Dr Grace Lordan speaking at an LSE event in 2020.
Dr Grace Lordan, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science and Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative at LSE, along with Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides (Department of Economics, LSE), will join a six-person Skills and Productivity Board, newly created by the Department for Education (DfE) in the UK.
Utilising expertise in behavioural insights, Dr Lordan will provide advice on how courses and qualifications should reflect the skills needed for a post-COVID-19 economy and help discover solutions to current skill mismatches between workers and firms, with a view to enhance inclusion.
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?
Dr Lordan said: “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 re-form investment in skills for the betterment of society."
Dr Grace Lordan is Associate Professor in Behavioural Science in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE and Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative (TII).
TII is a new LSE initiative using behavioural science insights to recognise and improve inclusion within City of London firms, providing solutions that will also benefit the bottom line.
Find out more about TII at:
https://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/Research/tii.
Further information about the Department for Education’s skills and productivity board is available here.