Work, Employment and Labour Markets

We are committed to theoretically informed empirical research that advance our understanding of the lived experiences of learning, enterprise, employment and labour market policies.

The group is currently involved in leading-edge studies on:

globalisation
corporate strategy and the future of skills
graduate employability
recruitment and the labour market
workforce development
comparative skill formation
workplace learning
creativity
innovation and enterprise
the future of organisations, work and careers.

We are committed to theoretically informed empirical research that advance our understanding of the lived experiences of learning, enterprise, employment and labour market policies, along with a commitment to inform evidence based policy and public debate within a local, national and international context.

The ESRC funded Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE) has become a major focus for our work in this field (in partnership with Oxford University).

Building research capacity within this group is seen as bottom-up rather than top-down. A major emphasis is on supporting doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers through regular meetings and social events. We are interested in hearing from talented and highly motivated students and researchers who are interested in joining or working with members of Work, Employability and Labour Markets (WELM).

National and international links:

The Nuffield Foundation, 14-19 Review of Education and Training involving Social Sciences staff.
Russell Sage Foundation with Social Sciences staff investigating low waged work in Europe.
Rand Corporation
Observatoire Sociologique du Changement, SciencesPo, Paris
Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education and Training, UBC

Aims

To develop leading-edge theory and evidence-based policy required to understand the current transformation of education, skills, knowledge, work, and global labour markets;
To encourage interdisciplinary and comparative approaches to the study of employability, work and global economy;
To provide a forum for those working within and beyond the School to discuss the latest advances in this field and as a resource to build on existing national an international research links;
To support research capacity building by supporting doctoral students, post-doctoral researchers, and international scholars working within the School.

Research

Research interests:

Higher Education, Employability and the Changing Graduate Labour Market;
Knowledge Economy, Knowledge Work and Knowledge Workers;
Corporate Strategy and the Future of Skills;
The Political Economy of Skill;
Global Workforce and the Global Labour Market;
UK and International Education and Training Policy Analysis;
Workplace Learning;
Post-Compulsory Education, Training and Lifelong Learning in Local, National and International Contexts;
Low Waged Work in Europe;
Devolution and the Governance of Education and Training;
Workplace Industrial Relations and Workforce Development;
Nation States, Competitiveness and Comparative Skill Formation;
Occupational Socialisation, Recruitment and Careers;
Organisational Re-structuring and the Future of Work;
Creativity and Innovation in Higher Education and the Workplace;
The Relationship between Workforce Skill and Productivity.

Projects

Recent research projects:

Global Corporate Strategy and the Future of Skills
Recruitment from the external labour market as a source of skill
Learning as Work: Teaching and Learning Processes in the Contemporary Work Organisation
An analysis of the post-Leitch policy agenda in the UK
UK National Skills Surveys
A comparison of the Welsh workforce development programme and England's Train to Gain
Modelling incentive structures within the education ands training system
Opportunity in the Workplace - a United States-European Comparison
The Political Economy of Skills
Competitive Strategies and Skill in the UK Fitness and Leisure Industry
Employability and the Changing Graduate Labour Market
Learning and Working in FE in Wales
Global Elites? Employability, Careers and the War for Talent