Learning and skills hold the key to the coalition government’s plans for creating sustainable growth and the Big Society. The sector is strongly rooted in the traditions of practical and technical learning for trades and professions that sustain and develop local, regional, national and international economies.

Overall, the strategic framework's goal is to enable the sector to take the lead and shape its future – to realise the emerging vision for its role and purpose. In order to do that, the first step is to understand the contexts in which the learning and skills sector is operating, and the challenges and opportunities ahead. This analysis has informed a set of strategic ambitions for the sector overall – a focus for continuing to aim high despite the present uncertainties.

Only through shared endeavour will those ambitions be realised – improvement is the responsibility of everyone connected with learning and skills, and together there is a need to establish a new set of metrics to review progress, performance and account for the sector’s wider contribution.