The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) says in its Ambition 2020 report that the UK’s economy, currently the sixth largest in the world and fourth largest in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will slip down the international rankings in productivity, employment and skills unless an estimated 10 million people improve their skills.

Current figures show that the UK’s current international ranking for low, intermediate and high skills are 19, 21 and 12. Ambition 2020 puts forward a variety of suggestions for how the UK can reach the top eight across the board by 2020, but warns that without immediate action our rankings will be 20,21 and 11 respectively.

In addition, the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report ranks the UK as the 13th most competitive nation in the world. This is down one place from its ranking in 2008/9, which in itself was down three places from 2007/8.

In other words, change is imperative. UKCES warn that in a rapidly developing world, ongoing globalisation, technological development and changes in consumer demand mean the UK is going to have to be more competitive than ever.

Mark Spilsbury, UKCES’s chief economist, said: "It’s very important for the UK to invest in the skill base of its workforce is our competitive edge.

"If we don’t have a highly skilled workforce then we will increasingly lose out,” he continued, “because we cannot compete on cost anymore."

The report makes a number of recommendations for action, but Chris Humphries, UKCES chief executive, warned that improvements need to be made on a reduced budget. “That means driving all of our public funding towards the frontline, training more people and more teachers, cutting on bureaucracy and unnecessary cost,” he said.

The full Ambition 2020 report is available for download from UKCES.

Nathan Brown