LSE Centre Building stairs
Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides of the Department of Economics and Dr Grace Lordan of the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science have been appointed to the Department for Education’s skills and productivity board.
Dr Lordan and Professor Pissarides will be part of the newly created six-person board to provide advice on how courses and qualifications should reflect the skills needed for the post-COVID-19 economy.
In a letter to the board’s chair, Stephen van Rooyen, education secretary Gavin Williamson said the board should prioritise the following questions:
- Which areas of the economy face the most significant skills mismatches?
- How can we identify the changing skills needs within the economy over the next 5-10 years?
- How can skills and the skills system promote productivity growth in areas of the country that are poorer performing economically?
Williamson added that international comparisons would be welcome, with the evidence the board contributes part of ongoing efforts to “levelling up opportunity across the country and ensuring people have the skills they need to progress.”
Dr Lordan, Associate Professor in Behavioural Science and Founding Director of the Inclusion Initiative at the the LSE, said: "Over the next decade, all citizens in the UK should be able to rely on having access to secure work that provides for a decent standard of living. Skills policy is the most important policy tool to move us closer to this objective. I will ensure that my contribution helps put the UK in the best possible position to make this objective a reality, and adds value in terms of implementing the UK government’s vision to reform investment in skills for the betterment of society. "
Further information about the Department for Education’s skills and productivity board is available here.