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Theme : skills
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ESRC Future of Work Programme: Skills and Innovation
Robert Taylor argues that skills alone aren't enough: regulation is required to move to a high skills/wage economy. Suggests a higher minimum wage, more empowered unions, tax incentives and and the creative use of public-sector purchasing.
Argues that there are many people overqualified/underused in their jobs, who consequently are are unsatisfied with work and feel no affinity/loyalty to their employers.
from : duncanoleary
17th August 2006
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Sufficing - or not
There are lots of different ways to make money in the same market – high value added and low value added products for example. The government in the wants the UK to move towards becoming a high value added economy – high skilled people employed, high wages paid. Everyone wins, don't they?
from : duncanoleary
14th August 2006
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Futureskills Scotland: International comparative studt
Really interesting. Finds that:
"Scotland's labour quality stands favourable comparison with the world's best performing economies. In contrast, the quality of demand is not sufficient to employ the available labour. In the first instance, therefore, the quality of human capital is not a leading cause of Scotland's relatively low ranking in the economic performance league tables."
i.e. shape of the labour market, not shortage of human capital the problem.
from : duncanoleary
2nd August 2006
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Life skills key to tackling social exclusion and homelessness
Life skills key to tackling social exclusion and homelessness
from : mollywebb
1st August 2006
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David Willets on FE White Paper
"The most telling section of the [Foster] report was, as so often, hidden away in the appendices. Appendix 2 gives an outline of further education systems abroad. The US, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia thrive on greater autonomy and a streamlined accreditation system.
"The white paper's relative neglect of the over-25s is tantamount to ageism"
from : duncanoleary
18th July 2006
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Geoff Mason report on relationship between high skills and high value added product strategies (pdf)
Finds that there is a link between: (1) high skills and high value added product strategies, and (2) exposure to competition and high value added product strategies. Suggests that this means employers in some sectors will be resistent to moving up the value chain.
from : duncanoleary
13th July 2006
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Study of training of exercise to music instructors (pdf)
Finds that 'training' can lead to different outcomes - including disempowering the people involved if it is too reductive. Argues that training can either
expands horizons and develops abilities or simply train to conform and follow scripts written by others.
from : duncanoleary
13th July 2006
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ESRC study: on vocational learning for low-achieving school leavers (pdf)
Shows that acquiring vocational skills dramatically enhances chances of employment. But has much less of an effect on bringing wages up to the level of others with equivalent qualifications.
from : duncanoleary
13th July 2006
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Nick Pearce: Qualifications must be about learning something new
Article by Nick Pearce: he argues (1) the failure of NVQs is to ignore learning in favour of accrediting what people already know, (2) we need to clarify what a 'demand-led' system actually means
from : duncanoleary
13th July 2006
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Graduate glut devalues price of a degree - Britain - Times Online
Report on book by Phillip Brown and Anthony Hesketh arguing that we have an oversupply of graduates
from : duncanoleary
13th July 2006
