The Adult Education Budget (AEB) plays a key role in the provision of skills programmes for Londoners. Since the delegation of the AEB to the Mayor of London in August 2019, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has been granted some flexibility to align AEB policy and commissioning with local priorities. Some of these changes have been designed to…

Inflation is projected to be much higher than expected at the time of the 2021 Spending Review. This could wipe out up to £850 million of the value of skills funding in England over the next three years, leading to either fewer adults accessing learning or risks to the quality of learning. This Briefing Note addresses what the 2021 Spending Review…

The St Martin's Group commissioned Learning and Work Institute to explore the barriers apprenticeship employers face, what employers can do to help apprentices complete their programmes, and ultimately how 'best outcomes' of apprenticeships are defined by different parties across the system. More than 800 apprenticeship employers were surveyed to…

Employment and skills contexts, opportunities, challenges and starting points vary across England. Employment rates vary significantly between geographic areas and demographic groups, as do qualification levels, and opportunities for growth. All of this means there has been an increasing focus in debate on how to tailor employment and skills…

This resource has been developed for pre-apprenticeship providers who wish to develop and enhance their programme to ensure that young people are equipped with the key skills they need for an apprenticeship and their future career. This resource is divided into the following sections: (1) Transversal and learn to learn skills; (2) Basic skills;…

The future of work is changing, providing opportunities for new careers and novel ways of working. Changes to the world of work will be driven by long-term trends such as technological and demographic change as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future skills requirements will increasingly emphasise interpersonal, higher-order…

People invest £7.3 billion a year and £55 billion worth of time in learning. This is more than the Government and employers invest in learning and skills, but there are stark inequalities between groups. This report provides the most detailed snapshot seen of which groups of adults are investing in learning, and how much, and lays bare stark…

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, low-skilled workers have continued to move around the labour market. Working from home presents a new set of challenges for employees and managers alike. Our new research with the Chartered Management Institute looks at the role of managers in supporting low-skilled workers to thrive in their new workplaces…

Learning and skills contribute to economic growth both directly, by improving the skills base available to employers, and indirectly, by underpinning the five foundations of productivity identified by the government: ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment, and places. This is the case for all levels of learning from basic skills to…

Since Autumn 2021, the United Kingdom has experienced high rates of inflation and stagnant wages. Londoners that have been most affected by this include those not in work, those without qualifications and those in insecure or low-income work. This research, commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA), explored the views of Londoners most…

This guide has been designed as part of a wider project to raise awareness of ways in which English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) learners can benefit from and progress to employment as an apprentice. It also illustrates how a focus on meeting ESOL learners' needs in the workplace can benefit employers and training providers. It is drawn…

Adult education, learning and skills providers are familiar with the longstanding national challenge of poor adult basic skills, and many providers use their Adult Education Budget funding to offer English and math classes for adults. In recent years, there has been a focus on supporting unemployed adults to achieve the good literacy and numeracy…

This report projects Northern Ireland's skills base through to 2030 and compares this to a number of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The report shows that on current trends Northern Ireland will continue to lag many other countries on a number of measures of learning and skills in 2030. These shortfalls can…

The UK entered the deepest recession in history in 2020, following a decade of sluggish growth. Coronavirus restrictions led to a sharp rise in unemployment, vacancies plummeted, and millions were furloughed. The pandemic has also accelerated technological change, with increased digitalisation and firms discovering new ways to harness emerging…

Digital skills will have a crucial role to play in the United Kingdom's (UK's) economy beyond the pandemic, helping to drive growth, productivity and innovation across the rest of the economy whilst building on the UK's status as a world-leader in digital tech. Our research looks at the future of digital skills, based on new large scale surveys of…