Jenny Bimrose presented at the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling (NICEC) international conference in April 2019 on LMI for All.

She examined the integration of labour market information (LMI) with information communications technology (ICT) as a case study of the changing professional identity of career practitioners.

Drawing on two major research studies, this workshop focused on the influences of the changing nature, and integration of LMI into career practice through the use of ICT, on the professional identity transformation of career practitioners.

Find out more here.

David Way CBE highlights in the TES one important theme that has emerged from findings in a new book A Race to the Top is the potential role of apprenticeships in helping to achieve greater social mobility.

IER's Dr Deirdre Hughes has contributed to the book. David Way says that Deirdre writes with great clarity about “the urgent imperative for individuals to be guided through an increasingly fast-changing and complex education and labour market landscape". This seems absolutely critical for both young people and employers. He suggests that "unless we can bring greater clarity to the choices young people and their parents make, they will stick with what they know and apprenticeships will remain stubbornly low."

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.

IER is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE as a Principal Research Fellow. Deirdre has a long established relationship with IER and has been an Associate Fellow since 2006. Deirdre is an international expert in careers, employment and skills policy, research and practice. Her main research interests include: the marketisation of careers provision; partnership and city approaches to careers work; assessing and measuring the impact of guidance interventions; quality and evidence-based approaches to careers, employment and skills; the application of careers coaching, information communications technologies (ICT) and labour market intelligence in public sector services.

She is also Co-Editor of the British Journal for Guidance and Counselling: International Symposium Series. Deirdre is currently Chair of a DfE/CfBT Senior Advisory Group (Promotions) raising the profile of a new Core Maths Support Programme across England. She has acted as a Commissioner at the UK Commission for Employment & Skills (UKCES, 2011 - 2015). Deirdre was Chair of the National Careers Council in England (2012 - 2014), reporting directly to three Skills Ministers.

Deirdre has given written and oral evidence to UK-wide Parliamentary and Assembly Governments and published extensively in academic and professional journals. She is a consultant to the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (ELGPN, 2011-2015) on quality assurance and evidence-based policies and practices. Deirdre recently led a UK Country delegation to the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy (ICCDPP) 7th Symposium held in Iowa. The Mayor of London recently endorsed her work on 'London Ambitions: Shaping a Successful Careers Offer for all young Londoners'. She is passionate about improving careers support systems and encouraging young people to build upon their early achievements in mathematics. In 2012, she was awarded an Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen for services to career guidance.

Employers need to be able to recruit the right talent for their businesses, so that they can use employee potential efficiently. The government’s ‘Careers guidance action plan’ recommended that employers should work with the National Careers Service to achieve these ambitions. Recently published research, led by Professor Jenny Bimrose at the Institute for Employment Research, examined the need for greater levels of employers to work with schools, and the role of National Careers Service in fulfilling this need. One conclusion suggests that employer links not only inspire, inform and advise students about particular occupations and sectors, but also enhance the provision of careers and work-related education in the curriculum. Read the full report 'Understanding the link between employers and schools and the role of the National Careers Service' here.