Levelling up skills and prosperity

The UK has reached record high employment, but big challenges remain. Not all communities have  from the growth, and too many people are still not able to achieve their potential in learning and work. In recent years we have seen radical reform to skills and employment policy, and in the coming decade, we will see transformational change in the world of work.

With a new government committed to levelling up skills and prosperity across the UK, the Employment and Skills Convention 2020 will explore the challenges and opportunities we face.

Future of work and skills

Over the next decade we will see transformative change in the labour market, driven by powerful trends from automation and an ageing society, to changing international trade relationships. The nature of work and the skills needs of employers at the end of the 2020s will look very different from the start of the decade. We will examine how the world of work is changing, and how employment and skills services need to respond so that everyone can be supported to thrive.

Levelling up prosperity

Growth over the last decade has not been equally shared across the country. While London and major cities have boomed, many parts of the country have felt left behind. There has been some recent progress in devolution, with local areas given additional powers and funding to drive inclusive growth, and the new government has committed to levelling up skills and pay across the country. We will explore how place-based approaches to employment and skills services could help drive prosperity across the country.

Good work and progression

We have seen remarkable employment growth in recent years, with the number of people in work reaching a record high. Yet too many people are stuck in poor quality work, facing insecurity, in-work poverty, and limited opportunities for progression. We will discuss how we can build on our record employment rate to ensure that everyone has access to good work.

Full employment and access to work

While there are more people in work today than ever before, far too many people remain locked out of work. The disability employment gap remains stubbornly persistent, and some areas of the UK still suffer from high levels of unemployment and inactivity. We will explore what else can be done at a national and local level to make full employment a reality.

Technical education and apprenticeships

A high-quality technical education system is vital to meeting employer skills needs and to helping people access high-skill, high-pay jobs. The government has pioneered major reforms to the technical education system, with the introduction of the apprenticeship levy three years ago and the roll-out of T Levels from September. We will examine the impact of the recent reforms and consider what we need to do to build a world-class technical education system.

The convention attracts delegates from central and local government, from employment and skills providers, the third sector, and other stakeholders and policy experts. We welcome anyone interested in the future of the employment and skills sector.

Programme or EOI section