A brief history of work, innovation and skills in the UK

Late 19th Century and wartime

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  1850s and 1860s – The formation of national trade unions

  Skilled craftsmen formed national trade unions. However, unskilled workers did not become organised until the late 1880s.

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  1880s and 1890s – Efforts to raise productivity

  A growing concern about the standard of Britain’s labour force, particularly when compared with Germany and the other industrial nations, led to a rise in an emphasis on training to increase productivity and competitiveness.

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  1914 to 1918 – Fast-track training schemes to produce munitions

  The First World War demanded rapid production of munitions, so the Ministry of Munitions devised training schemes aimed at producing competent machine operators in under three months. The emphasis shifted to skill training for (mainly) disabled ex-servicemen, to enable them to gain both employment and trade union membership.

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  1925 – Rebuilding after the First World War

  The Interrupted Apprenticeship Scheme was established to address the skills shortage and mass unemployment after the First World War. As well as regular apprenticeships, training schemes were created to prepare women and girls for domestic employment. It was unusual at this time for married women to work.

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  1945 – Producing skilled workers to rebuild after the war

  At the end of the Second World War, courses were again adapted to the needs of post-war reconstruction to provide training for the building industry. The experience of the war stimulated interest in formal training and skills development.

A new era of work and technological change

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  1950s – Women entering the world of work

  In the 1950s and 1960s it became more common for married women to work – at least part-time. New technology in the home made it easier for women to do paid work, relieving them of time-consuming housework. At the same time the economy changed. Manufacturing became less important and service industries grew creating more opportunities for women.

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  1970s – High inflation and unemployment

  Unemployment rose rapidly from the mid-70s and various schemes were developed to train young people and to reduce unemployment. In 1978, the Youth Opportunities Programme (YOP) was established to offer unemployed school leavers work experience, training and work preparation courses.

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  1972 – School leaving age rises to 16

  School leaving age in England and Wales was raised from 15 to 16, following preparations that started in 1964.

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  1980s – Mobile phones, video recorders and the emergence of home computers

  As well as being typical for both parents to be in work, this was a time of technological growth and advancement. This shift led to increased popularity of instructor-led classroom training in the workplace, as well as the use of training videos, PowerPoint presentations and computer-based training methods.

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  1980-1982 – Recession and de-industrialisation

  Britain was gripped by recession and unemployment, reaching a peak in 1986, and the economy was changed by de-industrialisation. Traditional industries such as coal mining, textiles and shipbuilding declined rapidly. Whereas, service industries, such as tourism, education, retail and finance grew rapidly and this sector became the main source of employment.

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  1990 – Britain is gripped by a second recession in a decade

  Unfortunately, another recession began in 1990 and unemployment rose again. However, unemployment began to fall again in 1993 and it continued to fall till the end of the century.

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  1990s – The rise of the gap year

  This decade saw the rise of the gap year – students delaying entry into formal higher education in preference for taking a year out to work and travel. This signalled a shift in people wanting more out of life, rather than going straight into work or study.

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  1998 – End of an era for university students: student grants

  1998 marks the end of student grants and introduction of the student loan scheme.

The digital revolution

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  2002 – The social network

  By this time, social media was rapidly growing with the launch of LinkedIn and MySpace in 2003, and Facebook in 2004. This opened up new possibilities for online social learning.

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  2003 – Skills strategy part one

  In 2003, the Government issued its skills strategy White Paper with the aims of ensuring that employers had the skills to support the success of their business, and that employees had the necessary skills to be both employable and personally fulfilled. The White Paper spoke of building a new skills alliance where every employer, employee and citizen played their part, by integrating what already existed and focusing it more effectively.

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  2006 – Skills strategy part two

  This was followed by the Leitch Review of Skills published in 2006. It established targets to boost apprenticeships to 500,000 a year by 2020, to address low skills in the UK. The aim was to get to a position where 95% of adults had achieved a Level 2 qualification, encouraging employers to voluntarily commit to a new ‘pledge’ to train all eligible employees up to Level 2.

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  2006/07 – Launch of Twitter and the Apple iPhone

  Twitter, a new online news and social networking platform, was launched in 2006, enabling people to post and share 140-character messages. Then in 2007, Apple launched the iPhone, which is when the use of smart phones really took off.

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  2008 – Global financial crisis

  It began with a credit crunch at the end of 2007 and ended up becoming a global recession, with blame pointed at sub-prime lending in the housing market. This results in high levels of unemployment by 2009.

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  2010 – Another end of an era for university students: changes to tuition fees

  A vote in Parliament at the end of 2010 agreed plans to enable universities to charge a graduate contribution of up to £9,000 a year from 2012/2013. However, the rise in tuition fees did nothing to deter students from applying to study.

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  Mid-2010s – The rise of the ‘always-on’ workplace

  An increase in accessible technology and smartphone usage led to an emergence of the always-on workplace. Arguably bringing with it several benefits and risks, it certainly signalled an intensification of work that hadn’t been seen before.

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  2014 – Exponential growth of digital connectivity

  By the end of 2014, the number of mobile devices and connections surpassed the number of people on the planet, making it the fastest growing technological innovation so far.

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  2015 – The rise of the gig economy

  The emergence of companies such as Uber and Deliveroo helped to create the gig economy. The connected work market, where people buy and sell services online, has grown out of a combination of a rise in professional freelancing/networking platforms and a desire to work more flexibly.

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  2016 – The need for life-long learners

  With an ageing population, advancing technologies and an increasing need for higher-level skills, it’s not surprising that the need for life-long learners is increasing as the world of work is transforming.

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  2018 – The age of data and analytics

  The rise of a more data-driven business model that focuses and relies on new data streams, technologies, systems and human analysis to inform decisions.

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  2020 – THE FUTURE OF WORK ?

  There’s no denying that change is constant but what’s most striking, in recent years, is the speed of change. Advancements in digital technology, including in the fields of AI and robotics, are occurring at an unprecedented rate. The future of work will continue to be disruptive and dynamic – but how can organisations respond? What skills will be needed for the future of work? And is the responsibility to innovate now a job requirement for all?