IER News & blogs

The hospitality sector has been hit hardest by Covid-19 in Australia. Sally Wright and Chris Warhurst of IER will be working with Angie Knox of Sydney University to develop a new measure of the impact of Covid-19 on job quality in the Australian hospitality industry. The aim is to help government develop policies to ensure a sustainable recovery for the sector.

The gender pay gap is well researched. This new paper by IER’s Honorary Professor Rafael Muñoz de Bustillo Llorente and his Spanish team adds to that body of research by examining the non-monetary gap in working conditions by gender. Using the European Working Conditions Survey, it explores gender differences in working conditions by different dimensions of job quality and across countries.

Are apprenticeships in peril?

Apprentices are employees of the companies that train them. It stands to reason that if employment falls then the number of apprentices will fall. But looking back to the 2008 economic crisis, it is apparent that the number of apprentices actually increased, in large measure due to the apprenticeship programme expanding its occupational coverage. This time around it looks as if apprenticeships will have little fertile ground to feed any further expansion. Other things being equal it seems reasonable to expect the number of apprentices to show a potentially precipitous fall, at least over the short-term.

Social economy enterprises (SEEs) – such as cooperatives and social enterprises – comprise around 7% of UK employment. A recent study published by the Institute for Employment Research (IER) found that SEEs weathered the storm of the 2008 Financial crisis better than other enterprises and were able to deliver inclusive growth, sustainable development and higher quality jobs. Moreover SEEs in Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK provided faster jobs growth compared to other organisations. The resilience and jobs growth of SEEs in the wake of the 2008 Financial crisis should therefore be harnessed to support the current pandemic economic recovery.

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic and ongoing, Dr Sally-Anne Barnes and Professor Jenny Bimrose have been drawing upon their latest research to support the international careers guidance and counselling community by delivering online learning via a number of webinars.

Nearly 400 practitioners from professional associations and government departments from across the world have participated in the webinars and are drawing upon IER research to inform their practice. Webinars have covered recent research on how to support parents and carers in providing careers support, careers labour market information, and lifelong guidance policy and practice.