult learners

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Wednesday 10 December 2014

David Grailey

It’s worrying to see that the number of adults in Further Education has dropped considerably due to this demographic now having to self-fund their education and training through borrowing and loans. The number of over-19s in FE fell by over 10% between 2012-13 and 2013-14, according to recent figures published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

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Upskilling our workforce

By , Wednesday 26 November 2014

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is encouraging businesses across the UK to invest in workplace training after their Workforce Survey 2014 highlighted that 92% of businesses acknowledged a skills gap in at least one critical area of the organisation. The most common skill shortages include leadership and management, organisation and planning, and computer literacy. By upskilling staff in these key areas, organisations can make their workforce more efficient and productive.

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It’s all in the balance

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Wednesday 12 November 2014

David Grailey

It was great to read earlier this year that parents want to see more practical teaching in schools. To mark its 10th anniversary, the Edge Foundation surveyed over 1,000 parents of secondary aged children to get their views about vocational education. I am pleased to say that there was majority support from the sample with most agreeing that technical degrees combining academic and vocational study are of equal value to traditional academic subjects.

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Diagnosing dementia

By , Wednesday 12 November 2014

The NHS has recently focused more of its attention on the diagnosis of dementia in an effort to tackle the number of people in the UK living with the disease undiagnosed, thought to be around 90,000. More worrying, it’s estimated less than half of the 800,000 people in the UK likely to be suffering from dementia have been formally diagnosed.

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Policy Corner - 9 October 2014

By Andrew Gladstone-Heighton, Policy Leader, Tuesday 07 October 2014

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

More than one angle on GCSE grading (p7) Last week saw the announcement of the new GCSE grading system, which will support the introduction of new qualifications starting in 2015. The current A to G scale will be replaced with a 9-1 numerical system, with grade 4 being equivalent to a grade C, grade 7 to a grade A and the new ‘uber-grade’ 9 given to strictly controlled group of top performers.

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Changing attitudes towards maths

By , Tuesday 18 March 2014

The Welsh government have suggested that parents need to change their negative attitude towards mathematics in order to encourage their children to not only pursue the subject, but to realise its true value and ensure they excel in it. A poll commissioned by the Welsh government showed that 29% of parents admitted to making negative comments about maths in front of their children, such as “don’t ask me to do maths, I’m rubbish at it.”

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UK skills shortages

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Thursday 30 January 2014

Lindsay Plumpton

It’s been reported that shortages of skills in the UK might prevent businesses from being able to take advantage of the economic recovery. Having surveyed 91,000 employers, The UK Commission for Employment and Skills found that more than one in 5 vacancies were due to a poor skills base in potential employees. The problem of inadequate skills, qualifications or experience is worse in some sectors than others, with construction, plumbing and Health and Social Care being some of the areas affected.

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An insight into employment statistics: The McKinsey report

By Nicola Hughes, Communications Leader, Thursday 23 January 2014

Nicola Hughes

At first glance the ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures for employment, covering the last three months, are encouraging, showing a drop of 39,000 in the number of 16 – 24 year olds out of work in the UK. However if we look at the figures for the last twelve months they have in fact risen from 894,000 to 902,000. Meanwhile, McKinsey & Company’s recently published report Education to employment: Getting Europe’s youth into work (January 2014) claims that youth unemployment is nothing new and has been as high as triple the rate of general unemployment in Europe for the last 20 years.  

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