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This conference organised jointly by the , ¹û¶³´«Ã½ IER, the , and the will bring together stakeholders from national government departments, cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) as well as business, NGOs and research institutions to discuss the key challenges facing the United Kingdom in building more and better quality jobs. The will focus on discussing the key challenges and opportunities from Brexit and sharing local solutions as well as international lessons from OECD countries on how effective skills policies can foster productivity and inclusive growth. at The Shard on Thursday 2 November 2017.

A by IER and IFF Research has been published by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) . The large-scale research has brought together the views of construction firms, employment agencies and migrant workers.

The report has revealed that a third of firms employ migrant workers, saying they have comparable skills to British workers and are more readily available. In London one in two employers say they are ‘very dependent’ on migrant workers, compared to around one in six in Yorkshire and the Humber. Some employers (22%) also said that migrants have a better work ethic. But only 1% of firms said they specifically look to recruit migrants. The research team at IER included , and .

IER has been commissioned by the Department for Education to undertake a mapping and analysis of transferable skills (such as, team working and communication) across each of the new Technical Routes proposed in the Sainsbury Panel Report and adopted in the Government's Post-16 Skills Plan.

The purpose of the study is the creation of a framework to help design the content of the new technical level qualifications.

Whilst there is much evidence on transferable skills in general, or graduate transferable skills in particular, relatively little research is available for 16-18 year olds who will be the main cohort undertaking the 15 Technical Routes. IER is taking an innovative approach, triangulating information and data from: an evidence review; occupational skills, knowledge and abilities from the O*Net database, and; transferable skills identified in apprenticeship frameworks and standards. To find out more contact .

Professor Chris Warhurst and Dr Daria Luchinskaya of IER were invited to Brussels to present options for including a new section on skill utilisation in the upcoming 4th European Company Survey (ECS). The meeting, jointly organised by Cedefop and Eurofound, was part of the preparation for the ECS. The survey, due to be administrated over 2018-2019, covers all EU Member States plus EU Candidate Countries and examines management-employee relations and practices.

Professor Anne Green has had an article published in the journal Urban Studies. The article discusses two key changes affecting employability, labour market operation and policy delivery are austerity and the expansion of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), especially web-based technologies. Increasingly, given pressures for cost savings and developments in ICT, employers’ recruitment and selection strategies are at least partly web-based, careers guidance and public employment services are moving towards ‘digital by default’ delivery and job seekers are expected to manage their job search activity and benefit claims electronically. It asks the question: what are the implications of austerity and technological change for employability?

The article presents a critical review of the literature on ICT and its relation to, and implications for, employability in a context of austerity. A new framework for employability is presented and those aspects of employability where ICT plays a key role are highlighted. It is concluded that in the context of austerity and technological change more is demanded of individual job seekers/workers, as they are expected to take greater responsibility for their marketability in the labour market. This means that individuals’ attributes and skills are of enhanced importance in conceptualisations of employability. ICT skills have a key role to play in employability, but not at the expense of more conventional social skills which remain very important alongside digital literacy.

Green, A.E. (2017). , Urban Studies, 54(7) pp. 1638–1654. DOI: 10.1177/0042098016631906