An appetite for learning : increasing employee demand for skills development

Raising the demand for skills amongst individuals in the workforce is critical if the UK is to meet its 2020 Ambition. This edition of Praxis highlights a number of policy interventions that the evidence suggests can work, and proposes a policy framework for describing and understanding these. The paper aims to stimulate wider debate about the policy interventions most likely to address the barriers to learning faced by the UK workforce. To this end the UK Commission welcomes readers' responses to the following questions, prompted by this paper

The use of quality management to address the problem of wastage from the Australian Army\u27s recruit training process

In late 1994 there was great enthusiasm within Army that the introduction of Total Quality Management would, at last, lead to dramatic improvements in many of its cumbersome practices. It was also at this time that the very real problem of excessive wastage from the Army\u27s recruit training process was given to my work area. To say the very least, this significant issue presented me with a rare and exciting opportunity to study the application of Quality Management theory within Army. It was immediately recognised that a high proportion of recruit wastage was due to injuries received in training. Accordingly, the project was given the name of a figure whose concern for the individual soldier was legend, the renowned Australian Army Medical Officer, Sir Edward \u27Weary\u27 Dunlop. As a result of attention generated, Project DUNLOP, and the trainee wastage issue in general, received front page national media coverage and attracted attention at ministerial level. Having being DUNLOP\u27s initial project officer, I was most fortunate to have had continuous involvement with it until its official end on 1st December 1996. It is, however, only in early 1998, that the true outcome of the Project can really be assessed. At the time of writing Quality Management has been quietly forgotten within Army. Nevertheless, both the Army, and the Defence Force as a whole, are in the midst of a massive number of sweeping changes. Quality Management or not, this thesis will provide valuable insights to all those who would seek to successfully implement change within Defence. Lastly, this thesis reflects the facts as I observed them. If I have made any errors of interpretation, these errors are mine alone and I apologise for them in advance

Engaging low skilled employees in workplace learning : UK Commission for Employment and Skills Evidence Report no. 43

The Employee Demand study (UKCES, 2009) highlighted the significant barriers to learning that are faced by a number of UK employees. This report sets out the findings of a study into the motivators and barriers to participation in workplace learning by low skilled employees. Employees in low skilled jobs are a group which has been overlooked in previous research. The study was carried out by the Employment Research Institute (ERI) at Edinburgh Napier University on behalf of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (the UK Commission). The report presents the results of a survey of both employee and employer views on participation in workplace learning in the care sector in north east England and the hotel sector in Yorkshire and Humberside. As well as a standard survey, the report also outlines the stated preference approach adopted. The stated preference approach allows employees to consider a hypothetical case of participation in workplace learning. Employees were given choices of combinations of job and learning related factors that might affect their preference for or against workplace learning. In conclusion, the report suggests many positive features which employers, individuals and policy makers could build on in developing the skills of people in low skilled jobs, which is important in securing our competitive advantage in the long term

Delivering job search services in rural labour markets: the role of ICT

This paper reports original research on job seekers in two contrasting rural areas in Scotland: one a remote rural area; the other semi-rural with strong metropolitan connectivity. It seeks to answer two key questions. Firstly, what are the potential benefits and barriers associated with the delivery of services for rural job seekers through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based systems? And following from this, what is the nature and extent of the 'digital divide' affecting unemployed job seekers and what policies are required to address this problem? Rural labour markets in the United Kingdom, like those across Europe, have recently experienced a period of continuous and rapid change. The decline of primary sector industries has been accompanied by increases in service employment, especially in tourism. However, in the UK, as elsewhere, this economic transition has not been without its difficulties. Whilst social exclusion is less prevalent in rural areas than in many cities, instances f poverty remain. Unemployment, and particularly long-term unemployment, has been cited as an important factor explaining the continuing problem of social exclusion in many rural areas. Recent research has suggested that an important barrier to work faced by unemployed people in rural areas relates to the absence of locally-based job search and advice services. The Employment Service (the main public agency in the UK dealing with job seekers) has argued thagiven the remote and sparsely populated nature of many rural labour markets, ICT-based job search and advice services (e.g. delivered through telephone helplines and the Internet) may offer the most efficient and cost-effective policy solution in many areas. However, the viability of this policy is dependent on the level of ICT awareness and access among job seekers. Interviews were conducted with over 400 job seekers in the two areas. The Caithness and Sutherland area in northern Scotland is among the most remote and least densely populated in Europe, with unemployment rates well above the national average. West Lothian, in contrast, is situated near to Scotland's economic centre and is a major centre of manufacturing activity with unemployment below the national average. The interviws examined the level of ICT skills possessed, attitudes towards and access to ICT, and additionally collected information on a range of personal skills and attitudes. Evidence of relatively low levels of ICT awareness and access was found in both communities Although those residing in the more remote study area were also more likely to have Internet access, a significant minority did not even have access to a telephone at home. The paper concludes that, if ICT is to prove to be the waforward in delivering services for job seekers in rural areas, community-based access and support facilities must be provided, along with appropriate training for job seekers in basic and higher level ICT skills.

SWELL Action 3 Evaluation

This report details the findings of research undertaken by the Employment Research Institute, Napier University, Edinburgh as part the evaluation of the Scottish Workforce Empowerment for Lifelong Learning (SWELL) project. The report focuses on SWELL's ‘Action 3' activities, concerning the communication, dissemination and mainstreaming of practice and outputs from the project

Employee demand for skills: evidence and policy review : UK Commission for Employment and Skills Research Report no. 3

This report presents the results of a detailed review of evidence and policy relating to the factors that influence the engagement of the individual in skills development. It incorporates a broad range of formal and informal learning activities, delivered in a range of institutional settings and through different media, including work-based, classroombased, distance learning and community based learning. The review is deliberately broad in its focus, drawing on evidence and policy relating to people in different positions within the labour market - in or out of work, new entrants into employment, younger and older workers, people with and without qualifications and/or with higher and lower skills. However, a key focus for the research was the barriers and factors affecting access to skills development opportunities among lower skilled and lower qualified people. The review was undertaken by WM Enterprise and the Employment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UK Commission)

Engaging low skilled employees in workplace learning

This report sets out the findings of a study into the motivators and barriers to participation in workplace learning by low skilled employees. Low skilled in the UK is usually considered to be below NVQ level 2 qualifications. The study was carried out by the Employment Research Institute at Edinburgh Napier University on behalf of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The report presents the results of a survey of both employee and employer views on participation in workplace learning in the care sector in north east England and the hotel sector in Yorkshire and the Humber region. The hotels and catering sector has the highest relative and absolute skill gaps in low skilled occupations, with some 63 per cent of staff suffering skills gaps. In contrast, the care sector has an apparent strong training culture, with care staff expected to progress to NVQ level 3 and only five per cent of low skilled staff suffered a skills gap

The role of skills: from worklessness to sustainable employment with progression : UK Commission for Employment and Skills Evidence Report no. 38

This study is shaped by the recognition that while there has been a great deal of policy development around the transition from unemployment and inactivity to employment over the last decade, policy can still be informed about how best to nurture sustainable employment for those at risk of labour market exclusion. There remain challenges associated with, for example, the cost-effectiveness of intervention, the „low pay no pay‟ cycle and access to training. As a consequence, the opportunities for sustainable progression, upward social mobility and alleviating poverty remain unrealised for many workers in lower paid occupations. The methodology underpinning this study is predominantly based on a literature search and review of the research and evidence base post 2005. This is supplemented with the development of four international case studies (Australia, Denmark, Germany, United States contained in a separate annex) and an e-consultation with country experts

Approaches to evaluation in community regeneration

This document reports the findings of research on approaches to evaluation in community regeneration. It was conducted by the Employment Research Institute (ERI) at Napier University on behalf of Communities Scotland. The Scottish Executive and Communities Scotland are committed to ‘Closing the Opportunity Gap' (CtOG), the Executive's main strategy for tackling poverty and disadvantage in Scotland, by seeking to: prevent individuals or families from falling into poverty; provide routes out of poverty for individuals and families; and sustain individuals and families in a lifestyle free from poverty. Over the period 2005-08, the Community Regeneration Fund (CRF) provides a key mechanism for Scotland's 32 Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to develop services promoting the regeneration of the most deprived neighbourhoods, in line with the Closing the Opportunity Gap (CtOG) objective of "regenerating the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, so that people living there can take advantage of job opportunities and improve their quality of life"