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The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) commissioned the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at the Loughborough University to examine the concept of ‘employment sustainability’ in order to facilitate the design, assessment and evaluation of labour market policies. The research comprised three main elements: a literature review; qualitative interviews with key agents and policy actors; and an examination of existing data sets. This report seeks to help the development of policies designed to achieve the Government’s goal of employment sustainability. The sections of the report are: Defining employment sustainability; Measuring employment sustainability; Factors associated with employment sustainability; Issue in the design of policy; Policies to promote employment sustainability; Policy opportunities and limitations.

A more detailed report of this study is published in ‘Staying at work: thinking about a new policy agenda’ indexed at TD/TNC 67.433. Show less

The National Skills Task Force has been established by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to assist him in developing a National Skills Agenda. The Task Force was asked to provide advice on the nature, extent and pattern of skill needs and shortages, including associated recruitment difficulties, how these are likely to change and what can be done to ease such problems. This paper is one of a series that has been commissioned to review and evaluate existing literature in a number of skills-related areas.

This paper considers issues relating to the measurement of skill for national statistical purposes, drawing on research leading to the revision of the national occupational classification for the United Kingdom (UK), SOC90. (Note: the revised classification will be referred to as SOC2000.) It aims to provide advice on the measurement of skill and the monitoring of change and to explain how the revised classification will affect the analysis of skill change and lead to a re-examination of forecasting of occupational structure. During the two-year revision process, perceived inadequacies were identified and the paper notes the major problems of definition that arose. Following the introduction, Section 2 presents a brief history of occupational classification in the UK. Section 3 describes the conceptual basis of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). Section 4 looks at problems with SOC90 and the constraints placed on the process. Section 5 briefly discusses the major processes of labour market change which shaped the revision. Section 6 identifies the sources and methods that were used in investigating occupational change. Section 7 presents an outline of the major changes to be introduced within SOC2000. Section 8 presents the authors' conclusions, in which they point out the difficulties caused by the speed of change in both skill areas and work organisation, but also maintain that this will be a better tool for the measurement of skill and for job-matching purposes.

Other research reports in this series are indexed from TD/TNC 62.633 to TD/TNC 62.650. Show less

The National Skills Task Force was set up to ensure that Britain has the skills needed to ensure high levels of employment, be competitive in the global marketplace and provide opportunities for all. This final report brings together the themes and recommendations of the three interim reports. Proposals for a national skills agenda are presented in three areas: policy actions to improve the supply side of education and training; an approach to managing the system so that employment needs and learning strategies match; and a set of targets and measures to monitor and improve progress. Chapter 1 outlines the vision for a National Skills Agenda; Chapter 2 summarises the findings and is an assessment of the main skills gaps and shortages; Chapter 3 presents the features of a new post-16 education and training system; Chapter 4 examines a strategy for stimulating demand and managing the system; and Chapter 5 looks at the way forward in terms of priorities, targets, roles and responsibilities. The publication also contains five annexes detailing terms of reference, membership of the Task Force, publications list and definitions.

Other reports of the National Skills Task Force are indexed from TD/TNC 62.653 to TD/TNC 62.655 and at TD/TNC 62.657 and an initial response to the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 62.658. Show less

The National Skills Task Force was set up to ensure that Britain has the skills needed to ensure high levels of employment, be competitive in the global marketplace and provide opportunities for all. It presents a vision for modernising Britain's education and training system. This publication reports on the first three months' work of the Task Force, which which will provide advice on skills needs and shortages, practical measures to raise the level of sustainable employment, what changes are needed in the long term and how they can be met, and how to ensure that the education and training system responds appropriately to the identified needs.

Other reports of the National Skills Task Force are indexed from TD/TNC 62.654 to TD/TNC 62.657 and an initial response to the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 62.658. Show less

This report describes the characteristics of the unemployed from the Family and Working Lives Survey (FWLS). The intention was to analyse the characteristics of the unemployed to begin to answer some questions. How does an individual's unemployment history interact with other aspects of personal history and with general economic events? How does the labour market status of partners interact when one of them becomes unemployed? What is the effect of benefit receipt on re-employment probabilities? What are the effects of training on various types of re-employment probabilities following unemployment? What are the destinations of the long-term unemployed? What are the job search methods of the unemployed? This report identifies the most important determinants of the duration and incidence of individual unemployment and how these compare and contrast. Show less

Employee Development Schemes (EDSs) which have been in existence in the United Kingdom (UK) since 1989 have two essential features: (1) opportunities to voluntarily engage in learning activities which are wider than those required by the employer; and (2) support from the employer, usually in the form of cash entitlements to spend on learning activities. The overall aim of this research project was to identify the effect of EDSs on individual attitudes and commitment to learning and this report describes the findings of the project. The structure of the report is as follows: section one contains the executive summary; section two introduces the project covering the background, research objectives and methodology; section three presents the main findings and discusses the overall attitudes to, and experience of, learning, individual differences and how they relate to EDS based learning; and the last section presents six case studies. Also included are three appendices: (1) Respondent letter and self completion recruitment sheet; (2) Respondent profile; (3) Detailed topic guides. Show less

This study investigated the characteristics, circumstances, attitudes and employment details of 197 young people aged 16 and 17 who left school without qualifications at level 2, or above, and who are currently in work but not receiving any formal, structured training that would lead to a recognised qualification at that level. Little was known about the attitudes, circumstances or characteristics of this group. Given the objective of finding the range of opinions and circumstances of this group, a qualitative approach using face-to-face discussions was adopted. This study was commissioned to guide and inform policy making in this area. Show less

The Modern Apprenticeship (MA) program was introduced to improve the supply of intermediate level of skills in the United Kingdom (UK). The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) commissioned a study in 1998 to evaluate employers' views and experiences of MAs. This study set out to: (1) evaluate the impact MAs are having on the quantity and quality of work-based training for young people; (2) determine the extent to which the MA program has been effective in overcoming skill shortages and in improving skill levels; (3) assess whether the program provided value for money; and (4) provide some guidance in delivering and maintaining high quality training. The study, based on interviews with employers, found that while there was room for some improvements, overall, the MAs were meeting the needs and expectations of both employers and apprentices. Show less

The National Skills Task Force was set up to ensure that Britain has the skills needed to ensure high levels of employment, be competitive in the global marketplace and provide opportunities for all. This second report deals with three fundamental issues: how to build a system which provides a high level of skill for young people, how to equip all people with the key skills needed for employability and how to ensure that all students and educational institutions have the information they need to make informed choices and appropriate plans. The report is presented in three parts: Part 1 - Skills for young people, which emphasises participation and progression and identifies areas in which changes are needed; Part 2 - Employability and key skills, which presents a national strategy for key skills, including specific targets for mathematics and IT skills; and Part 3 - Information, which looks at gaps in the market and suggests a new strategy for informing the market. Annexes which summarise responses and give the terms of reference complete this publication.

Other reports of the National Skills Task Force are indexed at TD/TNC 62.653 and from TD/TNC 62.655 to TD/TNC 62.657 and an initial response to the final report is indexed at TD/TNC 62.658. Show less

The increased participation in higher education in the United Kingdom (UK) in the 1990s has resulted in a more highly-qualified workforce. Social and Community Planning Research (SCPR) was commissioned by the Department of Education and Employment (DfEE) to undertake a study examining the impact on the labour market and on the graduates themselves of the rapid expansion in the number of graduates entering the labour market. It also investigated whether the skills possessed by the graduates were under-utilised in the work they did. This report is presented in two volumes. Volume one reports on the findings of the study and contains the following chapters: Summary; Introduction and method; The nature of graduate employment: recent changes and contributing factors; The nature and value of 'graduate skills'; Recruitment methods used to obtain graduates; Use of graduate skills in the workplace; Graduates' early career trajectories: from university into the labour market; Implications of the expansion of higher education: recommendations from employers and graduates; Industry sector profiles of graduate recruitment and skills utilisation; Conclusions. Volume two presents the background and technical details and contains the following chapters: Sample details; Technical details (quantitative stage); Analysis of labour force survey data. Also included as appendices are: Advance letter to personnel managers; Instruction sheet; Managers' questionnaire; Covering letter to line managers; Covering letter to graduates; Graduate questionnaire; Explanatory letter: qualitative study; Topic guide for employers; Topic guide for employees. Show less