The ESRC Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Warwick, one of 21 such centres in the UK, embodies the university’s commitment to producing the next generation of leaders in social science research. Internationally renowned for its research excellence, the University of Warwick is now inviting applications for an ESRC-funded Collaborative PhD Studentship hosted at the Warwick Institute for Employment Research in association with our collaborative partner organisation Adviza. The PhD on the use of information communications technology (ICT) and labour market intelligence (LMI) in careers education and guidance will commence in October 2016. Find out how to apply by going to the IER website.

Following his retirement as Director of IER, the Robert Lindley Scholarship in Employment Policy Research has just been established. This scholarship is intended to encourage cross-over between the academic and policy-maker communities. The first recipient is IER's PhD student Lorraine Johnson. Her research interest lies in late career transition with a focus on the experiences of professional women.

Career ‘transition’ and ‘adaptability’ have been significant themes running through Lorraine's own career to date. In the last 5 years she has transitioned from Further Education College Lecturer, Secondary Pathways Adviser (developing web based career transition tools) and more recently Project Manager for a United Kingdom Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) project. Her earlier career provided plenty of opportunity to practice “transition” initiated by a move from London to Birmingham to take up a promotion to Senior Careers Adviser responsible for project work and then further promotion to trainer. During this period she also undertook two career breaks to support her partner's career development. The first involved living in Tsukuba Science City, Japan, whilst home teaching her two children. The second moved her to Tokyo, working at the British School whilst studying for a Masters in Education.

The Institute for Employment Research is offering two fully-funded PhD Studentships in association with the ESRC-funded project: Precarious pathways to employment for young people? Unpaid, temporary and involuntary part-time work in transitions from education to employment. The closing date for applications is Friday 5th September 2014.

We are looking for two enthusiastic Masters graduates with relevant interests in recent labour market history to take up fully funded ESRC PhD studentships, starting in October 2014 and attached to an ESRC research programme, Precarious pathways to employment for young people? The reseaarch will explore the dynamics of transitions from education to work in local, regional and historical contexts during previous economic recessions (specifically the 1930s and the 1980s). The areas under study are Leicester and Birmingham/Coventry: it is expected that one studentship will be allocated to each. The overall research programme involves academics from the universities of Aston, Leicester and the Open University as well as Warwick.