Our joint webinar with City and Guilds and NOCN explored new of the current state of skills in the UK, how we compare internationally, and why we need to set a higher ambition for skills.

‘The great skills divide’ is the first report in our Ambition Skills programme, which is exploring the economic and social case for the UK to have a higher skills ambition, what this would look like, and the key policy and investment changes needed to achieve it.

Speakers:

  • Stephen Evans, Chief Executive, Learning and Work Institute
  • Faiza Khan MBE, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs & Foundation, City & Guilds
  • Charlotte Horobin, Chief Executive Officer, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce

20 January 2026

Labour market dashboard

Every month, Learning and Work Institute produces detailed and timely analysis of the latest labour market statistics from ONS. Explore our interactive charts.

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24 December 2025

Falling short: Understanding further falls in employer training

This briefing looks at how employer investment in training continues to fall – now down 36% per employee since 2005 – and argues that we must turn this around to improve economic growth.

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22 December 2025

From confusion to clarity: rethinking England’s 670 occupational standards

L&W’s Stephen Evans and Pearson’s Donna Ford-Clarke reflect on findings from our recent research on England’s occupational standards – of which there are now more than double the number in countries like Germany and Switzerland.

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8 December 2025

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal meets London learners at an event for adults’ access to essential skills learning

On Wednesday 3 December, Learning and Work Institute was delighted to welcome their patron, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to an event in London about essential skills for learning and life, like literacy, numeracy and digital.

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27 November 2025

Responding to the full year apprenticeships data release

Learning and Work Institute’s Deputy Head of Research Dr Corin Egglestone responds to the full year apprenticeships data released on 27 November 2025.

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18 November 2025

Responding to higher technical skills needs

Supported by Gatsby Charitable Foundation, this report explores employer and employee decision making about training and the development of higher technical skills.

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7 November 2025

No train no gain

This research, supported by Multiverse, finds that access to training is a boon for people’s pay and careers. The training dividend is greatest for those on the lower rungs of the occupational ladder, helping them go further, faster.

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7 November 2025

Spotlight on Newport: Place within a Place

Ufi VocTech Trust, in partnership with Adult Learning Wales, Newport City Council and Learning and Work Institute, have launched an innovative place-based collaboration to integrate education and skills development opportunities within the communities of East Newport.

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7 November 2025

Working class people paid more when they get training from their employer

Experts are calling on the Government to do more to get employers investing in training, as research reveals it’s a “boon for people’s pay and careers” – particularly for working class people.

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