A new report, Longer-term Employment Outcomes of Ex-Service Personnel, looks beyond the first two years of resettlement.

This research has found that UK veterans face challenges finding longer-term civilian careers that enable them to reach their full potential. The Longer-term Employment Outcomes of Ex-Service Personnel report from QinetiQ, in partnership with Warwick Institute for Employment Research and RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, and commissioned by Forces in Mind Trust (FIMT), is one of the first UK studies to explore the longer-term employment outcomes for veterans, beyond the first two years of resettlement.

The research found that while the majority of ex-Service personnel maintain employment over time, it can often involve numerous jobs and periods of unemployment. Not all ex-Service personnel reported being satisfied with their civilian job or career; less than half (44.5%) felt that they found the ‘right job’ for them in the longer-term and which maximises their potential (42.5%) or provides them with opportunities to progress (42.4%).

The research recommends several initiatives to better prepare Service leavers for the civilian labour market and to ensure that employers can take advantage of this skilled cohort. They include:

• Access to civilian work placements, building knowledge for transition and innovation within the Armed Forces, for all Service personnel.
• Mandatory transition support for all Service leavers.
• Training on commercial, marketing, and financial skills as part of the Resettlement package for all personnel.
• Improved data collection on the employment outcomes of ex-Service personnel and their families to ensure government and support services can effectively identify challenges and respond effectively.

Some groups face greater challenges when leaving the Armed Forces, making them more likely to experience unsuccessful employment in the longer-term. This includes women, ethnic minorities, those who are wounded, injured and sick, and older Service leavers. In addition to demographic factors, unrealistic expectations of the civilian job market, a lack of transferrable skills and an inability to adapt to civilian environments were all found to persist over the longer-term and reduce the chances of a successful transition out of the Armed Forces.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Anne Fessi as the Communications & Engagement Manager for ReWAGE, the Renewing Work Advisory Group of Experts, launched in July and funded by the ESRC.

Anne has over 20 years' experience of delivering strategic and tactical communications and stakeholder engagement. She has worked for the UK Government’s Department for Education, Ministry of Defence, NHS and the Skills Funding Agency. She joins IER from Ofqual and will be with ReWAGE until the end of 2022.

A frequent claim from labour market information users (e.g., educational and training providers) is the lack of disaggregated data to identify the current requirements of the labour demand. This project, conducted by Dr Jeisson Cardenas-Rubio, pilots and assesses whether information from job portals can be classified according to the relatively new 6- digit UK Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) developed by the ONS. It thus opens new research avenues in assessing the possibility of organising and coding vacancy data and understanding the dynamics of the labour market at a more disaggregated level.

This report sets out the process and findings of the feasibility study. It proves that data collected from job vacancies can provide a source of information at SOC 6-digit level. Using these data in further analyses, it would be possible to examine labour demand, wage levels, and education and skills requirements (and trends) at this occupational level. With this disaggregated information, education and training providers could have a high-quality source of updated labour demand information to align their programmes with the employers’ needs.

Read the report on the IER project website.

A rapid evidence review by Gaby Atfield, Beate Baldauf and Erika Kispeter examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education, childcare and social work and related social care workforce. The review also examines how negative effects can be mitigated. The Department for Education funded this work following a recommendation from SAGE.

The review found that there was significant evidence of direct and indirect impacts on mental health and wellbeing of teachers, childcarers and social workers. These were exacerbated by fears about physical safety, increased workloads and concerns about being able to provide adequate support, particularly for the most vulnerable children. Financial stress and fears about job loss were also seen amongst nursery and other child care workers.

Mitigations to improve mental health and wellbeing included both organisational interventions and individual coping strategies, while provision of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and clear and consistent guidance for its use was also important.

The review identified a lack of evidence on the wider implications of declines in mental health and wellbeing and few studies that took a whole system approach that treats workers as part of a holistic system also including children and parents and carers. It identified a need for studies that track the longer-term impact of the pandemic on workers and greater learning from previous pandemics and other crises that have impacted on children's education.

Read the review on the IER project webpage.

The University of Warwick is inviting applications for the following posts at the IER:

· Professor or Associate Professor and

· Research Fellow.

Full details can be found at the University of Warwick website: for the Professorial post here and the Research Fellow post here. Closing date is 20 October 2021 for both posts.

We look forward to welcoming successful applicants to join our highly skilled and experienced staff.