Projects

CITB wishes to continue to build on its portfolio of research activity into careers in construction and to expand this to be as all-encompassing as possible (considering the whole journey into a career in construction). This phase of the research will have two objectives: to continue to collect key performance indicators (KPIs) from parents and young people and feedback from career guidance professionals to enable CITB to monitor and evaluate their careers activities; and conduct exploratory research with four new audience groups (early years, primary school aged children, vocational students, economically inactive) to gain a better understanding of alternative sources of labour to engage with and recruit from.

IES, working with the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) and Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), is undertaking research for the Department for Education into EU staff at UK higher education institutions to understand in greater depth individuals’ routes into working in the UK, their skills, current roles and longer-term career plans. The project will also develop the department’s understanding of how this relates to providers’ recruitment and retention plans in the short- to long-term, alongside wider workforce planning. The work involves analysis of HESA data, an online survey of HR directors, and an online survey of EU staff.

IES has conducted an online survey of optometrists in the UK on behalf of the Association of Optometrists. Students, pre-registration and fully-qualified optometrists are included, the latter category incorporating employed optometrists, franchisees and independent business owners. A particular focus is the future career plans of optometrists, and the extent to which they are prepared to move around the UK to achieve their aims. The survey is now closed and the data are being analysed; in addition, follow-up interviews will soon take place with around 20 participants, to add some illustrative detail to the survey findings. This survey complements other surveys of professions conducted by IES on behalf of professional or membership bodies in recent years, other examples being barristers, veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses.

The legal services market is facing widespread disruption with a more liberal regulatory environment, stronger commercial pressures, and the increasing adoption of technology. These developments will impact the type of roles and skills required in solicitor firms for them to preform successfully. The Law Society wants to assist solicitor and member firms to prepare for these changes by further developing their education, training and development offer. To achieve this, the Society needs detailed insights into where solicitor firms need further support. For this purpose, the Institute for Employment Studies has been commissioned to undertake primary research with law firms and organisations employing solicitors to understand: whether and how firms currently engage in workforce planning and the barriers to doing so how and when firms recruit the skillsets they look for, and how this may change over the next five to ten years. The research will comprise around 30 in-depth interviews with private practices and in-house legal teams throughout England and Wales. The interviews will generally be with individuals with HR responsibilities within the company who are charged with recruitment and retention.

IES has been commissioned to provide CIPD with a guide on workforce planning for HR practitioners using illustrations from case study examples. In the context of the current labour market tightness and uncertainties (including Brexit and potential immigration controls) the guide will aim to advise organisations how they might plan in these circumstances. For further content on the impact of Brexit follow the IES Brexit Observatory.

IES has been asked by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) to conduct online surveys of all veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons registered to practise in the UK. This consultation aims to improve understanding of how Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (which outlines the activities that may be delegated to veterinary nurses) is used and interpreted in practice, and how the legislation could be clarified. The survey results will inform a review of the future role of the veterinary nurse.

IES is conducting an online survey of all non-UK European veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses who are registered to practise with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and are currently living in the UK. The survey aims to find out how the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is impacting on the work experiences and career/life plans of these individuals. It will also collect their views about the impact of Brexit on the veterinary profession in the UK. The baseline survey will be followed by two further surveys over the next two years, to enable the RCVS to track the opinions and movements of European veterinary surgeons and nurses; in addition, there will be follow-up interviews with a small sample of respondents every time the survey is run. This work on behalf of the RCVS adds to IES’s programme of Brexit-related activity, and is being informed and guided by our panel of Brexit experts.

IES took part in a collaborative project with 2020 Delivery for Cancer Research UK to forecast the future demand for non-surgical oncology staff in the UK over the next five and ten year periods. Read: Summary of the findings and research methdology

IES has been commissioned to run a series of workshops on HR analytics, workforce planning, talent management and succession planning for the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).

This project comprised a literature review and synthesis on what older workers consider to be ‘fulfilling work’, including what they value, why those factors are important, how (if at all) views differ from the rest of the working age population and how different work/workplace factors link to positive or negative outcomes for older workers.