As part of a knowledge exchange and sharing good practice, Sally-Anne Barnes, as part of the LMI for All team, met with the Stichting Studiekeuze123 team from the Netherlands.

Studiekeuze123 had just won three #LovieAwards for their website Studiekeuze123.nl, which is the official Dutch platform to support students in their study orientation and choices.

Sally-Anne and the Studiekeuze123 team had a great morning talking about careers LMI, course and occupational mappings and widgets! The LMI for All team look forward to future opportunities to work together.

IER welcomed members of the Jordan British Council, the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission for Higher Education Institutes and the higher education sector (AQACHEI) in October 2019. The delegation was comprised of key members responsible for the implementation of the Jordan National Qualification Framework.

They came to find out more about LMI for All and how it is supporting careers education and guidance within the education sector.

The event was organised by Lisa Collett from Cotswold Research who has been managing the Action Learning Forum project in Jordan.

Professor Peter Elias, CBE, of IER has been conferred as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. This Fellowship is a huge accolade. Fellows are drawn from academics, practitioners and policymakers, marking the impact of their work through the use of social science for public benefit.

Professor Chris Warhurst, Director of IER said:

‘It is another indication of the very high esteem with which Peter is held for his work on, amongst other things over the past thirty years, occupational classification schemes in the UK and internationally and, more recently, developing protocols for the use of Big data for the OECD countries.’

IER and FIER at the University of Jyväskylä have been working on a project commissioned by the EC DG EMPL researching lifelong guidance policy and practice in the EU. The team, led by Sally-Anne Barnes, organised a successful workshop in Brussels at the beginning of October to discuss the findings of the study. This event was attended by 32 experts in guidance and lifelong learning from across Europe.

Following this, the research findings were presented at the European Vocational Skills Week 2019 held in Helsinki. The interactive session on 'guidance for lifelong learning' was streamed live and debated what support was needed to promote lifelong guidance.

The research report is due to be published in 2020.

A new report, 'Family friendly working policies and practices: Motivations, influences and impacts for employers', led by IER's Professor Clare Lyonette and Beate Baldauf , and commissioned by the Government Equalities Office (GEO), is the outcome of a series of GEO funded research projects aiming to support employers in closing the gender pay gap.

Key recommendations for employers include:

● Introduce and promote a wide range of flexible working policies and practices
● Disseminate good practice
● Develop a positive workplace culture
● Encourage transparency among managers, flexible workers and other colleagues
● Trial and measure flexible working over a reasonable time period
● Think in the longer-term
● Challenge gendered attitudes and approaches towards flexible working.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Lyonette said:

‘The link between family-friendly working policies and practices and the gender pay gap may not be immediately obvious. We highlight evidence which shows that offering and promoting flexible working to both women and men can create a positive workplace culture, benefiting both employees and employers. Ultimately this can lead to greater gender equality and a reduced pay gap but only if flexible working is not seen as a women's issue'.

The full report can be accessed here and the summary report here.