This reports sets out the results of a study of the ‘over-training' of apprentices by large manufacturers in the UK. The term ‘over-training' was traditionally used to refer to the way in which nationalised industries trained more apprentices than they needed, with the ‘surplus' being...

This essay explores the nature and causes of the so-called ‘missing middle' (that is, the UK's failure to train sufficient technicians or workers with intermediate-level skills). Evidence is drawn from studies of UK advanced manufacturing industries, in particular those seeking to innovate by...

This paper examines the duties, skills and training of the technicians who work in the various parts of UK industry that make use of composite materials. It examines how employers in the relevant industry strive to fill technician roles whose occupants must make, and /or use, composites, and...