Warwick IER was commissioned by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to advise on how incentives can support employer apprenticeships during and beyond the Covid-19 crisis.

The study involved an international review of evidence on the financial and other incentives countries use to stimulate employer investment in apprenticeships. It explored: (a) where employer incentives have worked best; (b) how they were targeted; (c) which instruments were used; and (d) the risks and opportunities of different incentives.

The report provided an assessment of how incentive best practice might be applied in Scotland the short-, medium- and longer term, based on an analysis of Scottish apprenticeship data and consultations with international Vocational Education and Training (VET) experts.

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 Government Office for Science is looking at how changes in technology and an ageing population affect what skills the UK will need in the future. The project also considers how investment in skills and encouraging lifelong learning can have a positive impact on productivity. This project aims to provide policy-makers with evidence on the current and future state of skills and lifelong learning in the UK. IER researchers have contributed to the evidence base on:

Skills and Lifelong Learning: Gaps in Training Provision - This report looks at current trends and challenges for policymakers in the UK skills system, including how geography affects provision of skills, individual access to skills and training, the role of migration and the role of careers advice.

• Green, A., Hogarth, T., Barnes, S-A, Gambin, L. and Sofroniou N. (2016) The UK's Skill System: Training, Employability and Gaps in Provision. London: Foresight, Government Office for Science.

The UK skills system: how aligned are public policy and employer views of training provision? - This report explores trends and developments in UK skills policy, employer views on training and issues in realising an employer owned skills system.

• Green, A. and Hogarth, T. (2016) The UK skills system: how aligned are public policy and employer views of training provision? London: Foresight, Government Office for Science.

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.

On 26 November, Business in the Community published its report Destiny should not be determined by demography which considers the impact of school-business partnerships on young people’s employability, as well as the effects of such partnerships on schools and businesses. The report is based on research carried out by Terence Hogarth and Lynn Gambin at the Institute for Employment Research which aimed to assess the impact of employer-engagement activities, the uplift of employability skills and added-value impact on pupils of the Business Class programme. This research was carried out over the past two years in conjunction with Education and Employers Research.

The full evaluation report can be downloaded from http://www.bitc.org.uk/programmes/business-class/business-class-evaluation.