Strategic Research
Impact of Learning on Employability
Published: 1 February 2008
The LSC has conducted a large survey of the impact and benefits of general learning in FE on:
- The economic status of workless individuals – their progression into work and off benefits
- The personal impact of learning – in terms of improving skills and increasing confidence?
10,000 learners were interviewed by telephone from June to August 2007. They had all undertaken an FE course which completed in 2005-06, and all were eligible for fee remission due to receipt of workless benefits. 10% of the sample were working less than 16 hours a week when their course started, and all were aged between 20 and 55.
The key findings were that nearly four in ten (38%) of learners who were claiming workless benefits at the start of their FE course have worked since finishing their learning and one in three learners have moved into work and are no longer claiming workless benefits.
Employment outcomes are less positive for learners with multiple disadvantages. However, those with multiple disadvantages do benefit from a positive impact of learning in terms of: improved communication skills, improved employability skills and increased confidence.
For more information on this work please access the key findings and main report.
Pilot Study of Learners in Offender Institutions
Published: 31 January 2008
A pilot study which investigated the most appropriate methodology for extending the National Learner Satisfaction Survey (NLSS) to include learners in public prisons, and gathered information on these learners’ perceptions of their learning has just been concluded. The pilot involved 18 public prisons and Young Offender Institutes across three regions and tested three different survey methods of face-to-face interviews conducted by trained interviewers, self-completion sessions administered by trained interviewers and self-completion sessions administered by prison education staff.
Reports also shows that the majority of learners (over 80 per cent) are satisfied with their overall learning experience and the quality of their teaching and feel their course or training is meeting their needs. The most common reasons why these learners choose courses or training is to gain a qualification, advance skills and knowledge and help with finding a job on release.
For more information on this reseach please access the:
· Summary Brief: provides a summary of key findings
· Perceptions report: details the main findings and recommendation
· Methodology Report: details the selection and methodology approach
Recruitment and Training Among Large National Employers
Published: 10 January 2008
Lord Leitch's report recommended that the National Employer Service (NES) be expanded to provide a more effective advisory and brokerage service for employers in relation to the Train to Gain programme. In view of these commitments, the main aim of the research was to inform the LSC's understanding of large national employers' attitudes and actions in terms of recruitment and training.
The study was conducted with 201 large national employers, including 60 member companires of the NES, and follow-up case study research.
Role of Colleges in Community Cohesion: Rapid Review of Evidence
Published: 30 November 2007
The Policy Research Institute at Leeds Metropolitan University conducted a rapid review of the literature associated with FE colleges and community cohesion on behalf of the LSC.
The report provides an overview of the literature in relation to the role the FE colleges may play in promoting social cohesion. It also provides a summary of the key literature in related areas, in particular access to FE and the participation of groups that face social exclusion. It aism to inform further thinking about the way in which FE colleges can support social cohesion.
The Status and Reputation of the FE System
Published: 26 July 2007
The LSC and what was previously the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have been working with the FE system (and particularly with FE colleges) to implement the reforms set out in Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances, and to respond to the challenges set out by Lord Leitch in his recent report Prosperity for All in the Global Economy: World Class Skills (published by HM Treasury in December 2006).
One of the key issues is the need to improve awareness and understanding of the role of the FE system among stakeholders. To achieve this, the LSC commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct research among key stakeholders on their understanding and perceptions of the role of the FE system.
This research provides a baseline measure of perceptions and attitudes against which future progress can be measured.
The Impact of Fee Policies on Recruitment to LSC Funded Provision
Published: May 2007
This research project investigated the impact of changes of fee policies on recruitment to LSC-funded provision. The project explored college fee policies, fee levels and fee concessions. It focused on the impact of changes to tuition fees (hereafter referred to simply as ‘fees’) on recruitment and the overall effect of these changes on college fee income. Finally, the research explored full-cost recovery work (that is, work for which the costs are recovered in fees and added to the college’s income) and the extent to which this had been increasing in recent years.
Changing Patterns of Employment by Ethnic Group and for Migrant Workers
Published: 14 June 2006
The aim of this project is to provide a succinct analysis of changing patterns of employment by ethnic groups and for migrants. The objective is to provide a set of national and regional profiles of employment patterns, focussing upon gender, age and ethnic group, including variations across occupation and sector dimensions (as far as the data will allow).
Employer Perceptions of Migrant Workers
Published December 2006
The overall aim of the reserach was to address the knowledge gap in the area of migrant employment and training, and more specifically to gain views from employers.
Migrant Workers and the Labour Market
Published December 2006
The review pulls together information from four Learning and Skills Council reports on issues around migrant workers and the labour market.
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Working Futures 2004 - 2014
Published January 2006
Working Futures 2004-2014 is the most detailed and comprehensive set of employment projections ever published for the UK.
