The Impact Of Skills And Training Interventions On The Unemployed: Phase II Report

This report is the latest in a series of studies that analyse the returns to FE learning using matched ILR-WPLS administrative data. A recent study in this series (Bibby et. al. 2014) uses the matched data to produce robust estimates of the labour market returns to achievement of learning aims whilst studying in English Further Education (FE), relative to those who have the same highest learning aim, but do not achieve. Whilst survey-based studies had suggested that some vocational qualifications (for instance, NVQ2) were associated with negligible, or even negative, earnings returns; Bibby et. al find that FE qualifications are associated with good labour market returns. The authors provide compelling evidence that the previous less favourable findings at Level 2 were a result of data limitations, rather than truly insignificant value added. This report investigates labour market returns for a specific subgroup within the wider populations that form the focus of study within this ongoing programme of research. We identify the returns to FE Learning for the unemployed in England. For this study it is essential to use an approach to estimation of value added that is appropriate for learning at Level 2 and below, as many of the interventions targeted at the unemployed are at this level

Estimating earnings returns to vocational qualifications using administrative data

In this paper we update the findings from Buscha and Urwin (2013), estimating separately the (i) earnings, (ii) employment probability and (iii) probability of being on active benefits, for those who achieve their highest learning aim whilst studying at an English Further Education Institution (FEI), relative to those who have the same highest learning aim, but do not achieve. Estimates are obtained using the 2002-2012 ILR-WPLS administrative dataset, and the findings provide a robust estimate of the value added from each qualification, when held as an individual’s highes

Education pathways to the labour market for 16-year-olds who struggle to achieve maths and English in General Certificate of Secondary Education

We examine the post age-16 educational pathways taken by the 44% of young people who do not gain “good” grades in English and Maths at age 16 years. We then assess the causal effects of attending General Further Education (GFE) colleges on education and labour market outcomes for this group. We use the Longitudinal Education Outcomes dataset, which comprises linked administrative education, employment and income records for the population of English school pupils aged 16 in 2011. To summarise complex post-16 education trajectories, we present Sankey charts stratified by indicators of disadvantage. We study the effects of attending GFE at age 17 on whether a pupil gains a Level 3 qualification by age 19, and their earnings and employment status at age 24. To estimate a causal impact, we use distance from home to the closest GFE college as an instrumental variable, controlling for a rich set of background characteristics. Our graphical results highlight the complexity of post-16 educational pathways and transitions, which are differentiated by disadvantage. Over 50% have GFE as their first post-16 destination. Results from instrumental variable analyses show a positive association between attending GFE and gaining a Level 3 qualification by age 19, among pupils who do not gain a “good” pass in the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in either English and/or Maths. Restricting analyses to the bottom of the distribution – those who gain an E, F or G grade in both English and Maths - we do not detect an impact of GFE on qualifications at age 19. Among both subgroups, we do not detect any impact of attending GFE on earnings and employment at age 24 years. While the post-16 pathways taken by disadvantaged, lower-attaining pupils do increase qualification attainment for some, the value these have in the labour market appears limited. These results may indicate the importance of “soft-skills” and early employment experiences for this subgroup of lower-attainers

Communication in the Gig Economy: Buying and Selling in Online Freelance Marketplaces

The proliferating gig economy relies on online freelance marketplaces, which support relatively anonymous interactions by text-based messages. Informational asymmetries thus arise that can lead to exchange uncertainties between buyers and freelancers. Conventional marketing thought recommends reducing such uncertainty. However, uncertainty reduction and uncertainty management theories indicate that buyers and freelancers might benefit more from balancing, rather than reducing, uncertainty, such as by strategically adhering to or deviating from common principles. With dyadic analyses of calls for bids and bids from a leading online freelance marketplace, this study reveals that buyers attract more bids from freelancers when they provide moderate degrees of task information and concreteness, avoid sharing personal information, and limit the affective intensity of their communication. Freelancers’ bid success and price premiums increase when they mimic the degree of task information and affective intensity exhibited by buyers. However, mimicking a lack of personal information and concreteness reduces freelancers’ success, so freelancers should always be more concrete and offer more personal information than buyers do. These contingent perspectives offer insights into buyer–seller communication in two-sided online marketplaces; they clarify that despite, or sometimes due to, communication uncertainty, both sides can achieve success in the online gig economy

Transgenic Potatoes for Potato Cyst Nematode Control Can Replace Pesticide Use without Impact on Soil Quality

Current and future global crop yields depend upon soil quality to which soil organisms make an important contribution. The European Union seeks to protect European soils and their biodiversity for instance by amending its Directive on pesticide usage. This poses a challenge for control of Globodera pallida (a potato cyst nematode) for which both natural resistance and rotational control are inadequate. One approach of high potential is transgenically based resistance. This work demonstrates the potential in the field of a new transgenic trait for control of G. pallida that suppresses root invasion. It also investigates its impact and that of a second transgenic trait on the non-target soil nematode community. We establish that a peptide that disrupts chemoreception of nematodes without a lethal effect provides resistance to G. pallida in both a containment and a field trial when precisely targeted under control of a root tip-specific promoter. In addition we combine DNA barcoding and quantitative PCR to recognise nematode genera from soil samples without microscope-based observation and use the method for nematode faunal analysis. This approach establishes that the peptide and a cysteine proteinase inhibitor that offer distinct bases for transgenic plant resistance to G. pallida do so without impact on the non-target nematode soil community

Changes in serogroup and genotype prevalence among carried meningococci in the United Kingdom during vaccine implementation.

BACKGROUND: Herd immunity is important in the effectiveness of conjugate polysaccharide vaccines against encapsulated bacteria. A large multicenter study investigated the effect of meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine introduction on the meningococcal population. METHODS: Carried meningococci in individuals aged 15-19 years attending education establishments were investigated before and for 2 years after vaccine introduction. Isolates were characterized by multilocus sequence typing, serogroup, and capsular region genotype and changes in phenotypes and genotypes assessed. RESULTS: A total of 8462 meningococci were isolated from 47 765 participants (17.7%). Serogroup prevalence was similar over the 3 years, except for decreases of 80% for serogroup C and 40% for serogroup 29E. Clonal complexes were associated with particular serogroups and their relative proportions fluctuated, with 12 statistically significant changes (6 up, 6 down). The reduction of ST-11 complex serogroup C meningococci was probably due to vaccine introduction. Reasons for a decrease in serogroup 29E ST-254 meningococci (from 1.8% to 0.7%) and an increase in serogroup B ST-213 complex meningococci (from 6.7% to 10.6%) were less clear. CONCLUSIONS: Natural fluctuations in carried meningococcal genotypes and phenotypes a can be affected by the use of conjugate vaccines, and not all of these changes are anticipatable in advance of vaccine introduction

Unmet clinical needs for COVID-19 tests in UK health and social care settings

There is an urgent requirement to identify which clinical settings are in most need of COVID-19 tests and the priority role(s) for tests in these settings to accelerate the development of tests fit for purpose in health and social care across the UK. This study sought to identify and prioritize unmet clinical needs for COVID-19 tests across different settings within the UK health and social care sector via an online survey of health and social care professionals and policymakers. Four hundred and forty-seven responses were received between 22nd May and 15th June 2020. Hospitals and care homes were recognized as the settings with the greatest unmet clinical need for COVID-19 diagnostics, despite reporting more access to laboratory molecular testing than other settings. Hospital staff identified a need for diagnostic tests for symptomatic workers and patients. In contrast, care home staff expressed an urgency for screening at the front door to protect high-risk residents and limit transmission. The length of time to test result was considered a widespread problem with current testing across all settings. Rapid tests for staff were regarded as an area of need across general practice and dental settings alongside tests to limit antibiotics use