Workforce, Skills and Employment

Helping businesses and policymakers to understand what works in employment policy, from employment support, employee health and wellbeing to organisational structure.

Research, commentary, and events

Project
Improving working conditions using artificial intelligence
08 Jun 2021

Increasing investment in technology and computer literacy, and updating existing labour market and employment rules and regulations, could enable AI to reduce human exposure to harmful and hazardous workplace conditions and create more quality and decent jobs.
Project
Reviewing the work and health research landscape
28 May 2021

Researchers are examining landscape of funding for research on health and employment in the UK to help the Work and Health Unit (a joint unit between DHSC and the Department for Work and Pensions) in formulating future research strategies.
Project
Evaluating England's youth employment infrastructure
25 May 2021

The youth employment sector in England has gone through substantial changes over the last several years, in part due to underfunding, structural changes and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. RAND Europe is studying the role of infrastructure organisations in strengthening the sector.
Project
Evaluating individual placement and support (IPS) and the IPS Grow initiative
24 Mar 2021

IPS Grow aims to speed the implementation of high-quality individual placement and support for people with serious mental illness to find employment. A programme evaluation found that the support provided by IPS Grow Regional Leads and networking available through Communities of Practice were particularly helpful.
Commentary
Helping Mothers Return to Work Is a Gender Equality Issue
21 Jan 2021
Michaela Bruckmayer, Joanna Hofman @JoannaBHofman

Employers and policymakers play a crucial role in ensuring that women are not unnecessarily disadvantaged when they have children. Policies such as access to family leave, job protection, and childcare options can play a large role.
Project
Incentivising parents to return to the labour market after parental leave
25 Nov 2020

Employers in the EU have a wide range of options to incentivise parents of young children to return to work. Government policies addressing the unequal distribution of unpaid (care) work and reducing the gender pay gap would also help increase the employment of mothers.
Project
How quality of life informs local decision making
29 Jul 2020

Quality of life measures have shaped decision making when planned and implemented early, but there is little evidence to suggest that such measures are being used by local authorities and decision makers.
Project
Examining the quality of career guidance in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
21 Jul 2020

Surveying 54 secondary schools and colleges and interviewing 10 career guidance service providers, researchers produced a comprehensive picture of how career guidance is provided in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and how these services meet the needs of children and young people.
Project
How Middle Eastern SMEs are coping with COVID-19
06 Jul 2020

A survey of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Middle East and Turkey, targeted particularly at businesses owned by migrants, women and young people, sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their work and what can be done to support them during the pandemic.
Project
Assisting SMEs with skills management
02 Jul 2020

RAND Europe is conducting a series of interviews with relevant stakeholders to examine if it is feasible to develop a data driven tool or service that would help small and medium sized businesses with skills management.
Project
Britain's Healthiest Workplace survey findings
25 Nov 2019

Absence and presenteeism accounts for an average of 38 days' lost productivity per employee per year, marking an upward trend in lost productivity since 2014, when the number was only 23 days.
Project
How technology may change services sectors
26 Jun 2019

Researchers explored how 'game-changing' tech like robotics, autonomous transport, blockchain, virtual and augmented reality, and wearable devices will impact the EU's services sectors, and their wider socio-economic implications.
Project
Econometric modelling support links research and innovation to jobs and growth
21 Dec 2018

RAND Europe researchers assessed research and innovation reforms in EU countries to improve the modelling of policy impacts within the European Commission's QUEST III macroeconomic model.
Project
Cambridge skills shortages
24 Oct 2018

An examination of skills shortages in the Cambridge–Peterborough regional labour pool found the share of hard-to-fill vacancies for professionals is much higher than nationally, but there is also a shortage of people with skills in low-level roles. One recommended solution is for employers to provide more training to upskill the local workforce.
Project
Measuring employee engagement in the NHS
11 Oct 2018

Analysis of the NHS Healthy Workforce Survey and VitalityHealth’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace survey found that staff engagement in the NHS is similar to other large UK employers with a similar demographic composition, and that demographic factors such as gender and age are associated with different levels of engagement.
Project
Understanding barriers to international mobility for researchers
18 Sep 2018

International travel can help researchers work better together, but it has its challenges. RAND Europe surveyed researchers to gain a better understanding of their experiences of travelling for work and how that varies internationally.
Project
Ensuring High-Quality Job Creation from EU Funding Programmes
14 Jun 2018

Following the 2008 global economic crisis, job creation has been a key focus of recovery. The European Parliament has commissioned RAND Europe to analyse various EU funding programmes’ potential to create high-quality jobs and identify key characteristics for job-creation success.
Project
Examining the UK's compliance with the EU Written Statement Directive
12 Feb 2018

The EU Written Statement Directive gives employees the right to be notified in writing about the essential aspects of their employment relationship, but changes in the labour market have led the EU to consider updating the Directive. As part of a larger assessment, RAND Europe examined the UK's compliance with the Written Statement Directive.