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Happy May Day to all. With a nod to the traditional festival of springtime, this has been a fruitful period as we continue our work with partners across industry, academia and government.
And with the focus today too on celebrating workers, in our newsletter this month we’re looking across our work on skills and capabilities as routes to better work. As expanded on in our Deep Dive, work has ranged from AI and intrinsic motivation workshops for our project with the EY Foundation focusing on young people in the free school meals demographic, to high-level meetings with government departments. Our APPG on the Future Work event last week looked at the challenges and opportunities in the current and future labour market, and the role of Skills England.
We are also delighted to welcome Semeli Hadjiloizou this month, who joins us from The Alan Turing Institute as a Researcher on Workplace Impacts of AI. Semeli is an interdisciplinary researcher with experience working on AI ethics and governance, human rights and AI, and data justice across international contexts. We look forward to all she will bring to our work here at IFOW.
Anna and the IFOW team
Central to the framing of our Pissarides Review - funded by the Nuffield Foundation – was the idea that labour markets experience frictions. Two key frictions are information; people don’t know about opportunities, and skills – people aren’t quite the best ‘match’ for a role. IFOW has been working to address these frictions through several ongoing projects and partnerships.
The growth in green jobs presents a strategic opportunity for UK regions, but current skills shortages are creating bottlenecks for achieving the government's industrial ambitions. Working with funding from UfI's VocTech Trust, and deploying groundbreaking research on skills clusters from the Pissarides Review, our project seeks to create systemic change which would improve the transition of local workers and young people into green jobs.
Our project is focused on Lincolnshire and Cornwall, where IFOW research has identified issues with skills development due to industrial decline and a shortage of skills, particularly those related to green jobs.
IFOW has also been working with the EY Foundation to better understand how young people – particularly those in demographics who have been traditionally furthest from the labour market – can be helped to improve their agency to think about their own futures of work.
IFOW research shows that when it comes to accessing ‘good work’ in a labour market impacted by technological developments, intrinsic motivation is becoming increasingly important, as are humancentric and core skills. We have therefore been running workshops in schools to understand pupils’ views on the economy, future careers, and motivations. We are also currently undertaking a significant literature review, exploring studies on motivation from around the world.
We are looking to bring this work together to collaboratively design interventions and craft policy recommendations, and are keen to engage with stakeholders on this.
Last week we held the latest session of our APPG on the Future of Work, discussing the opportunities and challenges facing Skills England in the current and future UK labour market. Panellists considered what Skills England could do to nurture a thriving skills and capabilities system, which provides support through this period of technological transformation. We were delighted to be joined by Lauren Edwards MP for this session, Labour MP for Rochester and Strood, and Co-Chair for the APPG for Skills, Careers and Employment, as well as Lord Knight, Donna Ford-Clarke (Pearson), Lizzie Crowley (CIPD), Dan Howl (BCS), and Simon Parkinson (WEA).
Read a summary of the discussion on the APPG webpage.
Analysis from the National Foundation for Educational Research, NFER, suggests that young adults in England have made larger skill gains in their post-compulsory education and early careers than young adults in other countries. Whilst the highest and lowest achievers both made large gains in numeracy, substantial gaps remain between the most and least disadvantaged adults, and those who have lower than tertiary-level education. The research also identifies large differences in literacy and numeracy skills outcomes between regions. Read NEFR's research.
Drawing on the recently published paper, ‘Skills or Degree? The rise of skill-based hiring for AI and green jobs’, this blog highlights the growing relevance of specific skill sets and charts the growth in demand for AI and green-related skills. The research also points to the reduced importance of advanced formal education for these sectors and suggests the need to find a careful balance between skills and education. Read the blog on LSE's page.
IPPR’s recent research paper found that much of UK AI innovation is focused on generic process improvements rather than specific problem solving. The paper presents policy recommendations for ‘mission-driven AI innovation’, including the call for government to better track AI deployment to inform policy. It resonates strongly with findings from our Pissarides Review, funded by Nuffield Foundation, on the need for a new model of human-centred automation. Read IPPR's report.
This new report from The Cornwall Chamber of Commerce looks at hundreds of thousands of jobs, billions of GVA and tens of thousands of businesses in Cornwall to map out the economic landscape of the area – highlighting the unique opportunities and challenges faced in this region. Read the full report and find out more about IFOW's work on Cornwall by taking a look at our Good Work Monitor Spotlight on Cornwall.
Anna Thomas will be speaking at POLITICO’s UK AI & Tech Summit on 8 May, as part of the panel discussion: ‘Bridging the skills gap’, alongside Andrew Pakes MP, Co-Chair of the APPG on the Future of Work, and Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England. As businesses and government seek to embrace artificial intelligence, this panel will consider its impact on the workplace and reflect on the changing skills landscape. Find out more and register for this event on Politico’s webpage.
Acas’ annual conference on 15 May will bring together hundreds of government, business and union leaders, HR and workplace experts to discuss the future of workplace relations. Anna Thomas will be speaking in the session ‘Changing workplaces: future of the world of work’, with Mike Clancy, General Secretary, Prospect Union, discussing the impacts of AI and shifting technological trends on the workplace. Find out more about Acas' conference on their site.
IFOW Research Fellow and BRAID UK Fellow Dr Clementine Collett will be speaking on a panel event on Wednesday 21 May as part of The King’s Festival of Artificial Intelligence. Examining the intersection of AI, literature, and cultural production, the panel - including Booker Prize shortlisted author, Dr Sarah Perry - will consider how we might navigate the evolving landscape of authorship, credit, and creative expression. Register for the event on The King’s Festival event webpage.
TechUK are hosting a roundtable event in collaboration with Birmingham City Council following the Government AI Strategy. Experts from the public and private sectors will discuss how AI can revolutionise public services, fuel economic growth, and shape the future of digital cities. Further detail on techUK’s webpage.
Think there's an interesting piece of research or an upcoming event in the future of work space that we've missed, or you'd like to feature in the next edition? Please do let us know via events@ifow.org
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Anna Thomas MBE
