Gordon Brown's efforts to turn Britain into a high-skill, high-wage economy are failing and will come under further pressure as recession bites, a report has warned.
Businesses will still have around 7.4 million low-skilled jobs in the UK by 2020 unless they can be persuaded to compete in higher-value markets, according to the influential Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) think-tank.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly said high-skilled sectors are key to boosting Britain's wealth amid fierce competition from developing nations such as China and India.
He singled out digital and environmental technologies as areas where the country could lead the world. The Government is also due to publish a White Paper on social mobility next week.
But the ippr report - titled Nice Work If You Can Get It - warned that millions of workers were currently trapped in low-paid, low-skilled jobs with little hope of advancement.
The researchers' projections suggested that unless Government action was stepped up, the demand for low-skilled workers in Britain would be the same in 2020 as in 2006 - when 5.3 million jobs were classed as low-paid.
In 2006, there were 2.5 million economically active adults with no qualifications, but 7.4 million jobs which required no qualifications for entry.
By 2020 there are expected to be just 585,000 such adults, but a similar number of jobs needing no qualifications.
The Government's drive to bolster workforce skills will do little to combat the problem of low pay and poverty unless businesses are pushed to invest, be more innovative and use those skills to increase profits and wages, the report concluded.
Lisa Harker, ippr co-director, said: "Government investment is needed now to strengthen career ladders, improve workplace performance and make sure the welfare system is focused on helping people stay and progress in work. This will ensure that Britain's workforce is prepared for the recovery."
