England (United Kingdom) has faced a slowdown in labour productivity growth in recent years and has a relatively high level of income inequality. Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis hit vulnerable groups more strongly, exacerbating pre-existing inequalities. England has long recognised that a skilled workforce is essential to overcome its economic challenges. In particular, ensuring workers possess strong basic skills (see Chapter 1 for the definitions of basic skills) can lay the foundation for them to develop more advanced and vocational skills, increase their job quality and effectively respond to changes in the labour market. Recognising this, England has implemented an impressive set of measures aimed at helping workers upskill: the National Skills Fund which is integrating the National Retraining Scheme (and Career Learning Pilots and the Flexible Learning Fund, to inform the design of future skills provision), the reformed Functional Skills and new essential digital skills qualifications and basic skills entitlements, to name a few.
This report explores how England could raise the basic skills of workers. Currently, many low-skilled adults and their employers lack motivation to engage in learning. This report analyses the reasons for this, lays out England’s key initiatives to address these factors, and provides England with good practice examples and recommendations to help overcome these obstacles. The analysis is based on an assessment of workers’ skills and learning patterns according to the 2012 OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and national data, evidence about basic skills policies across OECD countries, responses from the English Department for Education to an OECD questionnaire, bilateral interviews with various stakeholders and an expert workshop in England (see Annex B for details).