The UK’s skills base has long lagged that of comparator countries and over the last decade the rate of improvement in the UK’s skills base has stalled. This is the result of cuts in public funding for adult skills, alongside falling employer investment in skills.
Our new report shows that as a result the UK is likely to fall further back in the international league tables by 2030. The UK is poised to:
- Fall from 4th to 6th of the G7 countries for low skills
- Remain 5th for intermediate qualifications
- Remain 4th for higher qualifications.
We have set out a higher ambition for the UK which would involve making sure more people have functional literacy and numeracy and intermediate qualifications. This would boost our economy by £20 billion a year and help another 200,000 people into work. It would require extra investment of £1.9 billion a year, and reversing the falls in the number of adults improving their skills each year seen since 2010.
3 November 2026
The road to net zero: How far have we come?
Commissioned by NOCN Group, this report finds that the number of people being trained in green skills and jobs is rising. However, current training uptake, qualification pathways and workforce readiness still fall short of what’s required to reach net zero.
3 November 2026
UK risks missing Net Zero target owing to shortages of skills and workers
New L&W research, commissioned by NOCN Group, reveals key sectors for decarbonisation lack the workers and skills for the UK to reach Net Zero by 2050.
2 November 2026
Thirty years of learning: change without progress? Adult Participation in Learning Survey 2026
For 30 years, the Adult Participation in Learning Survey has provided a unique insight into adult learning across the UK. It adopts a deliberately broad definition of learning. Discover our findings from 2026.
2 November 2026
Adults’ interest in learning is undimmed – but class inequalities mean three million lost learners
The UK’s longest-running survey of adult learning marks its 30th year with the finding that just 2 in 5 adults (43%) have engaged in learning in the last three years – a figure barely improved since 1996 (40%).
2 November 2026
Adult Participation in Learning Survey
Our survey series, which began in 1996, provides a unique overview of how many adults take part in learning, their reasons for doing so or not doing so, and how this varies by group and area.
28 October 2026
Responding to Autumn Budget 2026
Learning and Work Institute Chief Executive Stephen Evans responds to the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026.
28 October 2026
Tax bills and investment in skills: How can tax relief on training better support UK engineering and manufacturing?
A new Skills Tax Credit could unlock £2.2 billion of additional investment in skills according, to new research commissioned by Enginuity and produced by Learning and Work Institute.
28 October 2026
A Skills Tax Credit for businesses could unlock £2.2 billion skills boost, including in sectors key to growth
Research from Learning and Work Institute (L&W) published today alongside the autumn budget finds that a Skills Tax Credit could produce a £2.2 billion boost to skills across the economy by incentivising more employer investment in training.
22 September 2026
Building an AI-ready workforce: Creating a skills system that prepares UK knowledge workers for the AI transition
AI has transformative potential for the UK economy and could present a net uplift to productivity of up to £80 billion by 2035. Yet the UK workforce does not – yet – have the skills to successfully adopt and scale AI technologies in a truly transformative way.
