This book investigates the development of Skills policies and structures since the Great Exhibition of 1851. Since 1851, Britain and Northern Ireland have repeatedly failed to close the productivity gap between its workers and their counterparts on the continent and in the United States. One of the major reasons for this is a continuing skills deficit. Successive governments have sought to reduce this deficit by developing various types of skills systems, but the gap remains. This book analyses these various skills systems since 1851 to identify why they have failed to resolve this issue. It...