UKCES

The 'Ambition 2020' Report is the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ first annual assessment of the progress towards making the UK a world leader in employment and skills by 2020. It monitors progress on our World Class Skills and Jobs Ambition and against our international competitors in the context of (i) the ‘Leitch’ Ambition for 2020; and (ii) the aims and priorities for the four nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It seeks to provide a sound evidence base for advice on strategies, policies and measures needed to increase skills, employment and productivity. This first report also provides a baseline from which to assess future progress.

Whilst our focus is on the long-term challenge and opportunities that we need to address, we have prepared this report against the immediate background of a sudden and sharp recession. Employment is falling and unemployment is rising. The near term prospects for many individuals and businesses are grim. But we must not only work to survive the recession, but to thrive in the subsequent recovery and beyond. We need to prepare for a renewed economy and develop a talented workforce equipped with the skills a successful economy needs to grow and prosper. To create the successful businesses, and the sustainable jobs of the future, we need to invest now in our people.

Our ambition is to be World Class in skills, jobs and productivity. We believe this means being one of the best eight countries in the world. This will be our benchmark.

We first set out the economic performance agenda, the high level outcomes which we seek to influence primarily: productivity, jobs and income equality and how we compare on these measures of success against other leading countries, before considering both the effect of recessionary conditions and the contribution of skills to improving economic performance. Next, we set out our ambition for the UK to achieve World Class skills and jobs by 2020 as articulated in the Leitch Review and the responses in each of the four nations.

We then go on to examine the UK's progress towards attaining the ambition to become a world leader by 2020. We define this being in the top eight countries in the world at every skill level and in terms of jobs and we assess the likely attainment of this ambition by 2020. We then consider other measures of skills development, in particular, training.

We then move on to look at the 'demand' side of the agenda: the jobs in the economy, how these have been changing and how they are likely to change in the future, as it is essential that the development of skills connects to the evolution of skill requirements. We also examine the characteristics of those not in work and the prospects for jobs and skills in the current recession.

If you would like to receive a hard copy please email ukces@prolog.uk.com quoting the full report title, the reference number 00493-2009BKT-EN and a full postal address. Copies will be distributed free of charge whilst stocks last. Please note there is a five copy limit per person.