OVERVIEW: This symposium is concerned to interrogate, critically, the view that education and skill formation are central to economic competitiveness, social solidarity and the alleviation of poverty. It is a commonly held view amongst politicians in developed and developing countries alike that education and skill formation are central to social progress. It is claimed that due to the advent of new forms of economic globalisation and the 'knowledge economy' upgrading skills is essential to economic competitiveness. By the same token raising the skill levels of the population is also seen to be an antidote to income polarisation since, it has been argued by influential commentators that it has been caused primarily by the fall in wages for low skill work. Equally, raising skill levels is seen as a way of reducing unemployment and poverty since research has shown that low skills are associated with a higher incidence of unemployment. This symposium brings together researchers from Britain, Australia, and Mexico to analyse skill formation policies and underlying assumptions in order to assess their prospects for achieving the various goals outlined above. The political economy of skill formation is a fast developing field with scholars committed to interdisciplinary work (Ashton, 1999). This symposium will bring together some of the leaders in the field with younger researchers. Previous comparative research on skill formation (e.g., Ashton & Green, 1996; Ashton et al, 1999; Crouch et al, 1999; Hall and Soskice, 2001; Brown, Green & Lauder, 2001) has established that distinctive national systems of skill formation have developed with attendant strengths and weaknesses. All have been in one way or another forced to respond to economic globalisation (Brown and Lauder, 2001). In this symposium we build on the work cited by raising issues that have arisen out of previous research and by introducing, especially through the younger researchers, new issues that need to be placed on the agenda. A variety of theoretical perspectives are taken which challenge national and multi lateral agency orthodoxy about the role of human capital in economic development. This includes examinations of the role of conflict (Lloyd and Payne, 2002) in skill formation. Papers will also, where appropriate, take into account the impact of globalisation on skill strategies, especially those relating to High Skills policies. The symposium is consistent with the interests of the Policy Studies and Politics of Education strand including critical analyses, comparative dimensions and involving younger as well as established researchers. One of the contributors to the symposium, Phillip Brown is giving a keynote address. Some of the issues that he raises will be followed up in the symposium and may, therefore, be of general interest to those attending the conference. References Ashton, D., (1999) The Skill Formation Process: A Paradigm Shift? Journal of Education and Work, 12,3, 347- 350. Ashton and Green (1996), Education, Training and the Global Economy, (1996) Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Ashton, D.N., Green, F.; James, D. and Sung, J. (1999) Education and Training for Development in East Asia, London: Routledge. Brown, P., Green, A. and Lauder, (2001), High Skills: Globalization, Competitiveness and Skill Formation, Oxford: OUP Crouch, C., Finegold, D. and Sako, M. (1999) Are Skills the Answer? The political Economy of Skill Creation in Advanced Industrial Countries, Oxford: OUP. Hall, P., and Soskice, D., (2001) Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Lloyd, C., and Payne, J., (2002) Towards the Political Economy of Skill, Journal of Education and Work (forthcoming)