The narrative study led by Professor Jenny Bimrose with colleagues from IER and partners in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy and Poland has been published by Cedefop who commissioned the research.

The report draws both on literature review and an original collection of stories from biographical interviews of individuals from seven European countries. The narrative accounts describe the wide variety of experiences with initial and further education. The analysis focuses on motivations for learning (or not) and the findings confirm that early negative experiences with schooling have a scarring effect inhibiting workers’ willingness to re-engage in education later in life. Nevertheless, many low-educated adults were found to command a variety of skills, which they have developed in the work context.

The Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) was commissioned by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education to undertake a study to scope the need, reach and areas for policy and practice development for adult education concerning disadvantaged adults. This enquiry gathered the views of key stakeholders, partners and providers on their top priorities for adult learning in 2016 and over the next 5 - 10 years. The report will be launched today at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education Reception, ‘Closing the Learning Gap – Opening up Opportunities for Adults’. The report provides a full picture of the benefits of adult education for individuals, employers and communities focusing on what works well and what needs to be improved to make best use of the resources available for adult education, particularly in addressing the needs of those most disadvantaged in our society.

The research was led by Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE with Karen Adriaanse and Dr Sally-Anne Barnes.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has commissioned a piece of research by the Institute for Employment Research (IER) at the University of Warwick. HESA is leading a review to find out what future requirements there will be for data on the destinations and outcomes for students leaving HE. To help inform the Review, HESA wants to find out particular information from students and graduates and we would like to invite students and gradautes to participate in an online or face-to-face focus group.

The first face-to-face focus group will be held at the University of Warwick on 14 June at 3pm. All participants will receive £10 for their participation. Click here to find out more or sign up for this focus group or future online groups.

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.

Postgraduate students from across the University of Warwick were offered the opportunity to practice disseminating their research to a non-specialist audience through a poster and presentation exercise. The Social Science Faculty Prize went to Lorraine Johnson a postgraduate student at the Institute for Employment Research. Her research focuses on the nature of career support available to professional women aged fifty to state pension age navigating the labour market.