HM Government

As well as responding comprehensively to the downturn, it is also the Government's role and responsibility to equip the UK for the longer term. In the medium and long term, changes in the global economy offer enormous opportunities - particularly in terms of new jobs. By positioning the UK successfully to grasp these opportunities, we can generate a new surge in social mobility, characterised by more and better jobs being available and everyone having a fair chance to access these jobs and fulfil their talent.

In this chapter, we set out what the major opportunities are and why the UK is well-equipped to grasp them. We then explain what they mean in terms of social mobility and why this is so important. Finally, we outline our overall approach to enabling the UK to seize the opportunities - the detail of which forms the content of the rest of this white paper.