Institute for Employment Research » IER News & blogs (tag [VET])

Shaping a Vision for VET in England by 2050

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The VET2050 project is launching a series of vision workshops bringing together practitioners, policymakers, employers, and learners to co-design what high quality vocational education and training could look like in England by 2050. These workshops explore long-term challenges and opportunities, from technological change to regional inequalities, and invite participants to imagine ambitious, evidence informed futures for the sector.

Skills2Capabilities comes to a close: reflecting on IER’s role and contributions

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The Skills2Capabilities project has formally concluded, marking the end of a three-year Horizon Europe collaboration that explored how skills systems can better support labour-market transitions across Europe. The project, coordinated by 3s (Austria), brought together seven interlinked work packages to tackle some of the most pressing questions facing Europe’s labour markets: how to support workers to update their skills, navigate career transitions and stay resilient throughout life – and how to give employers access to a workforce ready for the demands of green and digital transitions.

IER: still doing a good job in 2025

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:00:00 GMT

It’s been a good year for good jobs policy

IER was established 45 years ago with funding from the UK Government and what is now the European Commission. Its task then was to provide labour market forecasts to support policymaking. Although government emphasis on skills has remained constant, government interest in employment policy more broadly has waxed and waned over the years.

IER researchers publish key insights on vocational education funding

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:00:00 GMT

IER's Prof Terence Hogarth, Dr Emily Erickson, and Dr Sangwoo Lee have co-authored a new deliverable for the Skills2Capabilities (S2C) project titled "The Funding of VET in Austria, Norway and England". The study provides a comprehensive overview of vocational education and training (VET) funding across Europe and offers detailed case study insights into Austria, Norway, and England.

Spelling It Out, Making It Count

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:30:00 GMT

This new report investigates the current state of Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs) in English and maths in the UK following their reform in 2019.

Conducted by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and The University of Warwick Institute of Employment Research (IER), and supported by the Gatsby Foundation and the Edge Foundation, the study explores whether FSQs are still serving their intended purpose as practical, real world alternatives to GCSEs that focus on developing essential life and work skills.

Terence Hogarth, IER’s skills expert, presents at international events

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 11:19:00 GMT

Terence Hogarth made presentations on the role of employers skills surveys to the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) training course on 2nd December and on ‘Delivering VET – The Way Forward’ at Cedefop’s Future of VET conference on 6th December.

Longitudinal Study of Learners in Vocational Education

Mon, 27 Feb 2017 16:33:22 GMT

The Director of IER, Chris Warhurst, has been invited to address the annual Ofqual Conference on 28 February. This year’s conference focuses on vocational and technical education. Chris will talk about the first findings and policy implications from IER’s new VETrack tracking study of further education students and apprentices funded by the Edge Foundation. The report is now available, see:

Warhust, C., Yerushalmi, E and Poole, S. (2016). VETrack: Longitudinal Study of Learners in Vocational Education Wave 1 Report. Report for Edge Foundation and City & Guilds. London: Edge Foundation.

Adult Education Strategy: England

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:55:14 GMT

Findings from IER’'s ‘Call for Evidence’, Town Hall meetings and interviews with senior leaders highlight a stated danger that national policy for adult education could disappear by 2020. Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE delivered a presentation to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Education this week. She has been formally invited to review and discuss the current policy and funding context, including key developments since July 2016. The APPG Chair, Chi Onwurah MP and Vice Chairs, Baroness Goudie and Peter Bottomley MP will jointly host the event. For more on the project.

Hughes, D., Adriaanse, K. and Barnes, S-A. (2016) Adult Education: Too important to be left to chance. London: All Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Education.

Lynn Gambin at Policy-UK forum on Apprenticeships

Wed, 02 Mar 2016 14:33:34 GMT

Lynn Gambin will be chairing the second session at a Policy-UK forum on 10th March 2016 at the Royal Society of Chemistry, London. The forum, 'Creating a generaton of Apprentices - funding, quality and a route to employment', is scheduled to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week 2016 and will provide delegates with an opportunity to hear the latest progress and policy priorities aimed at ensuring young people have the skills required by employers. With the Government committed to creating 3 million new apprenticeships by 2020, this for will consider how these new apprenticeships will be funded, what can be done to ensure their quality, particularly since concerns have been raised by Ofsted about the number of apprenticeships being awarded for ‘low-level’ skills (examples include tea making and cleaning floors), as well as how to encourage more employers to provide training and qualifications for young people, including the success of Trailblazer groups. Delegates will also discuss the availability of Higher Level apprenticeships and how their status can be improved and recognised as an alternative to university, as well as assessing whether the post-apprenticeship route into employment is adequately defined and supported.

IER's Lynn Gambin will chair the second half of the event which includes sessions entitled 'Are apprenticeships delivering for young people?' and 'What employers want - do apprenticeships address the skills shortage?'.

Details of the event can be found at here.

Latest IER report on Apprenticeship considers employer response to funding reforms

Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:43:50 GMT

A new report by researchers from IER and IFF Research has been published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The report, 'Employer Routed Funding: Employer responses to funding reform' (BIS Research Paper Number 161), explores how employers’ engagement with the apprenticeship programme would vary depending on how funding is reformed.

The full report can be downloaded from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-routed-funding-employer-responses-to-funding-reform

For more IER research on Apprenticeships see: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/apprenticeships-training