International best practice on workforce development

Based on evidence of international best practice:

• workforce development cannot be left entirely to the vagaries of the market; rather the market must be ‘shaped’ to some degree to deliver decent jobs for workers and profits for companies
• there needs to be a clear vision of where Wales wants to be by 2010, based on a joined-up strategy and clear actions for driving up the demand for skilled work and moving business up the value chain
• the most successful skill formation strategies depend on key stakeholders sharing a common understanding of, and commitment to the overall strategy for workforce development, supported with performance indicators
• the vision should be linked to clear priorities for economic development based, this report argues, on the identification of business clusters or networks
• there is a need to introduce the relevant mechanisms and programmes necessary to up-grade, on a consistent basis, the skills of the existing labour force to meet the future needs of the economy
• Wales should move away from a ‘programme delivery’ approach and towards a more holistic approach through changes in work organisation to improve business performance.

The aims of the research are:

• to develop recommendations for improving workforce development (WfD) in Wales, taking into account the UK Government’s recommendations for England
• to identify other areas where further research may be required.