The document discusses helping move people out of poor quality employment through employer engagement in skills development and local leadership. It notes that while the economy is growing and employment recovering, productivity remains flat and local experiences vary greatly. Middle-skill jobs have been in long-term decline while high-skill and service jobs have held up, with job polarization magnified by recession. It questions whether employers are acting in the right ways on skills and workplace performance. The conclusion advocates leveraging shared investment and learning from employer-led innovations to address these issues.

1. Helping move out of poor
quality employment
Employer engagement in skills
Local Leadership for Inclusive Growth
11th Annual LEED Forum, 26st June 2015
Lesley Giles, Deputy Director
UK Commission for Employment and Skills

2. Our Commissioners

4. Economic outlook
Local stories are increasingly important
Black Country
Enterprise M3
Gloucestershire
Greater Birmingham
and Solihull
Greater
Manchester
Hertfordshire
Liverpool
City Region
London
Oxfordshire
South East
Swindon and
Wiltshire
Tees Valley
Thames Valley
Berkshire
64
68
72
76
80
60
Source: ONS GVA for LEPs, 1997-2012, and Nomis APS. Bubble size is total GVA 2012. Line is from 2004.90
120
150
180
GVA per head (UK=100)
Employmentrate,working
age
As the economy grows,
employment recovers but
productivity is flat
Local experience
varies greatly
– if anything, recession has
compounded differences
Local problems require
locally-grown solutions fit
for the future.

6. 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Cumulativechangeinjobs
High Middle Service Labour
−1,000,00001,000,0002,000,000
Opportunity in the labour market
Middle-skill jobs in long-term decline
High-skill jobs and
service-intensive jobs
have held up well
through recession. But
middle-skill and labour-
intensive jobs have
declined.
Source: UKCES analysis of Labour Force Survey, 2005-2014.
‘Job polarisation’ has, if
anything, been magnified
by recession.

7. Skills and workplace performance
Employers acting but in the right ways?

8. What needs to be done?
Leveraging shared investment

9. Employer led-innovations
What have we learned?