International benchmarking. In the increasingly global economy referred to in section 4.5, it is clearly important to consider the success and performance of the lifelong learning sector in the UK in comparison with that in other countries internationally. Xxxx Xxxxxx (2005) acknowledged that the UK lags behind many of its international competitors, stating “the UK’s skills profile is unimpressive in comparison with other countries” (p.42) and “is consistently out-ranked by countries such as Sweden and Finland, the USA and Germany” (p.43). Overall (p.43): • The UK performs relatively well on higher-level qualifications compared to the OECD. Even so, a much higher proportion of the population in countries such as the US and Canada hold higher-level qualifications than in the UK. • The UK has a smaller than average proportion of the population with intermediate skill levels, and is ranked 20th across the 30 countries of the OECD. • The UK has more people with low qualification levels than many major comparators and is ranked 18th across the OECD. However, there are several challenges inherent in making international comparisons. Each country collects comparator data separately and each uses its own methods, definitions and timings for data collection and there are occasionally gaps in the data provided by different countries. Moreover, as already alluded to in section 4.5, there are sometimes considerable differences in the structure of the education systems and qualifications frameworks in the different countries being compared. In response to this, the remaining data presented in this section is based on the International Classification of Education Systems (ISCED10) devised by UNESCO, which is fairly broad and in some cases not focused specifically on the lifelong learning sector. There are two main classifications within ISCED that are relevant: • Tertiary education – equivalent to HE and NVQ level 4+ – equates approximately to HE and the NVQ Level 4+ qualifications delivered by FE and WBL constituencies 10 The ISCED 97 classification divides the education sector into seven levels, from pre-primary education (level 0) through to the second stage of tertiary education (level 6). The remit of LLUK relates to level 4 (post-secondary non-tertiary education), level 5 (first stage of tertiary education) and level 6 (second stage of tertiary education). • Post-secondary non-tertiary education – post-compulsory education but excluding HE – equates approximately to parts of the FE, WBL and ...
International benchmarking. As a backdrop to the gap analysis processes, international guiding treaties and policy commitments will be considered and integrated where appropriate. Considering the subject matter, treaties and plans of action on Gender, Economic Empowerment, Discrimination and VAGW, Children’s Rights, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, those living with HIV and AIDS and Population and Development issues will be used for benchmarking.
International benchmarking
