IER News & blogs

Historically, technology has been a driver for more jobs, rather than less, and research from the University of Warwick suggests this may continue to be the case as agriculture and horticulture continues to evolve. However, it is clear that regardless of the net impact on the number of jobs in farming and growing moving forward, the skills that the workforce uses will need to change.

The online workshop will explore how vocational education and training (VET) and skills practices are shaped by national and regional ecosystems across Europe. It will take place on the 18^th of June, with IER’s Terence Hogarth presenting at the workshop.

The latest UK labour market presents a mixed but increasingly concerning picture as structural pressures intensify. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in February-April 2025, up from 4.4% quarterly and marking the highest level since Q1 2021. The employment rate improved modestly to 75.1%, with economic inactivity declining to 21.3%.

In IER’s latest contribution to the Skills England Research Seminar Series, in June, Prof. Rob Wilson presented ‘Working Futures: Five Decades of Trying to Anticipate Changing Skills Needs.’ In 2025 the IER will have been engaged in skills forecasting for 50 years.

The presentation reflected on the rationale for producing detailed, quantitative, labour market projections and why they are still needed. It drew on five decades of research, focusing on the UK, but also covering work at international level, including Europe and the USA.

IER researchers presented their papers at the Creating Sustainable Work ConferenceLink opens in a new window 2025, held in Stockholm, Sweden from 7-9 May 2025, including findings from a project focusing on the occupational health and safety of gig workers (GIG OSHLink opens in a new window). The conference brought together experts and stakeholders to explore sustainable work practices and their implications for worker wellbeing and policy development.