Achieving a Just Transition to Net Zero is one of the defining challenges of modern times. At IER, we're excited to be part of the newly announced Just-Systems project, funded by UKRI and led by the University of Aberdeen.

Researchers from IER participated in the 6th Fairness at Work Conference at the University of Manchester's Work and Equalities Institute, presenting two papers co-authored with colleagues from IER and the GIG OSH project.

Research on the relationship between new technology and productivity has just been published by The Productivity Institute. The study concluded that management skills (core and technology related) are required to maximise the returns of new technology investments. Those companies that had a strategic approach to technology investments and management development implemented their investments more effectively. Currently, management training in the West Midlands is not configured to support businesses to effectively implement new technology, and companies rely on technology suppliers.

The ‘One by One’ project, funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council, seeks to understand the impact of digital technology on museums. The notions of visit and object, collection and exhibition, have all been disrupted and renegotiated by the influence of digital technology. However, over a third of museums in the UK still feel that they do not have the in-house skills to meet their digital aspirations, and rather than improving, some digital skills areas have decreased.

Sally-Anne Barnes, Erika Kispeter and Doris Eikhof (University of Leicester) have undertaken the first phase of the project mapping digital skills and literacies in UK museums. Some initial findings have been published as part of the Museums in the Web 2018 conference to be held in April. The project is led by Dr Ross Parry from the University of Leicester.

Professor Anne Green has had an article published in the journal Urban Studies. The article discusses two key changes affecting employability, labour market operation and policy delivery are austerity and the expansion of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), especially web-based technologies. Increasingly, given pressures for cost savings and developments in ICT, employers’ recruitment and selection strategies are at least partly web-based, careers guidance and public employment services are moving towards ‘digital by default’ delivery and job seekers are expected to manage their job search activity and benefit claims electronically. It asks the question: what are the implications of austerity and technological change for employability?

The article presents a critical review of the literature on ICT and its relation to, and implications for, employability in a context of austerity. A new framework for employability is presented and those aspects of employability where ICT plays a key role are highlighted. It is concluded that in the context of austerity and technological change more is demanded of individual job seekers/workers, as they are expected to take greater responsibility for their marketability in the labour market. This means that individuals’ attributes and skills are of enhanced importance in conceptualisations of employability. ICT skills have a key role to play in employability, but not at the expense of more conventional social skills which remain very important alongside digital literacy.

Green, A.E. (2017). Implications of technological change and austerity for employability in urban labour markets, Urban Studies, 54(7) pp. 1638–1654. DOI: 10.1177/0042098016631906