On 23 February 2005, the government published its education and skills white paper [1], outlining new reforms of education for those aged 14-19 in England. The proposals follow in the wake of recommendations put forward in 2004 by the former chief inspector of schools, Sir Mike Tomlinson, and are
On 10 May 2004, the UK’s Labour government announced new reforms to apprenticeships, which include dropping the term 'modern' from existing Modern Apprenticeship programmes (UK0210105F [1]) and extending the scheme to young people aged between 14 and 16 and adults over 25. The changes follow
On 15 March 2004, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that the adult rate of the national minimum wage (NMW) will be increased from GBP 4.50 to GBP 4.85 per hour, and that the 'development rate' for 18-21 year olds will rise from GBP 3.80 to GBP 4.10. A minimum wage of GBP 3.00 per
On 8 July 2003, the UK's Labour Party government published its latest white paper on skills. The white paper, entitled 21st century skills: realising our potential [1], sets out an England-wide strategy for improving the skills and productivity of the workforce. As such, it aims to tackle what it
In September 2002, the UK’s Labour Party government launched a new pilot programme aimed at testing a common policy model for supporting the training of workers with low skills. The 'employer training pilots' (ETPs) will operate in six areas of England until at least August 2003. The pilots are
The Labour Party government is in the process of building a new UK-wide network of 'sector skills councils' (SSCs) that are intended to provide employers with a central role in tackling the UK’s well-documented skills and productivity 'gaps' relative to its major competitors (UK0011197N [1] and
In 2002, the Labour Party government is in the process of implementing the main recommendations of the report of the Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee (MAAC) published in September 2001. The report, entitled Modern apprenticeships: the way to work [1], outlines plans for the revitalisation of
On 9 March 2002, a conference organised by the Unions 21 network drew together an audience of trade unionists, policy-makers and researchers to discuss the challenges and opportunities currently facing the British labour movement. Launched in 1993, Unions 21 [1] is associated with the 'modernising
The UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is to undergo a radical and controversial overhaul that looks set to give leading business executives a key role in the formulation of strategy.
Since the late 1970s, UK policy-makers have repeatedly stressed the key role played by effective vocational education and training (VET) in securing national economic competitiveness. Problems of weak economic performance have been defined as problems of poor skills supply, linked to the under