Publications

This report examines how (if at all) vocational higher education is responsive to the needs of the labour market, and how this is related to quality assurance policies, procedures and structures. The research was conducted in five countries with a diversity of experiences in this area: Holland, Germany, Spain, France and England.

This publication was authored by Annette Cox before she joined IES.

This publication was authored by Linda Miller before she joined IES.

This publication was authored by Stefan Speckesser before he joined IES.

This report provides survey and detailed case study evidence of the experiences of organisations in implementing e-recruitment. It also illustrates perceived benefits, and evidence of barriers to implementation. A key message for recruiters is to acknowledge that the adoption of e-recruitment is about more than technology. Most significantly, e-recruitment is to do with cultural and behavioural change, both within HR and amongst line managers. For e-recruitment to deliver, it is about developing the capability of HR to facilitate the system, and to view the staffing process as an end-to-end process, similar to that of a supply chain.

The report critically examines why organisations choose to introduce team, skill or competency based pay. It looks at the evidence of whether many organisations are operating these practices. It considers what benefits they have found, but equally what difficulties they have faced. This involves reviewing the mechanics of how organisations operate such devices and the sort of design decisions they have to make.

Long hours working is more common in the UK than most other countries, but quite similar to the US, Australia and Japan. After a period of long-term decline, the proportion of employees working over 48 hours a week rose through most of the 1990s (though by the early 2000s it had started to decline again). Excessive long hours working is associated with (though not proved to cause) lower productivity, poor work performance, health problems and low employee motivation.

Launched by the DfES in 2001, the Adult Guidance Pilots (AGPs) aimed to offer a seamless information, advice, support, and guidance service to disadvantaged groups, on work and learning opportunities. The AGPs were successful in reaching a wide range of clients, offering services tailored to clients needs, and extended support where required. This resulted in many clients taking significant steps towards further learning, gaining new skills, and gaining employment. The evidence suggested that the impact of AGP provision was particularly marked in relation to clients with learning difficulties/disabilities, asylum seekers and refugees, those with low qualification levels, and those with needs for low or basic skills. Some important lessons emerged from the pilots, particularly in relation to the nature of the target groups, clarity of information around what providers can realistically offer, and the importance of flexibility in provision.

This research examines how employers' graduate strategies are changing in the light of recent business, labour market and other changes. It identifies three main drivers of a good strategy: clarity of strategic intention for recruiting graduates; appropriate internal organisational arrangements, in particular the degree to which there needs to be corporate involvement; and providing varying amounts of planned, structured development to meet different business and graduate needs.

This publication is no longer available. To increase participation and achievement in post-16 education and training, the government introduced reforms that extended opportunities, raised standards and made learning more attractive. The initiatives included new forms of support for learners but continued to rely on the Learner Support Funds to help individuals facing financial hardship. This evaluation report shows that the Learner Support Funds were providing an effective and sensitive response to learners' needs.