Review of Employer Collective Measures: Policy Review

This report is one of a suite of outputs of the Review of Employer Collective Measures study.

The study reviewed the effectiveness of levers on increasing employer investment in skills on a collective basis, such as through levies and tax incentives, in order to provide advice to Ministers on which collective levers might be most effective to introduce or expand.

In undertaking the study we conducted extensive reviews of the relevant literature and reviewed relevant UK and international policies to inform our conclusions and advice.

We worked with a consortium of leading experts in the field and drew on wider panels of experts, in the UK and internationally, to inform our analysis and advice. Almost 100 stakeholders attended a series of Prioritisation Events in spring 2009 and we also received a good response to an initial Call for Evidence in summer 2008 and a further on-line consultation in July 2009. We are grateful to all those involved for their commitment to the study and to taking forward this complex agenda.

This report presents the review of existing collective measures policy, including their implementation and impact. It collates the three literature reviews to present four policy options which, according to the evidence reviewed, represent the most effective means to enhance employer investment in skills.