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This paper argues that lifelong learning that increasingly positions itself as the solution for the working classes to become employable and upwardly socially mobile and socially included in civic life is not working. This paper relates to the themes of 'lifelong learning, social mobility and social inclusion'. The geographical location of this study are the former coalmining and steel working communities in County Durham, England that are experiencing the long term socio-economic effects of de-industrialisation that occurred in the 1980s. For the purposes of this article the author has selected two of the informants of a doctoral study and presents an abbreviated account of their experiences of growing up in County Durham.

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Large scale industrial closure is confronting in the automotive manufacturing industry. In this presentation [the presenter] provides insights into the potential scale of the shock and the importance of ensuring that the response is in proportion to this. [The presenter] highlights the necessity for both a short term response to the initial crisis, and for transformative industrial and workplace change to support the growth of knowledge and skill intensive industries and jobs.

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We evaluate the relationship between immigrant and native employment using the Swedish administrative employer-employee linked LOUISE database. We find that if firms increase employment of immigrant workers by 10 percent, they increase employment of Swedish workers within the same occupation of the immigrants by 1.2-2.8 percent, and they increase employment of Swedish workers within other occupations by 0.5-1.4 percent. We find that immigrant employment changes outside of the firm have very little effect on the firm's decision to hire Swedish workers. We show that the majority of the within-firm Swedish employment increase is due to an increase in employer changes. We also find some evidence that firms increase employment to nonemployment transitions when they hire immigrant workers, which we interpret as possible job displacement occurrences. We interpret these findings as evidence that immigrants are complements with native workers within their occupations and across other occupations.

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Industry restructuring involving job losses is an enduring feature of the Australian economy. In the absence of effective responses many displaced workers will add to unemployment numbers or retire by default when they fail to find new employment. With awarded funding from National Centre for Vocational Education Research's (NCVER's) National Vocational Education and Training Research (NVETR) program for 2014-15 the presenters have investigated effective approaches to helping displaced older workers to overcome job loss through effective skills transfer, re-skilling and training. Past approaches have been investigated via a review of national and international literature and current approaches via case studies undertaken in four regions of Australia. Older workers displaced from lower skilled jobs have been the focus as they typically face greater challenges in finding new jobs, whereas more skilled and highly qualified workers have more readily transferable skills and they gain new jobs more readily. The findings of the research project are presented in this session and in the form of a good practice model. The good practice model for effective skills transfer, re-skilling and training of older workers displaced from lower skilled jobs due to the industry restructuring takes into account identified critical enablers and barriers for this cohort of displaced workers. The model includes skills transfer, re-skilling and training activities in combination with other essential activities. It is anticipated that the model may inform work with other vulnerable cohorts of job seekers.

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Transferable skills are increasingly important for occupational mobility and securing employment in a turbulent labour market. This is particularly so for workers made redundant from declining industries and occupations. However, how workers in this position come to understand and utilise their transferable skills is not well understood. [The presenter] found that workers' understanding of their skills is often limited to a technical view of skills. Drawing upon these findings from forthcoming work, [the presenter] outlines a collaborative and coordinated framework for assisting displaced workers.

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For many displaced workers finding a new job is not easy and the probability of being re-employed is much lower for older lower-skilled displaced workers than for other retrenched workers. The aim of Dr Bowman and Professor Callan's research was to identify evidence-based practices that lead to successful skills transfer, re-skilling, training and the attainment of new jobs for older workers (generally acknowledged as those 45 years and older) displaced from lower-skilled jobs. It found they need to be embedded in a wider package of strategies to ensure the best new job outcomes for displaced older workers. This presentation outlines the framework of strategies.

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