Employability Skills Development in the United Kingdom.

Overview & Synopsis

For the last 15 years, a series of policy initiatives have advocated for development of employability skills by young and unemployed people in the United Kingdom. The call for these employability skills has been championed by these two distinct but related movements: the Key Skills Development Movement (KSDM) and the Enterprising Skills Development/Education Movement (ESD/EM). Action research and advocacy work regarding employability have been championed by organizations that have brokered and supported collaboration between business and education. They have allocated some of their own resources to this objective and acquired contracts with government to champion such related movements as education-industry links, enterprise education, and employability skills. A previous and now re-emerging alliance between the Departments of Trade and Industry and Education and Skills--now reinforced by the strong interest of Treasury--has made this possible. The future of employability skills in vocational education for young people and unemployed adults is bright because the integration of the wider key skills and a culture of enterprise are seen as equally relevant to employability and community regeneration by various key ministers and departments. (YLB)