The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) has used extensive labour market intelligence to find out which will be fantastic careers to get into. Pay, careers opportunities, entry routes and personal development are all factors they’ve taken into account. Here’s an overview of 12 of the most exciting “careers of the future”.
See the infographic here
Careers of the Future (PDF 36pp)
Careers of the Future: background report (PDF 115pp)
Hazel’s comment:
Yes, the careers would seem to offer a stable future but to describe care work as exciting ....
Showing posts with label UKCES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UKCES. Show all posts
Monday, 26 January 2015
Monday, 10 June 2013
LMI for All
The UK Commission has released the first pilot version of LMI for All, an online data portal which brings together existing labour market information. It aims to support individuals and businesses to make better and more informed decisions about careers and learning options.
Continue reading
Continue reading
Friday, 26 April 2013
Scaling the youth employment challenge
a report from the UKCES (March 2013)
Executive summary
In summer 2012 the UK Commission for Employment and Skills published The youth employment challenge. This set out the structural changes in the labour market that have made it increasingly difficult for young people to get into work and progress on a career path.
It highlighted the importance of employer practice in tackling this challenge and called for UK employers to adopt a “youth policy”: to do something, no matter how small, to help young people get into work. This includes activities like opening up recruitment practices and offering work experience or apprenticeships.
In this report we examine the extent to which UK employers are engaging in these types of activities and some of the barriers to making them more widespread. There are many excellent examples, but there is scope to do much more.
The way in which employers fill their vacancies is key. Word of mouth recruitment disadvantages young people without the right networks and contacts. But this is on the rise and is now the number one method of recruiting. Unless recruitment becomes less about who you know and more about what you know and what you can do, employers risk missing out on a rich and diverse talent pool. Use of Jobcentre Plus for recruitment has fallen in the last two years, however the recent launch of the Government backed online vacancy matching service Universal Jobmatch offers an accessible and free means for businesses to advertise their jobs widely.
The majority of employers who take on young people straight from education find them well or very well prepared for work, but they attach vital importance to experience when they recruit. And lack of experience is the number one reason why recruiting employers turn young job applicants away. It’s also the main reason they find them poorly prepared for work.
Despite the importance employers place on work experience, only one in four offer work experience placements to young people in education. Combined with decreasing opportunities to work while learning, this means that young people continue to face a ‘Catch 22’ situation. To tackle this, work experience needs to become much more widespread and seen by employers as an integral part of their recruitment strategies. Employers who provide work experience say they gain considerable benefits, so there is a strong case for others to get involved. And there is untapped demand: 20% of employers who don’t offer work experience have never been approached to offer it and many employers recruit young people without offering work experience. Our goal should be to raise the overall number participating from a quarter to a half of all UK employers.
Although the recession has caused a fall off in recruitment generally, employment in high skill managerial and professional roles has grown by over 900,000 and this growth is set to continue. Employers who specialise in these roles are the least likely to recruit young people and where they do, they tend to rely on university graduates. Creating more non-graduate routes into professional and managerial jobs would offer ladders of opportunity to young people, and feed the talent pipeline for employers. Apprenticeships offer just such a gateway into a great career for young people and bring well documented returns to employers. Yet currently, just 15% of employers have or offer apprenticeships. Twice that number say they plan to offer apprenticeships in the future, so again, we should be aiming to double participation.
In 2011 the UK Commission, supported by Government, launched a new vision for how we invest in our current and future workforce – Employer Ownership of Skills. Realising this vision through a series of significant steps would play a big part in tackling the youth employment challenge. We believe that by empowering employers and giving them far greater sway over public spending on skills, we will see innovative ideas and increased investment in return. We are encouraged by the bids from employers in the first round of the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) fund in England. In Round 2 we are looking for more ambitious proposals.
We know that there is significant variation in youth policy type activity by industry sector, which suggests there are sectoral solutions to youth employment. In Round 2 of the Employer Ownership Pilot, we want to encourage the establishment of employer owned and run partnerships that bring together employees, unions and training providers around common issues like recruitment, work experience and apprenticeships. These ‘Industrial Partnerships’ will take end to end responsibility for workforce development – setting standards, designing qualifications and creating career pathways in key sectors of the economy.
There is huge potential for expansion of apprenticeships, but barriers to achieving this include perceptions of lack of need, suitability and cost, and a widespread lack of awareness of the Government subsidy for training. Giving employers far greater purchasing power for apprenticeship training by funding them directly instead of channelling funding through training providers could help raise awareness of the public subsidy, and encourage more employers to get involved.
We know that the best outcomes are achieved when employers and colleges/providers collaborate, especially in opening up jobs and training opportunities and tapping into the potential for work experience in small businesses. There are great examples of such collaboration in the first round of the Employer Ownership Pilots. The UK Commission will continue to promote and evaluate this approach in the second round.
Finally, the skills system has tended to measure success by fairly narrow outputs, like qualification achievements. Shifting accountability and success measures toward labour market outcomes - earnings and employment chances for learners, for example - would further encourage employer and college/provider collaboration. This could be achieved by emphasising these outcomes in quality assurance regimes, and by tying funding to them.
Nothing less than a radical shift in approach will be sufficient to redress the UK’s youth employment problems. But as we have seen, there is huge scope to raise our game. By taking a few significant steps we can make a start towards embedding a culture where recruiting and developing young people are part of standard business practice in the UK.
Full text (PDF 22pp)
Executive summary
In summer 2012 the UK Commission for Employment and Skills published The youth employment challenge. This set out the structural changes in the labour market that have made it increasingly difficult for young people to get into work and progress on a career path.
It highlighted the importance of employer practice in tackling this challenge and called for UK employers to adopt a “youth policy”: to do something, no matter how small, to help young people get into work. This includes activities like opening up recruitment practices and offering work experience or apprenticeships.
In this report we examine the extent to which UK employers are engaging in these types of activities and some of the barriers to making them more widespread. There are many excellent examples, but there is scope to do much more.
The way in which employers fill their vacancies is key. Word of mouth recruitment disadvantages young people without the right networks and contacts. But this is on the rise and is now the number one method of recruiting. Unless recruitment becomes less about who you know and more about what you know and what you can do, employers risk missing out on a rich and diverse talent pool. Use of Jobcentre Plus for recruitment has fallen in the last two years, however the recent launch of the Government backed online vacancy matching service Universal Jobmatch offers an accessible and free means for businesses to advertise their jobs widely.
The majority of employers who take on young people straight from education find them well or very well prepared for work, but they attach vital importance to experience when they recruit. And lack of experience is the number one reason why recruiting employers turn young job applicants away. It’s also the main reason they find them poorly prepared for work.
Despite the importance employers place on work experience, only one in four offer work experience placements to young people in education. Combined with decreasing opportunities to work while learning, this means that young people continue to face a ‘Catch 22’ situation. To tackle this, work experience needs to become much more widespread and seen by employers as an integral part of their recruitment strategies. Employers who provide work experience say they gain considerable benefits, so there is a strong case for others to get involved. And there is untapped demand: 20% of employers who don’t offer work experience have never been approached to offer it and many employers recruit young people without offering work experience. Our goal should be to raise the overall number participating from a quarter to a half of all UK employers.
Although the recession has caused a fall off in recruitment generally, employment in high skill managerial and professional roles has grown by over 900,000 and this growth is set to continue. Employers who specialise in these roles are the least likely to recruit young people and where they do, they tend to rely on university graduates. Creating more non-graduate routes into professional and managerial jobs would offer ladders of opportunity to young people, and feed the talent pipeline for employers. Apprenticeships offer just such a gateway into a great career for young people and bring well documented returns to employers. Yet currently, just 15% of employers have or offer apprenticeships. Twice that number say they plan to offer apprenticeships in the future, so again, we should be aiming to double participation.
In 2011 the UK Commission, supported by Government, launched a new vision for how we invest in our current and future workforce – Employer Ownership of Skills. Realising this vision through a series of significant steps would play a big part in tackling the youth employment challenge. We believe that by empowering employers and giving them far greater sway over public spending on skills, we will see innovative ideas and increased investment in return. We are encouraged by the bids from employers in the first round of the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) fund in England. In Round 2 we are looking for more ambitious proposals.
We know that there is significant variation in youth policy type activity by industry sector, which suggests there are sectoral solutions to youth employment. In Round 2 of the Employer Ownership Pilot, we want to encourage the establishment of employer owned and run partnerships that bring together employees, unions and training providers around common issues like recruitment, work experience and apprenticeships. These ‘Industrial Partnerships’ will take end to end responsibility for workforce development – setting standards, designing qualifications and creating career pathways in key sectors of the economy.
There is huge potential for expansion of apprenticeships, but barriers to achieving this include perceptions of lack of need, suitability and cost, and a widespread lack of awareness of the Government subsidy for training. Giving employers far greater purchasing power for apprenticeship training by funding them directly instead of channelling funding through training providers could help raise awareness of the public subsidy, and encourage more employers to get involved.
We know that the best outcomes are achieved when employers and colleges/providers collaborate, especially in opening up jobs and training opportunities and tapping into the potential for work experience in small businesses. There are great examples of such collaboration in the first round of the Employer Ownership Pilots. The UK Commission will continue to promote and evaluate this approach in the second round.
Finally, the skills system has tended to measure success by fairly narrow outputs, like qualification achievements. Shifting accountability and success measures toward labour market outcomes - earnings and employment chances for learners, for example - would further encourage employer and college/provider collaboration. This could be achieved by emphasising these outcomes in quality assurance regimes, and by tying funding to them.
Nothing less than a radical shift in approach will be sufficient to redress the UK’s youth employment problems. But as we have seen, there is huge scope to raise our game. By taking a few significant steps we can make a start towards embedding a culture where recruiting and developing young people are part of standard business practice in the UK.
Full text (PDF 22pp)
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Understanding Occupational Regulation
an Evidence Report (Number 67) by Penny Tamkin, Linda Miller and Joy Williams (Institute for Employment Studies) and Paul Casey (UK Commission for Employment and Skills) published by UKCES (March 2013)
Occupational regulation is a policy mechanism which can raise skill levels via the introduction of minimum prescribed skills standards into an occupation or an aspect of it. Previous research published by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills suggests that occupational regulation, in certain forms, is one means by which workforce skills in the UK can be improved. It can do this by providing incentives for individuals or firms to invest in human capital, specific to the occupation they operate in, thereby raising skill levels. Whilst there is evidence of the positive effects of introducing occupational regulation (which increase in likelihood the stricter the form of regulation applied) there is little information on schema design or the motivations for their introduction or amendment. This report addresses some of these gaps.
The Institute for Employment Studies explores this through a series of ten case studies of occupational regulation schemes. Covering mandatory and voluntary occupational regulation the case studies reflect a variety of different rationales for establishing regulation, covering a varied geographical and sectoral focus, as well as different kinds of jobs and different skill levels. Via a mainly qualitative approach, the report explores the rationale, characteristics, and impact of occupational regulation. It also provides useful schematic pointers to those seeking to design and implement forms of occupational regulation.
Full text (PDF 140pp)
Occupational regulation is a policy mechanism which can raise skill levels via the introduction of minimum prescribed skills standards into an occupation or an aspect of it. Previous research published by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills suggests that occupational regulation, in certain forms, is one means by which workforce skills in the UK can be improved. It can do this by providing incentives for individuals or firms to invest in human capital, specific to the occupation they operate in, thereby raising skill levels. Whilst there is evidence of the positive effects of introducing occupational regulation (which increase in likelihood the stricter the form of regulation applied) there is little information on schema design or the motivations for their introduction or amendment. This report addresses some of these gaps.
The Institute for Employment Studies explores this through a series of ten case studies of occupational regulation schemes. Covering mandatory and voluntary occupational regulation the case studies reflect a variety of different rationales for establishing regulation, covering a varied geographical and sectoral focus, as well as different kinds of jobs and different skill levels. Via a mainly qualitative approach, the report explores the rationale, characteristics, and impact of occupational regulation. It also provides useful schematic pointers to those seeking to design and implement forms of occupational regulation.
Full text (PDF 140pp)
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Understanding training levies
NOTE: This was originally published in July 2012 and I obviously missed it at the time. I think it's important enough to bring to you even if it is six months late.
via UKCES publications
Training levies are a potential way through which employers can collectively invest in the provision of workforce training to raise skills.
This Evidence Report (PDF 72pp) deepens our understanding of this particular policy lever and focuses on three particular levies in the construction, engineering construction and film industries.
Through desk research and interviews with employers, levy operators and other industry stakeholders, this research provides a qualitative understanding of the benefits and impacts of training levies and how they affect employer behaviour in regard to training and skills.
via UKCES publications
Training levies are a potential way through which employers can collectively invest in the provision of workforce training to raise skills.
This Evidence Report (PDF 72pp) deepens our understanding of this particular policy lever and focuses on three particular levies in the construction, engineering construction and film industries.
Through desk research and interviews with employers, levy operators and other industry stakeholders, this research provides a qualitative understanding of the benefits and impacts of training levies and how they affect employer behaviour in regard to training and skills.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Onwards and upwards? Young people and the labour market
via UK Commission for Employment and Skills by Paul Sissons (The Work Foundation)
The latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics suggest a fall of 62,000 in the number of young people who are unemployed. This is good news, although with some 957,000 still looking for work there remains a long way to go.
As is now widely understood, the youth unemployment problem is not solely a recession-related phenomenon. The situation for young people in the labour market started to deteriorate in the early to mid 2000s. That youth unemployment is not just a recession induced problem has allowed for a wider debate about the nature of the school to work transition, and how young people move from education into the labour market. It is increasingly acknowledged that the system needs to function better for those not going down a traditional academic route.
The process of transition from education to employment has become increasingly complex for young people, as traditional routes into the workplace have broken down. Back in the 1980s around a quarter of young people worked in the manufacturing sector, it’s now less than one in 10. More young people now struggle to get an initial foothold in the labour market, even before the recession almost half of young people who were not in employment, education or training (NEET) had never had a sustained job.
UKCES’ own research has shown that employer recruitment patterns can also disadvantage young people. Encouraging employers to recruit more young people is clearly a fundamental part of the solution. Employers can also help by providing more pre-employment opportunities, for example through work experience, which can help young people to develop the important soft skills and workplace experiences which will help them to access jobs further down the line.
We also need to think about the experiences of young people once they get into employment, in particular about sustainability of jobs and opportunities for progression. Limited opportunity for progression is a problem for low-wage workers more generally. It is also a problem that disproportionately impacts on young people, who are most likely to enter sectors which pay comparatively low wages and which have poorer rates of wage progression.
In order for young people to progress, employers need to invest in skills, for example through workplace learning or apprenticeships. But they also need to think about progression routes for young people once they get into work. This could be through internal labour markets and progression within a firm, or through developing local or sectoral “career ladder” programmes to help young people move forward. Policymakers can also support this progression by ensuring that young people in workplaces with poorer prospects have access to good quality careers guidance throughout their careers to enable them to successfully navigate change and to increase wages by moving jobs.
It is by bringing together skills development with changes in the labour market that we are best able to develop and utilise the talents of young people. Getting more young people into work is a great start, but it’s not job done.
More @ www.theworkfoundation.com and www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/youthemployment
The latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics suggest a fall of 62,000 in the number of young people who are unemployed. This is good news, although with some 957,000 still looking for work there remains a long way to go.
As is now widely understood, the youth unemployment problem is not solely a recession-related phenomenon. The situation for young people in the labour market started to deteriorate in the early to mid 2000s. That youth unemployment is not just a recession induced problem has allowed for a wider debate about the nature of the school to work transition, and how young people move from education into the labour market. It is increasingly acknowledged that the system needs to function better for those not going down a traditional academic route.
The process of transition from education to employment has become increasingly complex for young people, as traditional routes into the workplace have broken down. Back in the 1980s around a quarter of young people worked in the manufacturing sector, it’s now less than one in 10. More young people now struggle to get an initial foothold in the labour market, even before the recession almost half of young people who were not in employment, education or training (NEET) had never had a sustained job.
UKCES’ own research has shown that employer recruitment patterns can also disadvantage young people. Encouraging employers to recruit more young people is clearly a fundamental part of the solution. Employers can also help by providing more pre-employment opportunities, for example through work experience, which can help young people to develop the important soft skills and workplace experiences which will help them to access jobs further down the line.
We also need to think about the experiences of young people once they get into employment, in particular about sustainability of jobs and opportunities for progression. Limited opportunity for progression is a problem for low-wage workers more generally. It is also a problem that disproportionately impacts on young people, who are most likely to enter sectors which pay comparatively low wages and which have poorer rates of wage progression.
In order for young people to progress, employers need to invest in skills, for example through workplace learning or apprenticeships. But they also need to think about progression routes for young people once they get into work. This could be through internal labour markets and progression within a firm, or through developing local or sectoral “career ladder” programmes to help young people move forward. Policymakers can also support this progression by ensuring that young people in workplaces with poorer prospects have access to good quality careers guidance throughout their careers to enable them to successfully navigate change and to increase wages by moving jobs.
It is by bringing together skills development with changes in the labour market that we are best able to develop and utilise the talents of young people. Getting more young people into work is a great start, but it’s not job done.
More @ www.theworkfoundation.com and www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/youthemployment
Monday, 9 January 2012
Working Futures 2010-2020
UKCES Evidence Report Number 41
Summary
Working Futures 2010-2020, is the most detailed and comprehensive set of UK labour market projections available. The results provide a picture of employment prospects by industry, occupation, qualification level, gender and employment status for the UK and for nations and English regions up to 2020.
These projections form a core part of the base of labour market intelligence that is available to support policy development and strategy around careers, skills and employment.
As with all projections and forecasts, the results presented in Working Futures should be regarded as indicative of likely trends and orders of magnitude given a continuation of past patterns of behaviour and performance, rather than precise forecasts of the future.
At a time of great uncertainty about the short to medium term prospects for the economy, it is important to stress the value of Working Futures in aiding understanding of likely prospects for employment in the longer term (i.e. in 2020). The reader should therefore focus on the relative position of sectors, and occupations in 2020 and treat the projected values as broad indicators of scale rather than exact predictions.
Full report (PDF 237pp+)
Summary
Working Futures 2010-2020, is the most detailed and comprehensive set of UK labour market projections available. The results provide a picture of employment prospects by industry, occupation, qualification level, gender and employment status for the UK and for nations and English regions up to 2020.
These projections form a core part of the base of labour market intelligence that is available to support policy development and strategy around careers, skills and employment.
As with all projections and forecasts, the results presented in Working Futures should be regarded as indicative of likely trends and orders of magnitude given a continuation of past patterns of behaviour and performance, rather than precise forecasts of the future.
At a time of great uncertainty about the short to medium term prospects for the economy, it is important to stress the value of Working Futures in aiding understanding of likely prospects for employment in the longer term (i.e. in 2020). The reader should therefore focus on the relative position of sectors, and occupations in 2020 and treat the projected values as broad indicators of scale rather than exact predictions.
Full report (PDF 237pp+)
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Helping individuals succeed: Transforming career guidance
This report from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills starts with a five-page executive summary which does not appear to have been separately published.
Introduction [Note: the footnote numbers are entered as given but, no more than they do in the original, do they actually hyperlink.]
Extensive research and evaluation evidence demonstrates the benefits of effective career guidance – directly for individuals and also more widely for UK Plc. Good career guidance can raise aspirations, increase self-confidence and resilience and help people to make sound decisions about learning and work. In turn, employers gain better quality applicants and are able recruit people who can improve their business.
In order to realise these benefits, however, career guidance needs to be high quality. This report identifies the characteristics of effective career guidance, looks at how technologies, particularly new technologies, can transform delivery, and the role that government and other public bodies might play in securing greater quality and impact from public investment.
The UK Commission is not the only organisation working to bring about improvements in this area. In the last couple of years, governments across the UK have been focussing on how careers provision can be improved. The Scottish Government published a national framework for Careers Information Advice and Guidance1 in March 2011. In England in November 2010, John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning announced the establishment of an all-age service for England2. The Welsh Government has recently published the findings of a review into careers services in Wales3. In January 2009 the Northern Ireland Government launched ‘Preparing for Success’4
This report is not an isolated study but the culmination of a number of pieces of supporting work including expert papers on a range of topics related to career guidance and technology. These are available on the UK Commission’s website (details are attached at Annex 1). We also consulted widely by inviting responses to a consultation document and through a number of events. Taken together the expert papers, outcomes of events and wider consultation provide a robust evidence base for the conclusions drawn in this report. , a joint departmental strategy and implementation plan for Careers Information Advice and Guidance.
The report is divided into three sections. The first focuses on what we know already about career guidance and the career support market; the second outlines some areas that need to be improved, and the third describes an effective career support market and makes suggestions about what actions are needed to bring this about.
1 A framework for service redesign and development improvement (2011) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/11110615/0
2 Speech given by John Hayes Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, 4 November (2010) http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/speeches/john-hayes-icg-conference
3‘Future ambitions: developing careers services in Wales’ (2010) http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/publications/researchandevaluation/evaluation/futureambitions/;jsessionid=4RYhNNHQLqV0hf8wyKW3vyLntPvBhyln0k9kVk4K27BJZ2L9CCyg!1989468226?lang=en
4 ‘Careers InformationInformation, Advice and Guidance Strategy’ (2009) http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/80-curriculum-and-assessment/116-careers-strategy.htm
Full report (PDF 33pp )
You may find it useful to read Tristram Hooley’s blog post on this publication
Introduction [Note: the footnote numbers are entered as given but, no more than they do in the original, do they actually hyperlink.]
Extensive research and evaluation evidence demonstrates the benefits of effective career guidance – directly for individuals and also more widely for UK Plc. Good career guidance can raise aspirations, increase self-confidence and resilience and help people to make sound decisions about learning and work. In turn, employers gain better quality applicants and are able recruit people who can improve their business.
In order to realise these benefits, however, career guidance needs to be high quality. This report identifies the characteristics of effective career guidance, looks at how technologies, particularly new technologies, can transform delivery, and the role that government and other public bodies might play in securing greater quality and impact from public investment.
The UK Commission is not the only organisation working to bring about improvements in this area. In the last couple of years, governments across the UK have been focussing on how careers provision can be improved. The Scottish Government published a national framework for Careers Information Advice and Guidance1 in March 2011. In England in November 2010, John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning announced the establishment of an all-age service for England2. The Welsh Government has recently published the findings of a review into careers services in Wales3. In January 2009 the Northern Ireland Government launched ‘Preparing for Success’4
This report is not an isolated study but the culmination of a number of pieces of supporting work including expert papers on a range of topics related to career guidance and technology. These are available on the UK Commission’s website (details are attached at Annex 1). We also consulted widely by inviting responses to a consultation document and through a number of events. Taken together the expert papers, outcomes of events and wider consultation provide a robust evidence base for the conclusions drawn in this report. , a joint departmental strategy and implementation plan for Careers Information Advice and Guidance.
The report is divided into three sections. The first focuses on what we know already about career guidance and the career support market; the second outlines some areas that need to be improved, and the third describes an effective career support market and makes suggestions about what actions are needed to bring this about.
1 A framework for service redesign and development improvement (2011) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/11110615/0
2 Speech given by John Hayes Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, 4 November (2010) http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/speeches/john-hayes-icg-conference
3‘Future ambitions: developing careers services in Wales’ (2010) http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/publications/researchandevaluation/evaluation/futureambitions/;jsessionid=4RYhNNHQLqV0hf8wyKW3vyLntPvBhyln0k9kVk4K27BJZ2L9CCyg!1989468226?lang=en
4 ‘Careers InformationInformation, Advice and Guidance Strategy’ (2009) http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/80-curriculum-and-assessment/116-careers-strategy.htm
Full report (PDF 33pp )
You may find it useful to read Tristram Hooley’s blog post on this publication
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