Projects and case studies

  • Providing targeted advice on ESF support to apprenticeship and traineeship schemes

    The aim of this two-year project was to help the European Commission (DG EMPL) support governmental bodies, at national and regional level, and social partners, in both setting up new apprenticeship and traineeship schemes, in particular ESF...

  • Evaluation of the Pathways to Apprenticeship programme

    The Pathways to Apprenticeships (PtA) programme is an innovative arrangement that aims to prepare young people aged 16 to 24 for apprenticeship by supplying a prior, mainly college-based year of vocational education and training to...

  • Expert input to the OECD Post Secondary VET Study for England

    The OECD is reviewing the post-16 vocational education and training system in England as part of its Skills Beyond School investigation, which covers a number of OECD countries. As part of the review the OECD are making two visits to England and...

  • Work to inform the development of the new Leadership College

    The Learning and Skills Improvement Service wished to conduct an audit of the previous and current leadership initiatives that had been achieved in the sector, with the intention that the audit would inform an impact assessment of initiatives to...

  • Evaluation of phase 4 of the Trials to support Raising the Participation Age

    The 2008 Education and Skills Act included proposals for a future government to raise the age at which young people are expected to stay in learning in England to 17 years from 2013 and to their 18th birthday from 2015 and to place a duty on...

  • Adult Career Decision-Making

    Qualitative research, for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, with sixty-five adults who were making career decisions, in order to explore what influenced them in making these decisions, factors that were most important and the...

  • Evaluation of the Impact of Learning below Level 2 in FE

    In partnership with BMG research, IES are undertaking a project evaluating the impact of learning below Level 2, for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The work includes a literature review drawing on UK and international evidence...

  • Supporting Learners with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities to Access ESF Priority 2 Provision

    IES, in partnership with the National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE), was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to carry out research into the apparent under-representation of learners with a...

  • Investors in People Consumer Insight Analysis

    The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) commissioned IES to review Investors in People (IIP) assessment reports to analyse organisations' motivations and the challenges they face in achieving the standard.The aim was to use cluster...

  • Fourth Employer Work-Life Balance Employer Survey 2013

    IES worked with IFF Research on the Fourth Work-Life Balance Employer Survey, commissioned by BIS. The survey built on the most recent Work-Life Balance Employer Survey, dating from 2007, and aimed to examine working hours of managerial and non...