Wednesday 19 April 2017

UK Currently In Skills Crisis As Young Workers Struggle With Reading And Maths

skill

Britain is facing a severe skills shortage as poor education at schools followed by weak training for adults has left young workers struggling to meet basic standards for reading and maths.

Almost every other developed country has had more success in building a skilled workforce, leaving the UK economy at risk of falling behind, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD)

Its analysis found that England and Northern Ireland rank in the bottom four OECD countries for literacy and numeracy among 16-24 year olds, while employers invest less in skills than most other EU countries.

Britain is facing a severe skills shortage as poor education at schools followed by weak training for adults has left young workers struggling to meet basic standards for reading and maths.

Almost every other developed country has had more success in building a skilled workforce, leaving the UK economy at risk of falling behind, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD)

Its analysis found that England and Northern Ireland rank in the bottom four OECD countries for literacy and numeracy among 16-24 year olds, while employers invest less in skills than most other EU countries.

“An ageing population and the need to work longer combined with rapid technological change and automation will require the workforce to continually update their skills to adapt to changing needs,” the report said.

“There is an institutional gap in addressing the training and development needs of workers outside the current vocational education system. This needs to be addressed.”

It comes after business groups urged the Government to focus the industrial strategy on improving productivity, particularly in the UK's poorest areas, with the aim of reducing inequality and boosting living standards.

The Confederation of British Industry called for a greater focus on skills as a crucial step to “fix the foundations” of the economy.

Manufacturing group the EEF warned that almost three-quarters of its firms are concerned that it is difficult to find workers with the necessary skills, which risks holding back economic growth.

Robert Halfon, the minister of state for skills, said the government "has been honest about the skills shortage we are facing".

“We have introduced the apprenticeship levy which will generate £2.5bn of investment in apprenticeship training by 2020," he said.

"In 2019 we will begin to roll out 15 high quality technical education routes and have committed to investing an extra half a billion pounds a year into technical education. In addition, we have invested £170m into Institutes of Technology and £80m on National Colleges.

“These measures will improve national prosperity and encourage people to climb the ladder of opportunity.”


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