This presented study explores the ongoing Uni Connect Programme run by the UK government to widen participation among underrepresented young people. The research focused on one specific local authority that delivers Uni Connect activities, gathering data from eight in-depth interviews (project manager N = 2, activity coordinators N = 6) and the…

Success in a complex labour market requires astute planning, preparation and foresight, particularly within the context of the massification of higher education, increasing graduate competitiveness, and a discourse of employability which places the onus of employment on the individual. A cohort experiencing noticeably weaker graduate employment…

Relatively little is known about how working students manage their dual roles of work and study. To extend this research, we examined the direct and indirect relationships between boundary flexibility-ability (the appraised capacity to modify a boundary of one role to accommodate better the demands of another role) and boundary…

Educational researchers identify the transition from post-secondary education to the labour market as a critical point for the success of the student, and for society more broadly. This transition is often explored as a distinct phase between education and work that can be assessed based on pre-determined outcomes (i.e. employment, income). From…

Youth who are not engaged in school or work face many challenges as they transition into adulthood. In the United States, federal policy provides funding and oversight to a complex, community-based system of workforce development for this youth population, as well as adults with barriers to employment. The COVID-19 pandemic caused extensive…

In order to prepare students for their future professional life, research has shifted from a skills-based approach to one that centres on their socio-cultural resources. In particular, how they evaluate their 'social and cultural capital', in relation to their developing professional identities, and how this can be facilitated through…

We present new evidence on the pandemic's effects on youth, for the first time focusing on perceived effects on the learning of job skills, as well as on education. The context is post-Brexit Britain. We find that 47% of young people in a representative sample perceive a loss of learning of job skills, while a sizeable minority (17%) judge that…

Despite the increasing pace of technological change and digitalisation of workplaces, low-educated workers continue to participate in non-formal adult education (NFE) to a significantly lesser degree than do other workers. At the same time, low-educated workers also face many other barriers to participation. One key question related to their…

The research explored the impact of an employability programme, delivered by a Community Interest Company and other third sector partners in England. The programme was designed to increase the employability of people aged between 16-72 years-old who were unemployed or economically inactive. To measure the impact of the programme on participants,…

This is an applied econometric analysis of labour market data for the United States. We study the impact of several factors on overflow of overeducated employees into various job categories. We use panel data regression analysis with fixed and random effects. We also use data visualisation to investigate the overeducation trends during 2002-2016…

The paper brings together a range of debates on the left that address TVET's future in current context. At the heart of these debates rest two issues. The first addresses competing views of capital and the second focuses on the contradiction between the interests of capital and workers. The paper argues that capital is not all of a piece and that…

Although universities promote undergraduate degrees as journeys of exploration and reflection, they are also viewed by students as investments in professional careers. This paper draws on a study of 57 second-year students at a research-intensive university in Canada to explore the subjective dimensions of time and school-work rhythms in students'…

Early work experience is found to be an influential factor in young people's transitions from school to work. Still, we know little about whether early work experience can protect vulnerable young people from subsequent exclusion from labour and education in early adulthood. Our objective is therefore to examine how early work experience in…

Post-industrial society has witnessed trends according to which the labour market has become more flexible, services have expanded and immaterial work and horizontal work organisation has emerged, shaping professions in respect to the employment and work they can offer. An outcome of these trends is a portfolio career, an employment pattern based…

While not the only motive for Chinese students to come to study in the UK, employability must be one key factor. Yet there is relatively little research on perceptions among students, employers and teachers of how studying in the UK impacts employment prospects. This paper seeks to compare the views of these stakeholders on what are the essential…