SKILLS: The Global Currency of the 21st Century!

"Skills have become the global currency of the 21st century. Without proper investment in skills, people languish on the margins of society, technological progress does not translate into economic growth, and countries can no longer compete in an increasingly knowledge-based global society. The OECD Skills Strategy is designed to help countries build better skills policies and turn them into jobs, growth, and better lives." - Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD

"A country can develop its relevant skills in three main ways:
By encouraging and enabling people to learn throughout life. 

This requires concerted efforts to:
Gather and use evidence about the changing skills demand to guide skills development
Engage social partners in designing and delivering education and training programmes
Ensure that education and training programmes are of high quality
Promote equity by ensuring access to, and success in, quality education for all
Ensure that costs are shared and that tax systems do not discourage investments in learning
Maintain a long-term perspective on skills development, even during economic crises
By fostering international mobility of skilled people to fill skills gaps. 

This requires concerted efforts to:
Facilitate entry for skilled migrants and support their integration
Design policies that encourage international students to remain after their studies
Make it easier for skilled migrants to return to their country of origin
By promoting cross-border skills policies. 

This requires concerted efforts to:
Invest in skills abroad and encourage cross-border higher education."

We need to ensure that all our children and young people gain the skills they need to succeed by developing a skills-based curriculum focused on developing character and core skills. The Cutlers' "Made in Sheffield" skills do exactly that and should be at the heart of what we do in schools.