On best behaviour

THE government's green paper for lifelong learning will "fall short" of its key purpose, according to the Institute of Education. The plans focus on basic skills at the expense of emerging "workplace behaviours" essential to future economic success, according to Performance Management through Capability, a paper commissioned by the New Learning for New Work Consortium and the Institute of Personnel and Development.

The paper says that government thinking on workplace skills is outdated. It identifies 20 "behaviours" that employers deem essential. These include:

"taking ownership of the results of your own work"; "planning your own work"; building stakeholders' trust and commitment; team working; and "responding positively and constructively to change".