Publications

This synthesis report presents findings from Year 1 of the National Skills Academies (NSAs) evaluation conducted by Ipsos MORI and the Institute for Employment Studies. The report brings together findings from three separate strands of research carried out during Year 1: a Preliminary Report (IES, February 2009), Stakeholder Research Report (IES, June 2009) and an Employer Survey (Ipsos MORI, July 2009). The aim of the evaluation was to understand the added value generated by National Skills Academies, across the network and individually, and to assess whether they met the aims set out for them in the 2005 White Paper (‘Skills: getting on in business, getting on at work’, March 2005, DfES), the national prospectus and in individual business plans.

The Creative Graduates Creative Futures report provides a comprehensive exploration of the experiences, activities and contribution of creative graduates and their plans for the future. It sets the findings in context, providing expert commentaries from writers and researchers within the sector, and compares the position of creative graduates today with that of ten years ago, as evidenced by the Destinations and Reflections report of 1999.

This report summarises findings from the Going into HE research project. From the outset, the aim was to develop a clear understanding of: the role and importance of finance in the decision-making process of English-domiciled people from different groups who were considering entering full-time Higher Education (HE) in the UK and the impact of the support arrangements on their decisions.

This report documents the findings from the fifth wave of the learner evaluation of Train to Gain – a service managed by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) that was designed to help employers improve the skills of their workforce. This wave comprised a telephone survey of a representative sample of learners, carried out in July 2009.

The DCSF commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) and the Centre for Education and Industry (CEI) to undertake the process evaluation of the Activity Agreement (AA) Pilots extension phase from April 2008 to April 2009. Activity Agreements pilots were designed to trial different approaches to support and encourage 16-17 year olds who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) back into learning, training or employment.

Three variants of LAP were piloted from April 2006 for a two-year period, with a view to identifying the most successful model. This report concentrates on the implementation and delivery of the Learning Agreement Pilots during their extension period from April 2008 to April 2009. The only significant difference between the two delivery phases was the withdrawal of wage compensation paid to employers in two pilot areas from April 2008.

This publication was authored by Penny Tamkin before she joined IES.