3.2 Intermediate and higher level skills

Globalisation and the knowledge economy have also expanded the need for a more highly trained workforce. 

How does the UK perform?

The UK’s deficit in vocational qualifications is clear when compared with our main competitors.  The Skills Audit[1] shows that despite improvements over the period 1994 to 1998, the UK still some way behind Germany and France in terms of the percentage of the workforce with level 2 and above vocational qualifications (Chart 3.2.1).  The UK has one-third fewer people qualified to level 2 than either France or Germany and only half as many people qualified to level 3 or above than Germany. 

Although the proportion of 19 and 21 year-olds holding level 2 and level 3 qualifications has been increasing, further progress needs to be made if the Targets are to be met.(Chart 3.2.2).

However, while the UK under-performs in attaining qualifications, there is some evidence that UK young people are relatively successful in utilising their knowledge and skills in meeting real-life challenges. The Programme for International Study Assessment found that the UK’s performance was significantly above the OECD average in all three of the subjects covered – reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy (chart 3.2.3).