The minimum wage has been successful in tackling extreme low pay. Yet despite increases to the wage floor in recent years, we have seen an increase in in-work poverty. The government has committed to increasing the minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over to two thirds of median earnings by 2024. Through doing so, it hopes to end low pay and reduce in-work poverty.

Learning and Work Institute has been working with Carnegie UK Trust to explore the future of the minimum wage. This final report in the programme examines the impact of the minimum wage over the last two decades, and the potential impact of the government’s plan to increase the wage floor on workers, employers and the economy.

The report sets out how a higher minimum wage can be delivered as part of a wider strategy to promote good work and tackle poverty.

Download the report

Explore press coverage

Call to hike National Insurance threshold so bosses can boost workers’ low wages

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20 January 2026

Labour market dashboard

Better work Employment Young people Projects & campaigns

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

Better work Reports & briefings

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

Apprenticeships & technical education Better work Lifelong learning News & articles

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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27 November 2025

Responding to the full year apprenticeships data release

Apprenticeships & technical education Better work News & articles

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

Apprenticeships & technical education Better work Reports & briefings

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

Better work Lifelong learning Reports & briefings

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

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

Better work Lifelong learning News & articles

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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5 November 2025

Investing in skills: International policy insights for the UK

Better work Reports & briefings

This report is the first in a series of three publications supported by the Nuffield Foundation that present the findings from multi-year research into employer investment in upskilling and reskilling in a changing economy.

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5 November 2025

New international case studies reveal how the UK can boost employer investment in skills

Better work News & articles

A study identifying international practice among employers and in public policy could help the UK increase employer investment in training, which has fallen by 30% per employee since 2011.

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