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Skill as metaphor: an analysis of terminology used in Success For All and 21st Century Skills

This paper considers the significance of the term ‘skills’ in recent policy documents concerning the future developments of post‐16 education. This paper argues that the skills debate, as outlined in Success For All and 21st Century Skills, comprises two dominant discourses: it is considered necessary for youngsters to gain skills for their personal employability and the nation's increased prosperity; and the acquisition of skills by students is judged vital for social inclusion and a coherent society. The documents present these dual objectives as being inextricably linked. Treating the signifier ‘skill’ as a metaphor helps expose the ideology behind the Labour Government's thinking on further education (FE). Skills are used to symbolize something of material worth, with a specific exchange value; a tangible product, like a natural resource; social capital; or education and learning. This paper deconstructs these four metaphorical uses of the term skills, within an analysis of Success For All and 21st Century Skills.