Learning and skills have important economic, social and individual benefits. Yet for decades the United Kingdom (UK) has lagged behind comparator countries, particularly for intermediate skills. This is first report of Learning & Work's Ambition Skills programme which looks at where the UK is on track to be by 2035 and explores the changing patterns of participation in learning. Learning and skills can be crucial for life, work and society: helping the economy to grow; living standards to rise; people to be fulfilled; health and wellbeing to improve; and community engagement to increase. For that reason, it is important to understand where the UK is headed and how this compares to other countries. The Ambition Skills programme, aims to address this, identifying a higher ambition, how this can be delivered, and the economic and social benefits from doing so. This report looks at the UK's qualifications profile, projects this forward to 2035 and compares to the trends for other countries. Qualifications are of course just one measure of learning and skills, and the outcomes of learning (economic and social) are of central importance. The overall programme takes this broader view, but ultimately qualifications are an important measure and one that allows some comparability over time and between countries. In addition, while the level of qualifications and learning matters, so does the type of qualification, quality of learning, and application of learning in life and work. The report also looks at trends in employer demand for skills and qualifications. Employer demand for and utilisation of skills is derived from their business strategies, culture and the wider environment. The demand for and supply of skills need to be considered together: employers will design their jobs partly based on the skills available, and people will acquire skills partly based on what they think will help them gain and be successful in the jobs they want. [Additional support from City and Guilds.]