The government wishes to encourage a culture of lifelong learning and development of skills matched to the perceived future needs of the labour market. Traditionally governments have sought to intervene in the labour market through focusing on supply issues. Emphasis is placed on more and more young people achieving higher level qualifications. The underlying assumption was that ‘boosting the supply of skilled and educated employees will, of itself, act as a catalyst for economic change and enhanced productivity and competitiveness’ (Keep and Mayhew, 1999, p. 9). However, creating a high-skill economy also requires firms to support the development of employees.

A 'high skills society' as just one future scenario

This section maps three alternative scenarios for national skill development.

'High skills' sectors

If we are sceptical of realising a ‘high skills’ society in the near future, what are the prospects for organisations adopting ‘high skills’ approaches to people development in at least some sectors?

Work process knowledge

Where employees possess work process knowledge there is a greater likelihood that they will be able to solve problems at work and generally help improve organisational performance.