Delivering his Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne has suggested that  while unemployment is a jobs problem, it is also down to the fact that the UK is experiencing a lack of skills.

He said: “The problem is, of course, primarily a lack of jobs, but it is made worse by a lack of skills - too many children are leaving compulsory education without the basic skills they need for the world of work.”

Osborne called investment in education a “central plank of my economic policy”.

He also discussed the £1bn subsidised work scheme announced by deputy PM Nick Clegg last week, as reported by recruiter.co.uk on 25 November.