IER’s Director, Chris Warhurst, has been invited to speak at the OECD’s annual Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) meeting. The session will focus on putting skills utilisation into practice. The meeting takes place at the OECD in Paris over 17-18 May.

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.

A series of research-based policy briefings, organized by the University of Warwick and its Connecting Research on Employment and Work (CREW) network, will take place over four consecutive weeks in November and early December 2017 in London.

Experts from the Warwick Institute for Employment Research, Warwick Law School and Warwick Business School's Industrial Relations Research Unit evaluate the employment policy, rights, skills and labour market implications of the UK's withdrawal from the EU and make research-based recommendations for future development of policy in these areas, as the UK leaves the EU.

Next dates for the briefing, which will be held at Central Hall, Maurice Barnett room, Westminster, London, SW1H 9NH from 12:30-1:30, with lunch available from 12:00:

• 14 November - Migration and Skills: Guglielmo Meardi, Anne Green & Erika Kispeter
• 23 November - Job Loss and Job Creation – Pitfalls and Opportunities?: Nigel Driffield
• 27 November - Training Funds for the Unemployed: Chris Warhurst, Daria Luchinskaya & Peter Dickinson
• 7 December - Employment Rights: Ania Zbyszewska & Alan Neal

If you would like to RSVP to any of the events, please contact Lynne Marston: L.Marston@warwick.ac.uk.

This conference organised jointly by the OECD, Warwick IER, the Work Foundation, and the Centre for Cities will bring together stakeholders from national government departments, cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) as well as business, NGOs and research institutions to discuss the key challenges facing the United Kingdom in building more and better quality jobs. The conference will focus on discussing the key challenges and opportunities from Brexit and sharing local solutions as well as international lessons from OECD countries on how effective skills policies can foster productivity and inclusive growth. Register for the conference at The Shard on Thursday 2 November 2017.

A comprehensive report into migration and the construction industry by IER and IFF Research has been published by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) . The large-scale research has brought together the views of construction firms, employment agencies and migrant workers.

The report has revealed that a third of firms employ migrant workers, saying they have comparable skills to British workers and are more readily available. In London one in two employers say they are ‘very dependent’ on migrant workers, compared to around one in six in Yorkshire and the Humber. Some employers (22%) also said that migrants have a better work ethic. But only 1% of firms said they specifically look to recruit migrants. The research team at IER included Anne Green, David Owen and Erika Kispeter.