Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced a range of measures to boost Britain's skills in his Pre-Budget Report.

Echoing his speech to the CBI last month, Mr Brown pledged to make Britain "the best educated and most flexible in the world" in response to the threat from global outsourcing.

He focussed on the 30% of employees with low or no skills, which he said was the highest proportion of unskilled people of any major European union country.

"The unskilled worker is four times less likely to be offered training in work than the highly qualified," he told MPs.

"For decades low skills have been our ‘Achilles Heel’ as a modern economy – and the post war ‘laissez faire’ training system has not, and will not, meet the skills needs of the future."

Click on the links below to find out more about measures announced in the Pre-Budget Report to boost skills:
* Free training for the low-skilled with a national roll-out of Employer Training Pilots.
* Unemployed to be offered free work-related training and personal skills coaches.
* Review of UK skills
* Boosting scientific skills and research and development
Mr Brown also announced measures to improve the deal for working parents and lure lone parents and benefit claimants back to work.

For a full round-up of all business news from the Chancellor's speech, go to our Pre-Budget Report: At-a-Glance report

A full copy of Gordon Brown's speech can be read by clicking here.