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This section includes publications from the UK Commission, a collection of collaborative outputs and the archive of SSDA publications.
Advice papers
Customer Journey - The complexity of handoffs along the journey into employment and learning
14 Jun 2010
This paper is the first in a series for the ‘Customer Journey’ project, which is looking at the journey into work and progression, and presents findings and recommendations on one of five strands of the project, referrals. The transition from one agency to the another, for example from Jobcentre Plus to DWP contracted provision or to college provision, are a key part of the customer's journey as it has long been recognised that no one agency can provide an "end to end" service for every single client. However, referrals and transition points more generally are also a potential problem point for the customer journey.
Developing Leadership and Management Skills through Employer Networks - Report
9 Aug 2010
In Towards Ambition 2020: Skills, Jobs, Growth the UK Commission recommended that the development of effective leadership and management in small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs) should be a stronger priority for Government business support programmes – with an enhanced focus on effective human capital development to improve their capability to develop their workforce in support of business goals.
Employability Challenge - Executive Summary
23 Feb 2009
The UK Commission believes that a central part of what all publicly-funded training should do is to develop the ability to use knowledge and skills in the workplace effectively. Many learning providers already do help learners develop employability skills. Many, however either neglect to teach employability skills or, for funding or capacity reasons, find it difficult to develop them.
Employability Challenge - Full Report
23 Feb 2009
The UK Commission believes that a central part of what all publicly-funded training should do is to develop the ability to use knowledge and skills in the workplace effectively. Many learning providers already do help learners develop employability skills. Many, however either neglect to teach employability skills or, for funding or capacity reasons, find it difficult to develop them.
Employability: Incentivising Improvement
7 Jun 2010
This report builds on the UK Commission’s 2009 report ‘The Employability Challenge’ and examines how we incentivise the effective development of employability skills by using some of the key levers at our disposal: practitioner training, assessment and funding. The report is wide in scope; employability skills themselves cover a broad range of skills and attributes and our investigation covers England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It also considers a range of settings – further education, higher education, 14-19 and provision to support people from welfare into work.
Helping Government Achieve Impact: April 2008 to March 2010
3 May 2010
In this publication the UK Commission for Employment and Skills sets out what it has achieved in its first two years of existence, from April 2008 to March 2010.
Helping individuals succeed: Transforming career guidance
3 Aug 2011
Good career guidance has the potential to raise aspirations and broaden horizons. This report identifies the characteristics of effective career guidance, the role of new technologies in enhancing this and the part that government and national agencies might play in securing greater quality and impact from the public investment in career services.
Progression from Vocational And Applied Learning to Higher Education across the UK
9 Jun 2010
The UK Commission asked the Universities Vocational Awards Council (UVAC) to build on work they carried out for the Westminster government looking at progression routes to higher level skills provision in England for those with applied and vocational qualifications. We asked UVAC to extend its work to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and present a picture of progression for the whole of the UK. The purpose of this study was to provide examples of good practice, to contrast policy and operational approaches, to identify issues that could be considered on a UK basis and to make recommendations to maximise progression opportunities for applied
Review of Employment and Skills
11 Apr 2011
This Review identifies where and how joint working between the employment and skills systems provide an opportunity to maximise the outcomes for individuals and employers.
Scottish Review of Employment and Skills
16 Jul 2011
This Review, which specifically looks at the Scottish system, identifies where and how joint working between the employment and skills systems provide an opportunity to maximise the outcomes for individuals and employers.
Simplification of Skills in England
1 Oct 2008
Talking to employers working with the post-compulsory training and skills system makes it clear that any serious approach to simplification must really address all of these problems if employer complaints are to be significantly reduced or eliminated.
Simplification of Skills in England - an interim assessment of progress on implementing the recommendations
2 Sep 2009
An interim report examining the progress made into the implementation of the Phase 1 recommendations made in the Simplification of Skills report published in October 2008.
Simplification: Hiding the Wiring
7 Dec 2009
This report follows on from the interim report published in July 2009. It reports on the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations made in the UK Commission’s initial report into the simplification of the skills system published in October 2008.
Wales Report - Review of Employment and Skills
16 Jul 2011
This self assessment report identifies where and how joint working between the employment and skills systems in Wales provide an opportunity to maximise the outcomes for individuals and employers in the delivery of the new policy agenda.
What’s the deal? The employer voice in the employment and skills system
3 Aug 2010
It is widely accepted that we need to create a demand-led employment and skills system where employers are empowered to shape the system through their purchasing choices: ‘employer choice’. However, ‘employer voice’ still has an important role to play. Employers use many different channels to influence the system, but are often frustrated by the pace of change and the level of impact they are able to make.
Youth Inquiry
22 Mar 2011
The UK Commission’s inquiry into youth unemployment was driven by Commissioners’ concerns about rising youth unemployment and a desire from our joint sponsor, the Department for Work and Pensions to assess how government initiatives introduced to alleviate the situation were working for employers. The Inquiry sought to answer three questions: Who and where are the young unemployed? What are employers’ experiences with government support to recruit young people? What works from the employer perspective in recruiting young people?
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