We author and publish a range of resources to keep you up to date with the latest developments in employment, education and skills, labour market and human resource policy and practice. All our pdf publications are free to access.
This study explored the attitudes and intentions towards higher education (HE) amongst working adults in England. The research involved 1,401 individuals in a 20-minute telephone survey, and was restricted to those aged between 22 and 55 with no university-level qualification.
This report examines the link between working conditions and social dialogue, highlighting instances where social dialogue has had an impact on working conditions. The impact of social dialogue on working conditions is considered at all levels – national, sectoral, company and workplace levels. There is also a specific focus on occupational health and safety.
This report explores the effectiveness of the coaching in the NHS. Specifically, it focuses on two elements of the NHS coaching portfolio: internal coaching and the external coaching register. The report examines: the aims and objectives of the coaching - the reasons why coaching was taken up, how objectives were set and what these were; outcomes of the coaching - views from the coachees and coaches on any changes they witnessed during the programme and afterwards, as well as third-party views; barriers to successful achievement of outcomes - the problem areas and barriers that prevented particular aims from being met; and the process of coaching - the coachees and coaches were asked to reflect on the process of coaching and what they had liked or disliked about it. The study also looks at the ways in which coaching is being managed and marketed within the NHS.
In the light of the task of the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) to achieve a greater degree of integration between skills policy and employment policy in the UK, this paper looked at what was known from the extensive international evidence about the role and effectiveness of training and skills interventions as part of a broader portfolio of active labour market policies (ALMP).
This paper explores some of the issues in making clear what coaching is and highlights one effective way of improving people's understanding. It draws on IES's coaching evaluation in the NHS to highlight the need for clearer information for staff outside of the executive level about how coaching and mentoring differ, and how each approach may be valued for different reasons and at different times.
This publication is no longer available. The Activity and Learning Agreements Pilots were launched in April 2006 in 12 areas of England. This report is based on the process strand of the evaluation which used case studies to explore the operational issues and the implementation chain, identifying problems and good practice.
Does the way people are treated at work make a difference to the performance of the organisations that employ them? Are there returns to investment in human capital in a similar way to investments in physical capital? These seem straightforward enough questions but they have generated huge amounts of debate. Against this background, this study takes into account concerns from both academics and practitioners, and provides a convincing argument that the investments firms make in their workforce make a difference.
This study investigated the theory that ‘If the net additional value of the incentive was sufficiently appealing, certain young people would sign up to the Activity Agreement (AA), or at least attend an initial discussion where the wider benefits of the AA could be promoted'.
This publication was authored by Catherine Rickard (née Chubb) before she joined IES.
This research aimed to inform the Learning and Skills Council's understanding of large national employers' attitudes and practices in terms of recruitment and training.
