World Class Skills

Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England

On 18 July 2007 the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) launched World Class Skills, the Government’s response to the Leitch Review of Skills (see below.) The report accepts Lord Leitch’s analysis of why skills are so important to the UK’s continuing prosperity and sets out the Government’s long-term ambitions for skills.

World Class Skills represents a hugely significant milestone in the development of the Skills for Life strategy, with the ambition that 95% of adults in England will, as a minimum, achieve ‘functional’ literacy and numeracy skills by 2020. (‘Functional’ is defined as Level 1 for literacy and Entry Level 3 for numeracy.) As well as demonstrating the Government’s ongoing commitment to Skills for Life, this new ambition enables colleges and providers to plan for the future by investing in teaching staff, facilities and resources, with the knowledge that Skills for Life will remain a top priority for Government in the medium to long term.

The implications of World Class Skills for colleagues working in the Skills for Life sector will be discussed at the national Skills for Life conferences in November. (Please check the news section of this website for updates on the conferences.)

For more information, please click here.

To view and download the World Class Skills report, please click here.

The Leitch Report

Prosperity for all in the Global Economy: World Class Skills

Lord Leitch published his final report on Tuesday 5 December 2006. 'Prosperity for all in the Global Economy: World Class Skills' examines the UK's long-term skills needs. It sets out ambitious goals for 2020 which, if achieved, would make the UK a world leader in skills. The report recommends and sets out a far-reaching reform agenda, much of which will have implications for those of us working in Skills for Life.

The Review recommends that the UK commit to becoming a world leader in skills by 2020, benchmarked against the upper quartile of the OECD. This means doubling attainment at most levels. Stretching objectives for 2020 include:

• 95 per cent of adults to achieve the basic skills of functional literacy and numeracy, an increase from levels of 85 per cent literacy and 79 per cent numeracy in 2005;

• exceeding 90 per cent of adults qualified to at least Level 2, an increase from 69 per cent in 2005; and a commitment to go further and achieve 95 per cent as soon as possible;

• shifting the balance of intermediate skills from Level 2 to Level 3. Improving the esteem, quantity and quality of intermediate skills. This means 1.9 million additional Level 3 attainments over the period and boosting the number of Apprentices to 500,000 a year;

• exceeding 40 per cent of adults qualified to Level 4 and above, up from 29 per cent in 2005, with a commitment to continue progression.

For further information on the report's analysis and recommendations, see below. 

To read the full press notice, click here.

For more background on the Leitch Review, click here.

To download the whole report in PDF format, click here.

If you have any comments or enquiries, you can email the Leitch Review Team by clicking here.