IER has been commissioned by the Department for Education to undertake a mapping and analysis of transferable skills (such as, team working and communication) across each of the new Technical Routes proposed in the Sainsbury Panel Report and adopted in the Government's Post-16 Skills Plan.

The purpose of the study is the creation of a framework to help design the content of the new technical level qualifications.

Whilst there is much evidence on transferable skills in general, or graduate transferable skills in particular, relatively little research is available for 16-18 year olds who will be the main cohort undertaking the 15 Technical Routes. IER is taking an innovative approach, triangulating information and data from: an evidence review; occupational skills, knowledge and abilities from the O*Net database, and; transferable skills identified in apprenticeship frameworks and standards. To find out more contact Peter Dickinson.

Professor Chris Warhurst and Dr Daria Luchinskaya of IER were invited to Brussels to present options for including a new section on skill utilisation in the upcoming 4th European Company Survey (ECS). The meeting, jointly organised by Cedefop and Eurofound, was part of the preparation for the ECS. The survey, due to be administrated over 2018-2019, covers all EU Member States plus EU Candidate Countries and examines management-employee relations and practices.

Professor Anne Green has had an article published in the journal Urban Studies. The article discusses two key changes affecting employability, labour market operation and policy delivery are austerity and the expansion of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), especially web-based technologies. Increasingly, given pressures for cost savings and developments in ICT, employers’ recruitment and selection strategies are at least partly web-based, careers guidance and public employment services are moving towards ‘digital by default’ delivery and job seekers are expected to manage their job search activity and benefit claims electronically. It asks the question: what are the implications of austerity and technological change for employability?

The article presents a critical review of the literature on ICT and its relation to, and implications for, employability in a context of austerity. A new framework for employability is presented and those aspects of employability where ICT plays a key role are highlighted. It is concluded that in the context of austerity and technological change more is demanded of individual job seekers/workers, as they are expected to take greater responsibility for their marketability in the labour market. This means that individuals’ attributes and skills are of enhanced importance in conceptualisations of employability. ICT skills have a key role to play in employability, but not at the expense of more conventional social skills which remain very important alongside digital literacy.

Green, A.E. (2017). Implications of technological change and austerity for employability in urban labour markets, Urban Studies, 54(7) pp. 1638–1654. DOI: 10.1177/0042098016631906

As part of the Warwick's faculty of social sciences CREW network, IER, the Law School and the Industrial Relations Research Unit have an award from the Higher Education Innovation Fund to produce a series of Brexit Briefings on Employment. The four thematic briefings will focus on job loss and job creation; training for the unemployed; employment rights and regulation; migration and skills. Each will present key research evidence and make recommendations for the development of new policy as the UK exits the EU. Each will also have a public launch over May-July this year.

For further information, contact Professor Chris Warhurst, Dr Ania Zbyszewska or Professor Guglielmo Meardi at ier at warwick dot ac dot uk

The Local Skills Study outlines how to understand the way in which local-national and local-local collaborative working needs to develop if it is to enhance skills development in England. It is based on a case study of the Black Country and seeks to show how local skills devolution can best be realised. The report also identifies how other countries have devolved their skills and employment policy to local or regional levels. Reflecting on the international and local evidence the study develops a framework to be used as a tool for local actors to use their combined local knowledge to answer key questions about the context, drivers for change and desired outcomes to enable them to more effectively deliver local skills and to meet local needs.