Projects

This project will investigate the link between internal migration and social mobility. More specifically, to what extent does migration from deprived to prosperous areas allow individuals who were born into families with low socio-economic status to experience upward social mobility. Furthermore, it will investigate the level and direction of migration flows from deprived areas, and how such out-migrations affect the people living in those areas. These questions will be answered using a mixed methods approach, comprising of a quantitative analysis of secondary and aggregate data and a qualitative analysis of insights we will gather by conducting interviews with individuals who have migrated out of deprived areas, and focus group discussions with who those are living in deprived areas.

IES will deliver an evidence-based assessment of ‘what works’ in tackling youth worklessness amongst those young people most distant from the labour market who face multiple disadvantages. This will include an assessment of the strength of evidence to supply a practical resource and a starting point for identifying future priorities for YFF, and evidence gaps. The method comprises a ‘review of reviews’, combined with an REA and call for evidence/grey literature.

In partnership with Ecorys Netherlands and on behalf of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME), we will explore the productivity and business benefits of occupational health and safety (OSH) good practice in the construction sector. The project as a whole will give particular focus to smaller employers who do not always perceive a link between OSH and their bottom-line. IES will contribute UK case-study fieldwork and will lead on an evidence-mapping (desk review) exercise. This work builds on our analysis of the links between wellbeing and productivity, on behalf of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.

IES is conducting: a review of mental health training to determine the best topics to train line managers in, the best method(s) of delivering the training and the best means of measuring beneficial impacts; and an evaluation of two types of training selected on the basis of review recommendations, using a control group for comparison. The training will be based on existing training packages and samples of participants will be drawn from various areas of the rail industry.

IES is working with ICON-INSTITUT in Germany on a project for the European Commission which aims to: provide an overview of Youth Guarantee delivery models across the EU; present a synthesis of current and upcoming challenges faced by young people in their school-to-work transition and their implications in terms of policy levers; and propose options for future development to ensure that the Youth Guarantee remains a sustainable measure in dealing with youth unemployment.

This project aims to undertake qualitative research to identify what good employment support for people with epilepsy should look like. The work will add strategic value to Epilepsy Action by increasing the charity’s capacity to provide future employment support to people with epilepsy. The project methods comprise desk research, focus groups with people with epilepsy, interviews with employers and interviews with expert stakeholders.

NHS Employers asked IES to produce a paper for line managers about employee engagement, based on our experience of running events for line managers in NHS trusts. The paper aimed to focus on engaging managerial behaviours and ways of building resilience within the team.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England, on behalf of the four higher education funding councils, commissioned IES to support the development process of a new UK-wide survey of postgraduate taught (PGT) students. IES in partnership with NatCen Social Research contributed via a literature review and interviews with postgraduate taught students and expert stakeholders in order to guide the development of the survey.

The project comprises a rapid evidence assessment of careers education and provision in colleges in England, focussing on delivery to young people aged 14-19. This is supported by around five expert interviews with academics and practitioners to scope the landscape. In addition up to ten good practice case studies will be conducted (five face to face and five by phone) to critically assess careers provision, to understand the impacts on young people and support evidence based practice. These case studies will be identified from the expert interviews, desk based research and recommendations from the C&EC Enterprise Coordinators.

Progression in Employment is a two-year research project led by IES and supported by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation through its global New Skills at Work initiative. The project focuses on employer practice enabling low-skilled workers to achieve career progression. The research will be supported by case studies from key employers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, whilst the analysis itself will focus on opportunities in the retail, social care and hospitality sectors. This will include an analysis of labour market trends and national policies in each country. IES will be working in partnership with Entreprise et Personnel and Frederic Turlan in France; Wilke, Maack and Partners in Germany; Istituto per Ricerca Sociale in Italy; Oxford Research in Sweden; and IKEI in Spain. We hope this research will provide valuable insights for employers and policymakers, whilst raising awareness of latent talent pools to recruiters and employers in sectors currently experiencing acute staffing needs. Read our press release announcing the project, here. Subscribe to IES email updates to keep up to date with the project.