The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) East Midlands Regional Research Team commissioned the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University to identify the key characteristics of incapacity benefit claimants, and in particular to assess their training needs and aspirations.

This report presents the latest evidence on work skills in Britain drawn from data collected for the 2006 Skills Survey. The source of the data presented is a high quality representative survey of working individuals living in Britain aged 20-65. Its aim was to gather information on the skills used at work via survey questions directed at workers themselves.

Skills in England 2007 provides an up-to-date assessment of the skills arena and highlights the key skills issues facing the Learning and Skills Council and its partners following a comprehensive review of development and evidence over the past year. The report complements the key government publications in the skills arena, including the Leitch Review of Skills and the Freud Report.

The National Employers Skills Survey 2007 (NESS07) provides detailed information on the incidence, extent and nature of skills problems facing employers, in terms of both recruitment and skill gaps within their existing workforce. It also explores employers' activities and expenditure in relation to training.