University of Exeter

Skills Dashboard for the UK

Devon (UK), June 2016 - IPPR have launched a new skills dashboard for the UK. This is free to use and should enable users to explore demand for particular mid-skill roles and the likely levels of competition and potential salary for these positions. 

The dashboard was created in partnership with Burning Glass Technologies as part of JPMorgan Chase's New Skills At Work programme. Designed for local decision makers, employers, colleges, and other education-and-training providers, it presents information on skill supply and demand at UK-wide, national, and regional levels, as well as within selected local enterprise partnership areas.

In higher education, the government is pushing ahead with plans to make it easier for "challenger institutions" to award their own degrees, and the plans will also give students more information about teaching standards and job prospects to help them make better- informed decisions about what and where to study.

The CIPD earlier commented on the plans (following the Queen's speech) saying, "... there needs to be ongoing scrutiny over the quality of graduate outcomes to ensure the reforms reduce the high proportion of graduates ending up in non-graduate jobs." There has also been concern from the HE sector about the potential impact on standards given similar developments in the US. CIPD further expressed concerns over the specific focus on the skills of young people rather than older adults already in the workplace and on the ongoing issues with a lack of productivity within the economy.