World Class Skills: implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England (Department for Education and Skills (DfES), July 2007)

The plan is the Government’s response to the independent Leitch Review of Skills and sets out how Government will lead the country into a skills ‘revolution.’ 

The report ushers in the restructuring of government departments:

• Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and a
• Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)
• The creation of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) and a further 12 employer-linked and employer-led Skills Academies.

The main priorities set out in the executive summary are for England to have:

• Functional literacy and numeracy among the adult population
• Intermediate skills for life and work, with public funding support for those aged 19+ for achievement of a first qualification at Level 2
• More university graduates and more apprentices
• Enhanced transfer of research knowledge from universities into business and industry
• A refreshed curriculum at school and a renewed emphasis for 14-19-year-olds on preparation for work
• Reform of vocational qualifications.

Responsibility for the investment in skills is to be shared between the individual, employers and the government.

The only explicit mention of language in the paper is with reference to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).