Click here for a list of abbreviations
Learning without a prescribed curriculum or defined outcomes.
A general term for education institutions, which may include universities, higher education colleges and further education colleges.
An executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus helps people into work and employers to fill their vacancies.
Skills that are needed to work in a particular job.
JISC is funded by the UK HE and FE funding bodies to provide world-class leadership in the innovative use of ICT to support education and research.
Essential skills that everyone needs to succeed in education, work and in life in general.
Knowledge exchange is the process by which HEIs' knowledge, expertise and intellectually linked assets are constructively applied beyond HE for the wider benefit of the economy and society, through two-way engagement with business, the public sector, cultural and community partners.
The LFS was a quarterly sample survey of 60,000 households living at private addresses in Great Britain and provided information on the UK labour market. The annual population survey is a boosted version (ie more households are sampled) of the LFS.
The marketplace between firms seeking labour and workers seeking employment.
Any organisation that delivers learning, including schools, further education institutions, higher education institutions, private training providers, employers and voluntary sector bodies.
The Leadership Foundation provides a dedicated service of support and advice on leadership, governance and management for all the UK's higher education institutions.
The continuous development of skills and knowledge throughout life, whether for economic advantage or personal fulfilment.
The principal data collection relating to Further Education, Community and Work Based learning. The LLWR is now the sole data collection method for learning activities outside the school and Higher Education sector. Statistical output based upon the LLWR enables the analysis of learner and learning activity volumes, as well as measures of completion, attainment and success.
Basic competence in grammar, spelling, and the spoken word.
A collaboration between Government and business to tackle the increasing recruitment and skills challenges of today’s labour market. Employers across the country are signing up to work in partnership with Government to open up opportunities for people who, for whatever reason, have not yet been able to take advantage of available employment opportunities.
When a market fails to distribute resources efficiently. Some economists have argued that there are market failures in skills: for example, firms are concerned that once trained, an employee will leave the firm before they can recoup the investment. Therefore, the level of training provided by the market may be inefficiently low.
Businesses with between 1 and 9 employees.
The NQF sets out the levels against which a qualification can be recognised in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
A work-related, competence-based qualification. NVQs reflect the skills and knowledge needed to do a job effectively, and show that a candidate is competent in the area of work the NVQ represents.
A confederation of local student representative organisations in colleges and universities throughout the United Kingdom.
Basic competence in using numbers.
European classification of regions. NUTS3 refers to County or Unitary Authority level or combinations of UAs.
Overseas students are defined as students from outside the European Community.
The notion that academic and vocational learning should have equal status.
The Labour Force Survey questions on health and disability reflect the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 and are entirely based on self-reporting of disability. People whose health problem(s) or disability(ies) are expected to last more than a year are also asked whether their health problem/disability affects the kind or amount of work that they might do (i.e. a work-limiting disability). Those who meet the criteria for either (or both - as is usually the case) current DDA or work-limiting definitions of disability are defined as having a current long-term disability and are therefore included in the ‘people with disabilities’ group.
A set of indicators produced by which measure the performance.
Higher education institutions which acquired university status as a result of the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992
Higher education institutions which had university status before the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 came into force; and the two Northern Ireland universities.
Education and training that is available beyond the ages when people are required to receive education. Also known as Post-16 learning.
The value of output (goods and services) produced per unit of input (such as labour). Increasing productivity means producing more with the same amount of resources, or less.
An achievement, usually conferring a formal certificate, which demonstrates that an individual has achieved a defined level of knowledge, skill, or proficiency in some subject or activity.
A new way of recognising skills and qualifications in Wales, England, and Northern Ireland based on the award of credit for small steps of learning. The QCF will form part of the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW).
Weekly gross pay (i.e. before tax, national insurance or other deductions and excluding payments in kind) received by employees (not the self-employed) based on the area in which they live.
Employer-led organisations that aim to increase productivity and workforce skills in their sectors. They cover approximately 85% of the UK workforce. All SSCs are licensed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in consultation with Ministers in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
National Bureau for Students with Disabilities - a voluntary sector organisation that promotes opportunities for young people and adults with any disability in Post-16 education, training and employment across the United Kingdom. There is a local Welsh office in Cardiff – SKILL Wales
An acquired capability that enables someone to do something.
When employers feel that the skills of their existing workers are not high enough.
The analysis of skills in this paper uses qualifications as a proxy measure for skill
level. Whilst this is not ideal, qualifications are the best measure available. Three
broad skill levels are used:
When employers are unable to find staff with the skills that they require. This could be only one cause of a recruitment problem.
The strategy which describes the One Wales ambition for a highly educated, highly skilled and high employment Wales.
Businesses with between 11 and 49 employees
A small company has not more than 50 employees; a medium-sized company has not more than 250 employees
Where people, groups or communities suffer multiple deprivation, possibly including low incomes, unemployment or inactivity, low educational attainment and attendance, poor health, poor housing and physical isolation.
Interpersonal and communication skills, or other personal attributes such as motivation or leadership, which employers often look for in addition to technical skills.
A method for classifying business establishments by the type of economic activity in which they are engaged.
A method for classifying occupations
Statistical areas which are smaller than wards and contain around 1,500 people.
Skills learned in one job or context that could be useful in other jobs or contexts.
Groups that have participation rates significantly below the national average for the cohort under consideration. Examples of such groups may be people from low-income backgrounds, lower socio-economic groups, low participation neighbourhoods, certain minority ethnic groups or disabled people.
The International Labour Organisation definition of unemployed includes those without a job who were able to start work in the two weeks following their LFS interview and had either looked for work in the four weeks prior to interview or were waiting to start a job they had already obtained.
The UK Commission aims to raise UK prosperity and opportunity by improving employment and skills. Its ambition is to benefit individuals, employers, government and society by providing independent advice to the highest levels of the UK Government and devolved administrations on how improved employment and skills systems can help the UK become a world class leader in productivity, in employment and in having a fair and inclusive society.
The units used as subject categories for the Research Assessment Exercise. In the 1996 and 2001 RAEs 69 UOAs were used. For the 2008 RAE there were 67 UOAs.
An umbrella group representing the views and interests of the vice-chancellors and principals of universities and other higher education bodies in the UK.
The process by which a course is judged to have met the requirements for an award by the relevant degree-awarding body, or the relevant examining body, or by an accredited institution on behalf of that degree-awarding body.
Learning related to a specific vocation, usually involving the development of specific technical or professional knowledge and skills.
The Wales Employment and Skills Board (WESB) has been created to drive forward the implementation of the skills and employment strategy and action plan Skills That Work for Wales. The Wales and Employment and Skills Board objectives are to strengthen the employer voice on skills in Wales; give expert advice to Welsh Ministers; and help Wales to develop a high-skills economy with opportunities for everyone.
Produced as a partnership by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Local Government Data Unit this measures deprivation in relation to seven different factors (or ‘domains’). These domains are:
Scores from each domain are combined to provide an overall measure of the extent of multiple deprivation in any area.
This is when a funding council, institution or other organisation implements policies and engages in activities designed to ensure that all those with the potential to benefit from higher education have the opportunity to do so whatever their background and whenever they need it.
The Welsh Assembly Government’s Strategy to improve Basic Literacy and Numeracy in Wales.
Weekly gross pay (i.e. before tax, national insurance or other deductions and excluding payments in kind) received by employees (not the self-employed) based on the area in which they work.
Learning delivered by a university, college or other training provider in the workplace, normally under the supervision of a person from the same company as well as a professional teacher from outside the company. Traditionally, the term applied to Modern Apprenticeships and related courses, but it can also refer to some forms of Higher Education.
The total number of employee jobs, the self-employed, members of the armed forces and Government-supported trainees.
The whole range of learning that improves people’s employability and productivity.
A catch-all phrase for unemployment and economic inactivity.
