IER News & blogs

One of our IER Visiting Fellows, Professor Nadya Guimarães, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sao Paulo and former Director of CEBRAP, The Brazilian Centre for Analysis and Planning, has been elected as a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC). The ABC, for which there is no direct equivalent in the UK, is a very important institution which nominates only the most distinguished scientists in the country. Only 17% of them are women, and even fewer are social scientists, only one a sociologist (two now with Nadya). So, this is a great achievement for the social sciences at large and for Nadya in particular, a recognition of the exemplary trajectory and leadership of an intellectually generous and creative social scientist. She has worked on a succession of joint projects with Professors Peter Elias and Kate Purcell since 1998, and from June this year, will be a spending a year on a Research Fellowship at the University of Cambridge, along with her husband Professor Antonio Sérgio Guimarães, who has been appointed as this year’s Simon Bolivar Professor at Cambridge.

Professor Nadya Guimarães and Professor Antonio Sérgio Guimarães will visit IER over the next year, so watch this space for stimulating seminars ahead.

The Journal of Vocational Behavior (ABDC A*) is inviting papers on "Vocational Behavior of Refugees: How do Refugees Seek Employment, Overcome Work-Related Challenges, and Navigate their Careers?”.

Over the last two years we have witnessed the largest migration of refugees in history. As of early 2016 over 4.7 million people have fled the civil war in Syria and the terror regime of the so-called “Islamic State” in both Syria and Iraq, and a significant number presently live in refugee camps in the Middle East (UNHCR, 2016). The effects of this crisis have been immense, not only in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, but also in countries such as Greece, Germany, Hungary, and Austria, which are the final destinations for many refugees, and countries which have agreed to resettle smaller numbers of refugees from the conflict zones including Canada and Australia. The government authorities in these countries are in the process of developing policies to deal with the immediate influx of refugees, but also have to think of ways in which to integrate refugees into the mainstream society in the medium to long term.

Integration into mainstream society is an extremely challenging process for many refugees (Yakushko, Backhaus, Watson, Ngaruiya and Gonzalez, 2008). In addition to applying for asylum status and refugee resettlement and seeking family reunification, and learning the culture and language of the host country, refugees also have to seek employment to support the immediate needs of their families and re-establish a livelihood (Colic-Peisker and Tilbury, 2006). Policy makers have begun to recognize the importance of assisting refugees to obtain employment quickly, as stable employment amongst refugees has been found to reduce welfare dependency and to enhance the educational and health outcomes amongst the children of refugee families (Khoo, 2005; Pernice and Brook, 1996). However, current knowledge of how refugees, practitioners, organizations, and policy makers negotiate these issues is very limited (Morrice, 2011). Very few studies have examined refugees’ vocational behavior, including seeking employment, overcoming work-related challenges and traumata, and navigating careers after leaving their home country. In addition, we have limited understanding as to how organizations, practitioners, and policy makers can best assist refugees in the adaptation process.

In order to improve our understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by refugees in seeking work, overcoming challenges and traumata, and adapting their careers, this special issue of invites articles that will discuss these issues.

Guest editors: Alex Newman, Deakin University; Jenny Bimrose, IER, University of Warwick; Ingrid Nielsen, Deakin University; and Hannes Zacher, Queensland University of Technology.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education has commissioned the University of Warwick’s Institute for Employment Research (IER) to undertake research which will provide insight into the needs of adult learners. It will also consider how policy and practice should adapt in the next five to ten years to increase participation and attainment. There is a particular focus on disadvantaged adults and those who may find education challenging. The research is being supported by the Group of Specialist Designated Institutions (of which WEA is one). The research findings will be shared with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education in July.

Interested in contributing?

Call For Evidence – IER are looking for contributions from interested individuals and institutions to build a view on the current state of policy and practice in adult education as well as looking ahead to what may need to change in the near future.

Adult Students’ Survey – IER are also looking for responses from current and recent adult students through an online survey aimed at gaining an understanding of what works and what needs improvement in current practice.

If you have any questions about either please contact sally-anne.barnes@warwick.ac.uk.

A new report by Lynn Gambin and Terence Hogarth looks at the demand for STEM apprenticeships, the costs and risks incurred by employers taking on apprentices and how these might be mitigated. The report, drawing on evidence from studies carried out by IER since the mid-1990s, highlights that there is demand in the UK labour market for intermediate-level STEM skills which Apprenticeships can help to meet. They note that STEM Apprenticeships can offer substantial returns to individuals and employers, however, the cost to the employer for this form of training is relatively high. Estimates indicate that, at the end of the training period, an employer that has delivered a Level 3 Engineering Apprenticeship will have incurred a net cost of around £40,000. It can take an employer around three years after the end of formal training period to recoup this investment. The report also considers how the employer's risk on investing might be reduced and more employers thus encouraged to take on apprentices. You can now download the full report, Employer Investment in Intermediate-level STEM Skills: how employers manage the investment risk associated with Apprenticeships.

IER's Anne Green attended and was a speaker in the opening panel session at the 'Better Jobs, Better Business' national conference in Leeds on 10 March. The conference was hosted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in partnership with Leeds City Council, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, the British Hospitality Association, the British Retail Consortium, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, CIPD and PwC. The event marked the launch of the report 'Improving progression from low-paid jobs at city-region level' co-authored by Anne, Paul Sissons and Jenny Ferreria at Coventry University, Kathryn Ray from the Learning and Work Institute and Ceri Hughes from the New Policy Institute.