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The recent Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the increasing reliance of organisations on temporary agency workers (TAWs) to survive in business environments that are characterised as being temporal, unpredictable, and cyclical. Temporary workforces are growing in popularity as it offers flexibility and independence for both employees and the employer (i.e., The Client). At the same time, the recruitment industry has witnessed significant growth and heightened competition to source reliable, high-quality TAWs as this niche cohort of the workforce underpin the successful performance and outcomes of both agency and client. Despite the increasing number of TAWs and their significant contributions to sustaining competitive advantage and economic growth, extant literature on employee engagement of TAWs to date is rather limited. Also, what research does exist is rather limited as seminal research focused on employee engagement of full time employees, rather than any rigorous examination of engagement with TAWs who operate in turbulent and constantly changing 'real world' business environments. This study addresses this gap in knowledge by "examining employee engagement from the perspective of the TAWs to identify the influence and implications of job and organisation engagement". This study draws on an exemplar case study of a well-known large UK retailer (i.e., The Client) that operates a distribution warehouse and employs TAWs who are sourced through three recruitment agencies. A review of seminal literature provides the theoretical base for the antecedents and proposed outcomes of employee engagement to inform the proposed research model to capture the perceptions of TAW engagement at The Client organisation. A self-completion questionnaire was completed by 277 TAWS and the research model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and SmartPLS v.4. The findings challenge two long-held assumptions about employee engagements First, job engagement and organisation engagement are two significantly distinct constructs that have implications for The Client organisation. Second, experiences of employee engagement for TAWs differ from that of traditional employees as they are heavily reliant on The Client organisation's ability to support, value and embed them into the workforce and wider mission of the organisation.

Wales has recently seen a concerted attempt by the Government, Academia, and Industry to transform into a knowledge-based economy through increased collaboration across these three sectors. Industry and Academia must share knowledge and technology to assist regional growth. Key to this change has been the emergence of policy-led programmes like Enterprise Zones to catalyse regional growth by focusing support on a specified area. Such efforts to foster innovation in a region have been contested. Can Enterprise Zones benefit from university innovation in Wales? The Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone is a unique illustration of how Enterprise Zones foster regional progress. This study used a qualitative, Action Research approach to map the South West Wales Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone's context. This involved identifying key issues that impact Knowledge and Technology Transfer in the region to identify barriers and possibilities. A careful evaluation of the literature and policy contexts revealed initial focus areas of interest to test throughout the investigation. Interviews were conducted in Academia, Industry, and Government to understand people's experiences and identify enablers and barriers to knowledge and technology transfer. The research findings give examples of regional knowledge and technology initiatives and suggested areas for improvement that might help South West Wales and the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone promote these activities in the future. This analysis finds that stronger collaboration between Academia and projects like the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone would boost South West Wales' knowledge and technology transfer potential. The Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone gives a chance to foster Industry, Academic, and Government collaborations. This would minimise the 'University Structure' barrier by allowing Academic stakeholders to work with Industry in a neutral setting. This thesis helps Academics and practitioners understand and create innovation in post-industrial regions.

The rationale for the qualitative study was initiated from recommendations of the Life Science Skills for Life (2014) regional study, identifying the need for a talent pool to support the region's life science sector. A literature review identified further research needs of experiential learning design in integrated STEM interventions, particularly in further education contexts. The study explores stakeholder perspectives from employers, educators and student participants aged 16-19 years. The study was conducted over three action cycles between 2014 and 2018 iteratively identifying the talent requirements, intervention design and implementation. The intervention utilised an experiential education pedagogy in the course design with a set of features including masterclasses, industry challenges, mentoring, company visits, work experience and a set of skills strands as the main experiential learning opportunities. The aim of Talent Bank was to increase student interest and awareness of the life science sector and its STEM career opportunities in the south west region of Wales. Five collection instruments were used to collect the data and thematic analysis revealed the following findings: The Talent Bank model raised awareness and understanding of the life science sector and its career opportunities; stakeholders from the life science ecosystem willingly supported the delivery of the programme to ensure a dynamic, relevant and authentic learning experience; most participants indicated they would consider future employment in the life sciences or STEM related sectors having improved their reflexive practice habits, skills and individual profiles; the action research identified the perceptions of three stakeholder groups that could influence curricula development practice. The Talent Bank model represents an approach to developing a pipeline of the next generation of talent to serve the evolving needs of the life science sector. The researcher developed her own professional practice and craft as an action researcher in the development of the Talent Bank model.