This report presents findings from nine international case studies of policies and approaches to incentivising and supporting employer investment in skills and training. It outlines key learning from these case studies and identifies potential routes for transferring initiatives to the four nations of the UK, where employer investment in training has fallen by 30% per employee since 2011.
The report is accompanied by an online interactive framework for quick identification of key findings and comparison between countries.
The report identifies that success in international approaches is most evident where policies or approaches:
- Are made and delivered in true partnership with stable, multi-year funding
- Embed employers as co-designers, supported by trusted intermediaries
- Integrate equity and inclusion into governance, funding, and delivery
- Offer modular, flexible provision aligned to sectoral and regional needs
- Simplify access for SMEs through consortia models and reduced bureaucracy
- Maintain strategic system integration to avoid duplication and policy drift.
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Learning and Work Institute and the Universities of Strathclyde and Ulster are working together to explore how UK employers make decisions about training, and how employees are responding to the need to upskill and retrain in a transitioning economy. This is a multi-year project, due to be completed in May 2026.
