How are children to prepare for an era in which work can be outsourced anywhere in the world, university graduates compete with computers and robots for jobs, and in which any number of other, unforeseeable social and economic trends may transpire? Popular discourses on educational reform talk of the need for schools and colleges to produce more…

This report projects Northern Ireland's skills base through to 2030 and compares this to a number of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The report shows that on current trends Northern Ireland will continue to lag many other countries on a number of measures of learning and skills in 2030. These shortfalls can…

This article describes how public, nonprofit, and private partners in Detroit are working to improve and expand adult foundational skills development opportunities and connect them to workforce training as the city begins to make an economic comeback. It outlines the adult foundational skills challenge in Detroit, chronicles the work of a strategy…

Australia's overall performance in the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) ranges from average to very good. However, three million adults, representing one-fifth of the working age population, have low literacy and/or numeracy skills. Building Skills for All in Australia describes the characteristics of the low-skilled and discusses the consequences…

The purpose of combined authorities, driven by government, is economic growth and public sector reform. Economic growth requires improved productivity. The main obstacle, it is claimed, is a "skills deficit," which schools need to address. In this article the evidence for this claim is examined. The real problem, it is argued, is a…

Pennsylvania's deep cuts in funding to K-12 education since 2010-11 have drawn a great deal of attention in recent months. Less widely recognized is the fact that Pennsylvania enacted even deeper cuts, on a percentage basis, to funding for public higher education in the same period. Four-year colleges received the largest reductions in funding,…

UIL has published a second edition of a collection of case studies of promising literacy programmes that seek to empower women. "Narrowing the Gender Gap: Empowering Women through Literacy Programmes" (originally published in 2013 as "Literacy Programmes with a Focus on Women to Reduce Gender Disparities") responds to the…

The concept of social innovation has recently emerged as an influential approach to address intractable social problems. Increasingly discussed in academia and policy circles, the concept draws on multifaceted practices and ideas from many disciplines. Yet despite widespread discussion and promotion, there is still limited understanding of…

Literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and a crucial element in the universally recognised right to education. However, illiteracy continues to exist as a global challenge, and many individuals still lack the basic literacy skills that are needed to engage in further learning opportunities and for the economic and social development of…

It is no secret that America is at risk of losing its place as a world leader in education. Some 88 million adults in America need help with their English as a Second Language (ESL) and basic skills, yet the nation is currently providing services to only 3 million people. The Commission on Adult Literacy calls for bold change at the state and…

A review of the connection between education, training, and employment culminates in four recommendations: a comprehensive approach towards economic and social development; re-allocation of resources in favour of basic education; linking post-basic education to the needs of society through recurrent education; and stressing intellectual…

This literature review explores competing views of the relationship between adult literacy and U.S. economic difficulties. Trends in public policy, legislation, labor forecasting, and workplace training from the 1960s to the present are reviewed. Consequences of the perceived gap between workers' skills and national economic needs are discussed.…

This volume is part of a series that is designed to promote stronger ties between the educational resources in the Northeast and Midwest and the economic development process. The discussion identifies steps that businesses, education communities, and public policymakers can take to define literacy standards and raise basic competency levels in…

The author draws upon recent experience of providing consultancy services to a working group established by the European Commission in 2001 to facilitate the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy for economic, social, and environmental renewal in the European Union. The article begins with a critique of the "new basic skills" identified…

The governor of North Carolina responds to questions concerning the recommendations of the National Task Force on Economic Growth, focusing on employment patterns and their implications for basic skills education, adult educational needs, the future of liberal education, action plans for academic excellence, and remedial education. (DMM)