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Recent employer and employee surveys in the UK highlight a decline in training participation, a reduction in training expenditure per employee and an increase in online training/e-learning. The Cov...

This paper contributes to anchor institution, migrant and refugee integration, skills utilisation and inclusive growth debates. Via a pioneering innovative approach to inclusive urban development linking together physical infrastructure development and neighbourhood management approaches to urban regeneration, it explores the potential for micro assets within communities to be linked to macro assets of large spatially immobile anchor institutions. Through a case study, it draws on experience, and identifies transferable learning points, from a skills-matching element of a large European Union funded project in a superdiverse inner-city deprived neighbourhood in Birmingham, UK. In contrast to the typical emphasis of area-based employment initiatives on people with low skills, the skills-matching initiative focuses specifically on connecting skilled overseas migrants and refugees to skilled and highly skilled jobs in a large local hospital. It underlines the central role of local partnership working and highlights the role of skills utilisation, not merely skills development, in inclusive growth. The evidence suggests that three components underlie success in unlocking and catalysing links between micro assets and a macro asset to realise anchor institution potential: (1) institutional entrepreneurship, which provides the strategic buy-in from the anchor institution; (2) innovative entrepreneurship, which provides the delegated responsibility for implementation; and (3) vision and place leadership, which provides the strategy and resources to build the bridge between the macro asset and the local community to help realise inclusive growth.

The idea that some local areas are characterized by a low-skills equilibrium trap is prominent in academic and policy debates in the Global North. Factors shaping this position and associated impli...

In an era of free movement UK employers have had ready access to a supply of labour from the European Union to fill low-skilled jobs. This has enabled them to adopt business models, operating within broader supply chains, that take advantage of this source of labour and the flexibility that many migrant workers – especially those who are new arrivals to the UK – are prepared to offer them. Drawing mainly on evidence from employers on the role of migrant workers in selected sectors with a substantial proportion of low-skilled jobs, this article explores the challenges and opportunities they face in transitioning to a new post-Brexit immigration regime.

A shift to remote working raises important issues about the changing geography of work and the associated implications for places. It seems unlikely that a ‘new normal' after the COVID-19 pandemic will replicate the pre-COVID-19 picture. This has implications for the geography of work, both directly and indirectly because remote working in some jobs has implications for the sustainability of other jobs previously reliant on them. This chapter traces the possible short- and medium-term implications for places of remote working, addressing important questions relating to (1) the changing attractiveness of places in the context of greater remote working; (2) the future for city centres; (3) a possible revival of outer urban centres, market towns, and rural areas; (4) implications for geographical segregation and inequalities as different sub-groups face different possibilities for remote working; and (5) the implications of remote working for place-based policy.

Active labour market policy (ALMP) is a well-established strategy but one aspect is greatly neglected – employer participation – about which there is a lack of systematic evidence. The question of why and how employers participate in ALMP, and whether there may be some shift from employers solely being passive recipients of job-ready candidates to having a more proactive and strategic role, is addressed by drawing on new research into Talent Match, a contemporary UK employability programme which places particular emphasis on employer involvement. The research findings point to a conceptual distinction between employers’ roles as being reactive gatekeepers to jobs and/or being proactive strategic partners, with both evident. It is argued that the Talent Match programme demonstrates potential to benefit employers, jobseekers and programme providers, with devolution of policy to the local level a possible way forward. The conclusion, however, is that the barrier to wider replication is not necessarily a problem of practice but of centralised control of policy and, in particular, commitment to a supply-side approach. Empirical, conceptual and policy contributions are made to this under-researched topic.

This paper considers employer engagement within a changing landscape of Active Labour Market Policy (ALMP). Employer engagement in ALMP has focused on supporting job entry for disadvantaged groups, through working with employers to attain changes on the demand-side, or using dialogue with employers to implement changes on the supply-side. Employer engagement in this model is orientated to a point in time: the job match. However ALMP policy in the United Kingdom is beginning to give greater emphasis to the sustainability of job entries and progression opportunities. This potentially creates a quite different set of expectations around employer engagement, and asks more of employers. Yet securing strong engagement from employers in ALMP has tended to be difficult. This paper examines the challenges that such a change in focus will have for existing models of employer engagement and on associated implications for HRM theory, policy and practices.

Structural changes in the labour markets of developed economies, and changes in their institutional characteristics, have led to growing unease about the nature of low-paid employment. Related concerns have been expressed about the persistence of low pay, the fragmentation of work and the growth of under-employment. While all these factors have potential implications for individuals’ earnings, less is known about the connection between labour market change, patterns of sectoral growth and decline, and household poverty outcomes. This article shows distinct patterns of poverty outcomes by sector of employment, after controlling for other factors. However, household characteristics, in particular the presence of a second earner, do strongly mitigate the poverty risk. Overall, the findings demonstrate that policymakers need to develop a coherent policy towards poverty that recognises the nature of jobs growth and the distribution of ‘good jobs’ across households.

Employment projections and skills strategies emphasise the importance of (highly)-skilled labour for competitiveness. A strategic focus on ‘attracting the best talent’ globally may conflict with policies to ‘grow local talent’. This issue is considered in the UK context of a shift from a liberal immigration regime to a demand-led system characterised by increasing restriction, through adjustments to a points-based system to manage labour migration from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). The specific focus is on an annual limit on non-EEA labour migrants introduced in 2011 and tightening of eligibility criteria for entry of (highly)-skilled migrants, amid business’ concerns that this might stifle economic growth. Drawing on twenty employer case studies and literature on skills and migration policy, the article investigates the costs and implications for business in adhering and seeking to adapt to migration policy changes. Such changes pose administrative burdens on employers and limit business flexibility but associated monetary costs to businesses are difficult to quantify. Adaptation strategies and the impact of migration rule changes vary: some firms experience limited impact, some adjust their recruitment behaviour and some feel their underlying business rationale is threatened. Developing local talent is a partial long-term solution.

At 400 pages this is not a book for the faint hearted. But for scholars and policy analysts with an in depth interest in understanding what neighbourhoods are, and how and why they develop and chan...

Matching skills supply and demand is critical for economic growth, competitiveness and inclusiveness. Yet, measuring skills is difficult. This paper develops an approach for measuring the gap between demand and supply of skills at the local level in the UK West Midlands region. It uses qualifications as a proxy for skills. By comparing the projected supply of qualifications with the forecast demand for qualifications from occupational forecasts, the analysis reveals significant skill mismatches with potential to constrain regional growth potential. Policy implications for connecting skills, transport and housing policy as part of local industrial strategies are explored.

Active labour market policy has developed into a widely used and seemingly embedded approach to addressing worklessness, both in the UK and internationally. But the future of UK active labour market policy looks far from certain. Some recent developments suggest demise and diminution. But at the same time there is also evidence of more positive points, including increasing recognition of the importance of employer involvement and activity at local level. Possible future trajectories are considered in the light of emerging developments, and two potential scenarios for future UK active labour market policy are posited: ‘less support, more sticks’ and an ‘active local labour markets approach’.

Low pay is a significant and growing issue in many developed economies. Sectoral approaches are often used in both economic development and labour market policy, yet there is little evidence on how low pay and earnings mobility vary by sector. This article investigates this issue in the UK. It shows pronounced sectoral variations in low pay and earnings mobility. It highlights the policy implications of growth in large, low paying sectors. While policymakers have focused on high-wage, high-skill sectors, efforts to improve productivity in low-wage sectors could improve living standards and the UK’s economic performance.

Medium-term employment trends highlight increasing labour market disadvantage for people with no/low qualifications. Consequently, established local populations with no/low qualifications have been reported as being hostile to ‘new arrivals’ filling local jobs, on the basis that they are perceived as taking employment opportunities away from them. Drawing on a local study of migrant and student employment on opportunities for people with no/low formal qualifications in the UK city of Coventry, this paper shows how labour market restructuring in the context of neoliberalism has resulted in an increasingly compartmentalised labour market, in which some types of employment have become undesirable and often not feasible for some local workers, but attractive (or at least acceptable) for other groups, including migrant workers and students. The outcome is reduced labour market opportunities for local people with no/low qualifications, because the more flexible migrant workers and students allow employers to restructure their workforces and develop jobs that fit with the ‘frames of reference’ of these groups but match the requirements of some established local people less well.

Over the last two decades a vibrant body of research committed to investigating the complex inter-relationships between ‘the social’ and ‘the spatial’ has gathered momentum within sociology and the social sciences more generally. Focusing on young people, this article seeks to develop further insights regarding the sociology of place using the spatial visualization technique of mental mapping as part of a mixed-methods approach. Its main contribution is to develop a more nuanced understanding of young people’s localized cognitive spaces and associated socio-spatial influences in three deprived urban areas in Hull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. In this context, the article explores the role of place in shaping young people’s social networks, identities and aspirations regarding employment and highlights the implications of these for future research.

The development of a fast and reliable Internet, new technologies online payment systems, and changes in work structure that enable and demand flexible working patterns have driven a move to a new form of Internet-enabled labour exchange called crowdsourcing. Evidence from an in-depth qualitative study is presented, focusing on selected users' interactions and experiences of working on two UK-based crowdsourcing platforms. The paper shows that workers engaged in this form of labour exchange need to deploy existing employability skills and networks to effectively meet the challenges, and take advantage of the opportunities, that crowdsourcing presents. Individual factors and circumstances emerge as paramount for workers' continued engagement in this form of employment. Using selected components from an employability framework, the findings suggest that crowdsourcing can offer new pathways to practising skills and enhancing employability for some workers.

The concept of inclusive growth is increasingly presented as offering prospects for more equitable social outcomes. However, inclusive growth is subject to a variety of interpretations and lacks definitional clarity. In England, via devolution, cities are taking on new powers for policy domains that can influence inclusive growth outcomes. This opens up opportunities for innovation to address central issues of low pay and poverty. This paper examines the extent to which inclusive growth concerns form a central or peripheral aspect in this new devolution through the content analysis of devolution agreements. It concludes that inclusive growth concerns appear to be largely sidelined.

International audience; Short intense pulses of fast neutrons were produced in a two stage laser-driven experiment. Protons were accelerated by means of the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) method using the TITAN facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Neutrons were obtained following interactions of the protons with a secondary lithium fluoride (LiF) target. The properties of the neutron flux were studied using BC-400 plastic scintillation detectors and the neutron time of flight (nTOF) technique. The detector setup and the experimental conditions were simulated with the Geant4 toolkit. The effects of different components of the experimental setup on the nTOF were studied. Preliminary results from a comparison between experimental and simulated nTOF distributions are presented.

Employability policies targeting urban job seekers have often had a ‘work first’ focus on quick job entries, neglecting sustainability and progression. This article reviews evidence on ‘what works’, drawing generic lessons from research on locally-focused urban policy initiatives in Great Britain operationalised in the context of persistent worklessness in many cities. The findings highlight the importance of employer engagement to open up job opportunities, recognising the diverse needs of individuals, the significance of personalised support for those furthest from the labour market, and co-ordination of local provision. It is argued that providers need to ensure workless groups have the skills and support to access opportunities created by economic growth. Robust local policy analysis remains challenging but important in the context of limited budgets, payment-by-results and a fragmented policy landscape.

In some countries in Europe the economic crisis starting in 2008 was marked not only by a rise in unemployment, but also by increases in individuals in part-time and temporary working, so emphasising the need to examine employment composition as well as non-employment. The promotion of non-standard forms of employment – such as part-time and temporary working – has been part of Europe’s employment agenda, but directives have also focused on raising the quality of such work. Using European Union Labour Force Survey data, an indicator of involuntary non-standard (part-time and temporary) employment (INE) is constructed, depicting a negative working condition. Descriptive analyses show important differences between countries in the incidence of INE, which is highest in Spain, Portugal and Poland, and also in the composition of INE. By contrast, INE tends to be lower in countries with Anglo-Saxon and Nordic welfare state models. Econometric analyses reveal that young workers, older workers, women, non-nationals, those with low education and those who were unemployed a year ago are at greatest risk of INE.

Green A. E. and Livanos I. Involuntary non-standard employment and the economic crisis: regional insights from the UK, Regional Studies. Increases in unemployment and non-employment in the 2008–2009 economic crisis were less marked than expected in the UK given experience of previous recessions. To capture more fully the regional dimensions of economic crisis it is necessary to look also at employment. Using Labour Force Survey (LFS) data on involuntary part-time working and involuntary temporary working a measure of involuntary non-standard employment (INE) is constructed. Econometric analyses reveal that there were rises in INE alongside unemployment increases in the economic crisis and that young people, individuals from non-white ethnic groups and those in weak regional economies were particularly at risk of INE.

This article uses the concepts of ‘soft spaces’ and ‘soft outcomes’ previously developed in relation to the study of local economic development and planning and applies them to the related, but not identical, field of localised welfare-to-work initiatives. The specific example of the City Strategy initiative in Great Britain provides evidence of these concepts in action. This initiative foregrounded the importance of local partnership working whereby various stakeholders joined together to operate in soft space to achieve commonly agreed goals. The article considers how local partnerships operate in soft space and the appropriate measures of success to be used when assessing the efficacy of their interventions. It is argued that both ‘soft outcomes’ and ‘hard outcomes’ can be used to understand success; but that assessment of soft spaces only in terms of ‘hard outcomes’ is far from comprehensive.

Women have made important quantitative and qualitative gains in the labour market in recent years. A key feature of women’s employment is their disproportionate concentration in the public sector, and this helps to explain the advances they have made in the labour market given the availability of high quality jobs and opportunities for skills development in this sector across many local areas. This article explores how ongoing economic, labour market and welfare policy changes may undo some of the progress that has been made by women in the labour market, especially because of their vulnerability to job cuts in the public sector, the spatially uneven impact of such job losses and the particular dependence of women on local employment opportunities.

This article explores the impact of low population density and transport constraints on skills development and the take up of learning and training opportunities in a rural area of eastern England. It draws on analyses of secondary data sources, qualitative interviews and a focus group discussion with employers, trainers and other actors in the labour market, and a survey of young people in their penultimate year of compulsory schooling. Using the concept of the ‘low skills equilibrium’, it discusses how a relatively poor transport infrastructure and a dispersed population combine to present challenges for local economic development. It concludes that transport and travel play a crucial ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ role in exacerbating poor skills and low productivity, through thwarting attempts to improve access to learning and training that would help the local economy to achieve higher levels of productivity and economic growth.

Green A. E. and Orton M. Policy innovation in a fragmented and complex multilevel governance context: worklessness and the City Strategy in Great Britain, Regional Studies. This paper examines whether innovative policy development within fragmented and complex multilevel governance frameworks provides a paradox in that fragmentation and complexity justify, enable, and even require the launch of initiatives to deliver ‘joined-up thinking’, but at the same time place inherent constraints on what can be achieved. A new empirical insight is provided through research into the City Strategy initiative in Great Britain, which aims to tackle local concentrations of worklessness by promoting innovation within a framework of institutional complexity. It is argued that structural reform to provide institutional coherence may be a prerequisite of successful sub-national policy development. Green A. E. et Orton M. Apporter des innovations a la politique dans le contexte d'une gouvernance fragmentee et complexe a plusi...

By 2009 four in every five job seekers in Great Britain were making use of the Internet in job search, generally alongside other methods. While the Internet has created new opportunities for job seekers, there are concerns that inequalities in use of and access to the Internet will intensify difficulties experienced by disadvantaged groups in finding work. This paper analyses the incidence and determinants of online job search in Great Britain, using Labour Force Survey data for 2006 to 2009. Use of the Internet increased over this period, with employed job seekers most likely to undertake online job search. A probit model reveals that age and highest qualification are key factors affecting individuals’ use of the Internet for job search, with older job seekers and those with lower education levels most likely to ‘lose out’ in terms of accessing employment opportunities via the Internet. Some significant urban and regional differences are revealed, indicating that job seekers from less prosperous regions and those outside major metropolitan areas are least likely to make use of the Internet for job search. Keywords: digital divide, economic status, inequalities, Internet, job search, unemployed

The paper analyses the work-related spatial mobility intentions of incapacity benefit (IB) claimants in Northern Ireland using a new survey dataset. Greater understanding of the prospective mobility of benefit claimants contributes to debates about employability, inclusion in the labour market and arguments about spatial mismatch. The analysis finds that IB claimants are not markedly less mobile than other population groups; that mobility is shaped by age, level of qualification, illness type, ability to drive and motivation; and that geography is important in several ways. The paper concludes by arguing that limited spatial mobility is a good indicator of disadvantage and that spatial mobility should be placed nearer the centre of the design and delivery of labour market policy.

Drawing on case study evidence from three deprived urban neighbourhoods in England, this paper explores the influence of social networks and attachment to place on young people’s access to training and employment opportunities. The findings presented contribute to the emerging literature which highlights the importance that place-based social networks have in facilitating young people’s access to training and employment opportunities through provision of trusted information, references and role models. Moreover, the evidence also demonstrates how both social networks and attachment to place may constrain geographical and social horizons, and therefore limit the available opportunities in employment and training that young people perceive are open to them. The paper concludes by focusing on policy implications. In particular, it is argued that it is important that the influence of social networks, place attachment and associated subjective geographies is recognised by academics and policy-makers seeking a better understanding of the attitudes and perceptions of young people towards training and employment—especially in deprived areas.

Geographical unevenness in labour market and social conditions is one reason why the ‘local’ has been emphasised increasingly in the delivery of labour market policy in the UK. This article explores the extent to which there are local differences in labour market conditions using the characteristics and experiences of Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants in Northern Ireland as an example. It then offers some comments on the potential for policy initiatives to cope with these spatial variations. Evidence from a survey of 803 IB claimants is used, supplemented by focus group material derived from discussions with Personal Advisers (PAs). The article shows that whilst there are important variations between areas, largely in the quantity and quality of jobs, and the perceptions that IB claimants hold of their local labour markets, there are also similarities in the general types of labour market barriers they face across areas. There is some evidence, however, to conclude that these barriers in urban areas are p...

The aspiration of creating sustainable communities has been an important part of the UK government's agenda over the past decade, with the role for planning and other professions involved in place-making changing to include expectations of greater consultation and involvement of communities in decisionmaking. To date, most attention has been given to ensuring that planners are suitably skilled to undertake these new roles. Research conducted as part of an ESRC/HCA Initiative suggests that while opportunities have been provided for planners to acquire and reflect on their skills, more could be achieved by moving from a deficit, market-failure conception of skills needs to a 'strengths-based' approach. As community engagement is enhanced under the banner of the 'Big Society', this paper argues that significant questions need to be addressed over what sustainable communities are and the role planning professionals have in developing visions for such communities.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to engage with the theme of activation policies and organisational innovation in the capability perspective, from the viewpoint of active labour market policies in the UK.Design/methodology/approachThe focus of the article is the City Strategy initiative in Great Britain, which encourages institutions to work together to develop solutions to concentrations of worklessness. The article presents findings from a case study of the introduction of the City Strategy in one English sub‐region: Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. The empirical investigation is based on analysis of documentary evidence including strategy papers and “grey literature” such as minutes of meetings and internal briefings. In addition, the case study draws on in‐depth qualitative interviews conducted with 18 local actors involved in the City Strategy.FindingsThe empirical investigation provides selected evidence of successful public action undertaken through the City Strategy. It discusses issues concerning the benefits of partnership working and inter‐agency cooperation, but also limits that are reached.Originality/valueThe paper identifies elements of the capabilities approach – the idea of situated public action, the importance of local actors, and key concepts of empowerment and voice – as providing a helpful framework for analysis. While the City Strategy represents an interesting example of situated public action to tackle worklessness, it can be argued that what is missing in this instance is what the capabilities approach identifies as key elements of empowerment and voice for local actors.

In debates about employment creation there is increasing concern about the quality as well as the quantity of jobs. The authors examine the regional distribution of workplace employment in the UK using the ‘quality of jobs’ framework. Findings reveal evidence of marked regional differences in average ‘job quality’, with the gap between regions growing over the decade from 1997, and the focus of high-quality job creation biased towards already advantaged regions. There is evidence of increased job polarisation across most UK regions. The analyses suggest an important role of the public sector in providing high-quality jobs, particularly outside London and the South East.

Shuttleworth I. and Green A. E. Spatial mobility, workers and jobs: perspectives from the Northern Ireland experience, Regional Studies. How best to address local concentrations of worklessness is a key question for labour market, economic development and social inclusion policy. Historically, initiatives in Northern Ireland have focused on moving ‘jobs to workers’, but in changed political circumstances there is now greater emphasis on encouraging the movement of ‘workers to jobs’. A review of the Northern Ireland experience in the context of broader consideration of the geography and socio-institutional structure of local labour markets sheds light on the difficulties and successes in implementing both approaches. It is concluded that both have a role to play because labour market space is simultaneously ‘segmented’ and ‘seamless’. Shuttleworth I. et Green A. E. La mobilite geographique, les travailleurs et l'emploi: des perspectives provenant de l'experience en Irlande du Nord, Regional Studies. Une qu...

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified population aging as one of the most important challenges facing OECD countries and has highlighted the need for people to work longer and for job prospects for older workers to be enhanced. This article provides a summary review of a recent OECD report, Ageing and Employment Policies—Live Longer, Work Longer, as a platform to highlight differences between countries in demographic profiles and projections and in patterns of formal labor market participation among older workers. Drawing on selected information from a broader evidence base, it unveils important differences between countries in the scale of demographic and associated labor market challenges. It also explores factors affecting labor market transitions among older workers and age-related and other barriers to paid work among older people, emphasizing the diversity of experience between individuals. Finally, it highlights some strategic challenges for policy.

Addressing local concentrations of worklessness is an ongoing challenge for policy at national, regional and local levels. The paper outlines the changing nature of worklessness, the rationale for supply-side and demand-side interventions to address it and the balance between people- and place-based policies. It discusses the issues involved in assessing the contribution of interventions to reduce worklessness and highlights key lessons emerging from a review of the evidence on ‘what works’. While no single model of successful intervention is identified, the importance of outreach, holistic approaches, individualisation and the position of personal advisers, continuing support, flexibility, motivation and aspirations, partnership working and the role of employers is highlighted.

In debates about employment creation there is increasing concern about the quality as well as the quantity of jobs. The authors examine the regional distribution of workplace employment in the UK using the ‘quality of jobs’ framework. Findings reveal evidence of marked regional differences in average ‘job quality’, with the gap between regions growing over the decade from 1997, and the focus of high-quality job creation biased towards already advantaged regions. There is evidence of increased job polarisation across most UK regions. The analyses suggest an important role of the public sector in providing high-quality jobs, particularly outside London and the South East.

This article explores the ways in which young people’s decisions about post-compulsory education, training and employment are shaped by place, drawing on case study evidence from three deprived neighbourhoods in England. It discusses the way in which place-based social networks and attachment to place influence individuals’ outlooks and how they interpret and act on the opportunities they see. While such networks and place attachment can be a source of strength in facilitating access to opportunities, they can also be a source of weakness in acting to constrain individuals to familiar choices and locations. In this way, ‘subjective’ geographies of opportunity may be much more limited than ‘objective’ geographies of opportunity. Hence it is important for policy to recognise the importance of ‘bounded horizons’.

Green A. E., De Hoyos M., Jones P. and Owen D. Rural development and labour supply challenges in the UK: the role of non-UK migrants, Regional Studies. Characteristic features of the demographic structure of rural areas in the UK include net out-migration of young adults and an older than average age profile. These features pose a labour supply challenge for rural areas. However, many rural areas are experiencing in-migration (from other parts of the UK and overseas) and there has been considerable policy emphasis on capturing the skills of migrants to enhance local economic development. To date, the role of non-UK migrants in rural areas has received relatively little attention. This paper discusses the impact of recent growth in the numbers of international migrants on the economy and labour market of rural areas and considers the opportunities and risks for rural development posed by increasing reliance on non-UK migrants in the workforce. Green A. E., De Hoyos M., Jones P. et Owen D. Menaces pour le d...

The UK government sets the national framework for migration policy, but many issues concerning labour market integration are dealt with locally. The paper outlines increases and changes in the prof...

In the context of developments in information and communications technologies (ICTs) there is growing interest in opportunities for internet-enabled entrepreneurship. As the internet and ICTs have extended their reach in the economic and social spheres, so they have opened new possibilities and practices in the organisation, content and conduct of work and skills development, how work is contracted and where and how it is undertaken. The internet can alter the contours of labour markets and potentially change how individuals interact with them by broadening access to opportunities and enabling remote and mobile working. This chapter explores conceptually what ICT and internet-enabled work means for the location of work at local, national and international levels, drawing on a review of the literature and on findings from case study research with users of selected internet-enabled platforms. It focuses particularly on ‘crowdsourcing’ – defined broadly as an online-mediated exchange that allows users (organisations or individuals) to access other users via the internet to solve specific problems, to undertake specific tasks or to achieve specific aims. It outlines the diversity and key features of internet-enabled working and implications for the location of work and for entrepreneurship. It addresses two important questions: 1) how and whether internet-enabled working enables workers and businesses to operate in global marketplaces, so superseding the confines of neighbourhoods and local labour markets; and 2) how and whether such forms of work can foster local embeddedness by offering opportunities for entrepreneurship from a home location. It is concluded that crowdsourcing has contradictory relationships with space, since it can provide access to global opportunities, while at the same time enabling local work, as well as issues of flexibility and autonomy.

Higher education provision has expanded in recent decades. It is no longer an elite system preparing a select few for the traditional professions; instead it is a mass system educating ‘everyone for everything’. In addition, students are now required to contribute financially to their education in the UK. As more students enter the labour market, graduates’ employment outcomes are a key concern. This chapter concentrates on employment outcomes in the context of the expansion of higher education and the recent economic downturn. The issue of employment outcomes is separated into sub-issues: students’ entry into employment; the jobs in which graduates are employed; the graduate wage premium associated with those jobs; and the capacity of higher education to lever social mobility through those employment outcomes. In exploring these issues, the chapter focuses on developments in the UK though references to similar developments elsewhere are made. \ud \ud In the UK graduate employment outcomes are a key policy concern. The recent government review Securing a sustainable future for higher education (BIS 2010), also known as the Browne Review recommended the removal of the cap on tuition fees; a recommendation subsequently adopted by the government ,. In the context of students having to pay to study, Browne argued that students would and should pay these fees if they provided the pathway into good jobs, or at least jobs appropriate for graduates and that the anticipated employment outcomes would shape the differences in the level of tuition fees set by institutions: the ‘charge’ for a university course “will become an indicator of its ability to deliver – students will only pay higher charges if there is a proven path to higher earnings”, Browne argued (p.31). As a consequence, it was assumed that this link between employment outcomes and institutional receipt of fees would also affect pedagogy in higher education, stating optimistically that if students are clearly informed about employment outcomes “the gap between the skills taught by the higher education system and what employers need” (p.31) would be closed, in a virtuous aligning of inputs (fees), process (pedagogy) and outcomes (jobs). In practice, this alignment is not so straightforward. Focusing on graduate transitions into employment, the types of jobs in which graduates are employed and the pay of those jobs, this chapter highlights the more complex situation empirically in which motivations and outcomes are more varied and less predictable. It also indicates the complexity of another graduate employment dynamic – the shaping of social mobility.\ud This chapter draws on a range of secondary material, much of it conducted by staff at the Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) over the last thirty years, including several longitudinal studies of students and graduates – the Futuretrack studies.\ud This chapter draws on mainly UK based research undertaken variously by its authors, and supplemented by secondary material from other researchers. The first section examines the transition of graduates to employment and highlights the radical changes that have taken place over the past fifteen years. This section extends its coverage to include a brief international perspective on the employment outcomes of UK educated graduates. The following section analyses the jobs in which graduates are employed and again, indicates the changes in the pattern of that employment. It is followed by a discussion about the changes in the occupations. The third section identifies the role of educational credentials in salary outcomes and examines whether students’ enhanced expectation about employability is materialising into graduates having higher paying jobs. The final main section discusses the diversity both of students and their distribution within HEIs, its implications for the employment of graduates and how this employment shapes the various possible trajectories of social mobility – downward as well as upward. Signals for future research issues and agendas both for researchers and for policy makers are identified in the conclusion. \ud

Overall, the labour force in the UK is ageing, although at different rates in different areas. This poses challenges for workforce development, and has implications not only for older workers, but for everyone, everywhere. However, demography is only one element in labour supply. It needs to be considered alongside trends in participation rates and in a broader policy and cultural context, and alongside likely changes in labour demand, in order to gain a picture of regional and local labour market prospects. The thrust of government policy is to raise employment rates amongst older people (aged 50-69) and to promote 'active ageing'. The decline in employment rates amongst older men evident in the 1980s has been reversed, but participation rates remain low by earlier standards. Shifts in the industrial and occupational structure of employment mean that there is likely to be a growing demand for customer care and service skills, which older people are well-placed to provide. Yet estimates of 'replacement demand' show that some of the most pressing workforce development issues are experienced in declining sectors and occupations, with an older than average age profile. Examples include agriculture and social care in Cornwall, where there is a lack of new recruits to replace those retiring. It is concluded that improved local intelligence on labour market flows and prospects is needed to inform skills and learning priorities. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.