News & Press

It was either a coincidence or careful planning that the monthly labour market statistics came out on the day of the Budget. It enabled the Chancellor to underline the dramatic improvement in the labour market in recent years, with record levels of employment and overall unemployment down to almost pre-recession levels. However, not all is rosy in the labour market garden.

In October 2014, the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Kansas City and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University hosted a national conference titled Transforming U.S. Workforce Development Policies for the 21st Century. Kari Hadjivassiliou, IES Principal Research Fellow, took part in a panel discussion and was also interviewed for her thoughts on the current state of European policies to target youth unemployment. A panel summary report and video of the interview are now available online.

Skills Jersey has published Management and Leadership Development: Business Benefits for Jersey, following a major research project in which IES was commissioned to measure the Island’s management and leadership development (MLD) practices across all sectors of the local economy.

Last week was National Apprenticeship Week, and saw Institute for Employment Studies research into Apprenticeship Trailblazers published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

As the general election approaches, it’s a good time to ask whether the labour market has emerged in good shape, eight years after the financial crisis and five years after the implementation of macro-economic ‘austerity’. Nigel Meager, IES Director, considers the key points.

The responsibility to manage work-related risks at an early stage lies mainly with employers, but the active involvement of workers is also crucial. Overall, involving workers in the management of occupational health and safety is recognised as a key enabler in terms of identifying and reducing risk: through effectively working together on risk prevention, workers and managers can identify joint solutions and ensure full cooperation for workplace safety, health and wellbeing. It is acknowledged that this can have a real impact on accident and injury rates. Research1 analysing the relationship between worker representation and industrial injuries in UK manufacturing found that employers who had trade union health and safety committees had half the injury rate of those employers who managed safety without unions or joint arrangements.

Demand on the NHS is steadily increasing, with no sign that this will subside in the near future, if recent news items are anything to judge by: there have been reports that pressure on hospital A&E departments has led several to declare ‘major incident’ status. These pressures have led managers to consider potential ways in which services can be delivered more cost-effectively. One of the questions that managers have particularly considered is the nature of the tasks that require professionally-qualified staff – those at band 5 and above in the NHS ‘Agenda for Change’ grading and pay structure – to undertake them.

As public sector bodies, all colleges and training providers are required to ensure that students receive equitable provision of and access to services. In addition, they are also required to consciously consider: eliminating discrimination, harassment and violence; advancing equality of opportunity; and fostering good relationships by tackling prejudice and promoting understanding. IES was commissioned to evaluate the Skills Funding Agency's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion grants from 2010-2013. We found that this funding was crucial for many providers, especially in a financial climate where some may be tempted to cut back on EDI as an organisational or strategic priority.