{"id":47306,"date":"2014-09-05T13:07:50","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T13:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=24f94fc890cd13ef5b07ef6a729e51e0"},"modified":"2014-09-05T13:07:50","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T13:07:50","slug":"press-release-mind-the-gap-men-fall-behind-as-womens-skills-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=47306","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Mind the gap \u2013 men fall behind as women\u2019s skills increase"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Men urgently need to increase their skills and qualifications or risk being out-competed in the jobs market, according to new research published today.<\/p>\n

The report from the government-backed UK Commission for Employment and Skills reveals the gender gap is set to widen over the next few years, with women\u2019s skills and qualifications improving faster than men\u2019s. <\/p>\n

It finds that by 2020, almost half (49%) of women will have degree-level qualifications, compared with just 38% now and predicts that women will take two-thirds of the new high-skill jobs created over the next six years.<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s qualifications levels are also set to rise, but more slowly than women\u2019s, with the percentage of men with degree level skills reaching just over 44% by 2020.<\/p>\n

The findings echo this summer\u2019s GCSE results, in which 73% of girls\u2019 exams were graded at least a C, compared with 64.3% of tests sat by boys.<\/p>\n

The report also finds that the proportion of women qualified to below GCSE level is expected to drop at a significantly faster rate than men \u2013 falling from a quarter (24%) to one sixth (15%) by 2020. Equivalent figures for men show a drop of just three percentage points, from 23% to 20%.<\/p>\n

Frances O\u2019Grady, General Secretary of the TUC and a Commissioner at UKCES<\/abbr> said<\/p>\n

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The fact that skills levels are predicted to increase is welcome news. Skills matter \u2013 they increase a worker\u2019s pay, their job satisfaction and boost the economy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The increased disparity between men\u2019s and women\u2019s skill levels is concerning for both sexes. Men are finding to harder to get skilled jobs, while for many women their higher qualifications are not leading to better pay and jobs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Tackling inequality \u2013 in skills, qualifications and pay, and for both sexes \u2013 is essential if we are to have a prosperous and stable future.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The new publication also compares the UK\u2019s skill levels with other nations. The proportion of people in the UK holding a degree or equivalent is set to rise to almost half (48%) by 2020, moving the UK above America and most European nations.<\/p>\n

However, despite a reduction in the number of people with low or no qualifications, the proportion of UK population with low skill levels is also likely to remain relatively high.<\/p>\n

Michael Davis, chief executive of UKCES<\/abbr>, said: <\/p>\n

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A projected increase in the number of highly skilled UK workers is very welcome news. It will ensure employers have a rich talent pool and better access to the skills they need when recruiting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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However, the fact that we are failing to keep pace with other nations when it comes to developing the skills of those at the lower end of the spectrum is concerning. The productivity gap between the UK and other nations growing, and addressing this \u2018long tail\u2019 of low skills is vital to sustaining growth over the long term.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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These projections are a warning shot for our future selves. They highlight the importance of employers continuing to develop the skills of all of their employees to ensure that businesses compete successfully and the economy continues to grow.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

View the report: UK skills levels: international comparisons and competitiveness.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New research by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) shows the skills gap between genders is continuing to widen, as women leave male counterparts behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47306"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}