England's most widely used indicator of young people's education and labour market status is the NEET category - 'not in education, employment or training'. Making comparisons with how France and Germany measure school leavers' progression and achievement, Hilary Steedman argues that NEET is no...

"The main proposals in this paper have a highly focussed aim: to prevent the continuation in Britain of an increasingly depressed group of under-skilled workers. The main intention is to ensure that all 16-19 year olds and as many adults as possible achieve at least Level 2 qualifications. For...

In spite of progress in improving skills levels over the past decade, Britain still lags far behind many of its main competitors in key areas. Andy Green and Hilary Steedman report on the results of work carried out at the CEP as part of the Skills Audit. Governments increasingly access the...

Referring to issues raised by recent reforms and future expansion of apprenticeship, this report reveals the consequences serious skills shortages have on the economy as a whole. It calls for radical improvements to the provision of apprenticeship training in Britain in order to close the skills...

This Annex contains the technical work which underpins Into the 21st Century. It describes in detail the assessment procedures and qualifications offered in France, Germany, Singapore and USA compared to the UK.

Forward by Sir Roy Gardner (Chairman, Compass Group plc; Chairman, Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network) August 2010: I am pleased to commend this report, commissioned by the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network, of which I am Chairman. The Network is a group of senior business leaders committed to...

Charles Clarke has recently described England as having "a weak offer for those who want a vocational orientation to their studies." This discussion paper analyzes the weaknesses of vocational education in this country and suggests how to remedy them. <br><br> Vocational education should be about...

Hilary Steedman finds that the provision of apprenticeships in the UK lags behind other countries

This paper contrasts the approach to the measurement of stocks of education that is adopted by growth economists on the one hand and governments wishing to improve economic performance through education on the other. It it pointed out progress to date in demonstrating the link between human...

This paper reports an investigation into the importance of basic skills in literacy and numeracy in the promotion of success on intermediate vocational courses at age 16+. Two measures of attainment in literacy and numeracy are examined; GCSE passes in English and Mathematics analysed by grade...