Half Our Future
Women, Skill Development and Training
Edited by Hilary Metcalf

Unique study of the role of training and skill development for women in the workplace, with contributions from leading experts (academics and practitioners) in economics, social policy, sociology and psychology.

Women make up nearly half the employees in the UK: in the future they are likely to be in the majority. It is therefore vital that women's potential is not neglected. The prospects, however, do not look good: women are concentrated in a small range of jobs and few reach senior levels. This book examines the role of training and skill development in perpetuating this pattern and highlights policy issues which need to be tackled. Experts in economics, social policy, sociology and psychology document patterns of qualifications, training and skill acquisition, and identify how these continue to be affected not only by occupational segregation and women's dual role but also by the gendered valuation of skills. Special topics include vocational qualifications; employers' support for training; European Union Training Programmes; low educational achievers; and job satisfaction.

Half Our Future will inform policy-makers and academics looking into labour market and employment trends, social policy and sociology, as well as practitioners, such as Training and Enterprise Councils, personnel and training managers - and all those working for equal opportunities.

The Contributors:

• Professor John Bynner, Social Statistics Research Unit, City University
• Dr Alan Felstead, Centre for Labour Market Studies, University of Leicester
• Rebecca Lawthom, Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield
• Hilary Metcalf, Policy Studies Institute
• Lesley Murphy, Basic Skills Agency
• Samantha Parsons, Social Statistics Research Unit, City University
• Professor Teresa Rees, University of Bristol.

£14.95 paperback ISBN 0 85374 708 3
December 1997 192 pages 216x135mm
Report number 834