IER News & blogs

The British Academy has launched its new report on the skills of AHSS graduates.

IER was commissioned by the British Academy to conduct mixed-methods research to identify AHSS graduates’ and employers’ perceptions of their skills, the benefits of AHSS graduates to the economy and to society and the need for any further skills development. The research, involving a comprehensive review of existing literature, analysis of 3 different quantitative data sources, focus groups with 22 graduates and postgraduates, and interviews with 6 employers, found that graduates with more creative approaches to work will be highly valued in the future and, if AHSS graduates can combine their creativity with good technical skills, they will be highly sought after. Those with narrow skill sets are more likely to struggle in the labour market, except in niche areas where there may be a shortage of particular skills. The research was led by Dr Clare Lyonette, with Dr Wil Hunt and Beate Baldauf, and the IER report has been published on the British Academy website.

In-work poverty is a major socio-economic problem. In 2013, 52% of working age adults and 59% of children in Scotland were living in households where at least someone was in work. Almost a fifth of the workforce was paid below the living wage; of which 64% were women. Underemployment and job security are also issues: in 2014 around 180,000 workers in Scotland were underemployed and 120,000 on zero-hour contracts. In 2015, the Scottish Parliament launched an Inquiry into Work, Wellbeing and Wages.

This project was a response to these problems. It involved applying IER’s existing expertise in job quality to the creation of a set of measures of Decent Work for Oxfam, one of the world’s leading charities. The aim of the project was to inform public debate and political party thinking ahead of the Scottish elections in May 2016 by proposing a decent work agenda for Scotland. Thereafter, the project hoped to encourage the explicit adoption of the decent work agenda by the Scottish Government post May 2016. Led by Oxfam, the project was co-branded with IER and the University of the West of Scotland. Chris Warhurst and Sally Wright were involved from IER. Their participation was enabled by funding from Warwick’s ESRC Impact Accelerator Account.

The project wanted to provide low wage workers with a voice about what mattered to them and so used mixed participatory research methods to ask people about their priorities, concerns and ambitions about what they needed to live well. Data was gathered from across Scotland through focus groups, semi-structured interviews, street stalls and a YouGov online opinion poll. From this data Sally Wright developed a set of weighted rankings for decent work. Even before publication of its findings, the project attracted interest and support from the Scottish Parliament. The Inquiry into Work, Wages and Wellbeing reported in early 2016; after hearing evidence from the project, it wanted the Scottish Government-established Fair Work Commission to ‘consider carefully the findings of Oxfam‘s work’ in its deliberations. Evidence was submitted to this Commission as well as the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee.

The report from the project – What makes for decent work? A study with low paid workers in Scotland – was published later in 2016 and was co-authored by Sally Wright. It was launched in the Scottish Parliament with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary in attendance. Throughout 2016 the project gained considerable social media, newspaper and radio attention in Scotland and was cited by the Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Roseanna Cunningham MSP, during committee debate about the work, wages and wellbeing report as well as by John Finnie MSP during a debate in the main parliamentary chamber about the living wage and Scottish football clubs. Its impact is on-going and is monitored by Oxfam.

IER’s Peter Dickinson participated in the Evidence Lab at the CIPD's Annual Conference in Manchester. He gave a presentation on the main findings emerging from the work IER has been doing on the implications of the green transition for jobs and skills. Following this there was a Q&A session with the audience.

IER's Dr Emily EricksonLink opens in a new window and Professor Terence HogarthLink opens in a new window presented research from the Skills2CapabilitiesLink opens in a new window project at the International Network for Innovative Apprenticeship (INAP) conference, held in Hertfordshire on 5-6 May 2025. The conference brought together international experts to explore innovative approaches to apprenticeship systems and policies.

Their paper, titled 'The Road Less Travelled: The Passage Towards a Market-Based Apprenticeship System in England', examined the impact of policy changes on apprenticeship training content and participation levels within England's apprenticeship system. The research considers how various policy shifts and developments have influenced the evolution of apprenticeship provision, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by market-based approaches to skills development.

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