Selected Issues Papers

Upskilling the UK Workforce: United Kingdom

Author/Editor:

Pragyan Deb ; Gloria Li

Publication Date:

July 24, 2024

Electronic Access:

Free Download. Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file

Summary:

The UK workforce has larger and more chronic skills gaps than in most peer countries, with surveys reporting widespread recruitment difficulties, with implications for output, in high-skill sectors like digital and software, manufacturing, medicine and life sciences, teaching, and construction. This partly reflects declines in primary and post-secondary education outcomes (particularly science scores, over the past two decades) and in workplace training and apprenticeships, particularly for the young. Moreover, the recent increase in non-EU migrants has not fully offset the adverse impact from Brexit on the availability of needed skills, including because smaller firms face more recruitment hurdles with regard to non-EU hires. Against this backdrop, there is an urgent need to upskill the UK workforce, both by building on ongoing efforts, as well as additional concrete measures to: (i) encourage students and young workers to join and excel in STEM; (ii) ensure adequate vocational and on the job training, particularly for the young; (iii) retain the talent produced by UKs world leading universities; (iv) upskill the existing labor force; and (v) facilitate attraction and retention of in-demand skills through adjustments to the visa regime.

Series:

Selected Issues Paper No. 2024/030

Subject:

Aging Economic sectors Education Education spending Expenditure Job training Labor Labor force Labor markets Manufacturing Migration Population and demographics

Frequency:

Regular