Up-skilling the middle

Professor Anna Vignoles looks at skills policy in her report to the Commission on Living Standards. She examines what skills policy can do to help those on low to middle incomes boost their earnings potential. The paper highlights that those in the low to middle income group generally hold low and intermediate skills, which are not in demand in the current labour market. She examines why this is the case and explores which policy solutions would bring about future change.

Professor Anna Vignoles is a Professor in the Economics of Education at the Institute Of Education and a Deputy Director of the Centre for the Analysis for Youth Transitions (a DfE funded research centre). She has published widely on the value of skills and qualifications in the labour market. Her research interests include issues pertaining to equity in education, education efficiency and finance and the economic value of schooling.