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ResearchEmployment GroupProjectsAbout Employment GroupIntroduction Over the past decade, the Employment Group has completed more than 100 research studies. Major quantitative evaluation studies have accounted for a large proportion of recent work. However, we have recently started building up a team of researchers with qualitative skills. This has been investigating labour market inequality and disadvantage, as well as new programmes and new methods of delivery for government services and policies. Other work has addressed the prediction of long-term unemployment, the impact of the flexible labour market, transitions between school and work and changing patterns of employment relations. The Group currently consists of 14 permanent research staff plus external research associates. Disciplinary backgrounds of those currently working in the Group include sociology, economics, political science, statistics, psychology and industrial relations. The Employment Group's programme of research depends on researchers' interests and funding opportunities. There is a high degree of team-working and interchange of skills. Research Themes The Group’s current research profile can be divided into four categories. Quantitative research on labour markets and labour market policy evaluation The institute, in consortium with four other research organisations, is part of a research partnership with the Employment Service for the evaluation of labour market programmes. A series of projects evaluating various New Deal programmes has been followed by a number of studies commissioned through the research partnership with the Employment Service for the evaluation of labour market programmes. Current projects include evaluations of joint claims for Jobseekers’ Allowance; Personal Adviser Meetings for Lone Parents; Work Based Learning for Adults and ONE. The Group has also secured the contract to conduct and analyse surveys of employers’, mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of maternity and paternity rights and benefits. These will be the third in a series of surveys on maternity rights that have been carried out since the late 1980s. Qualitative research on labour markets and labour market policy evaluation The Group has been developing a qualitative research programme. Some of this work has been generated through the Employment Service research partnership, including an evaluation of the New Deal for Lone Parents In-Work Training Grant. Other studies address a broader range of issues associated with the labour market experiences of disadvantaged groups. The group has recently secured the contract to carry out an evaluation of the Minority Ethnic Outreach Programme for the DWP. Other recently completed projects include the study of the labour market experiences of young people with multiple disadvantages (funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation); the activities of older people outside the labour market (Joseph Rowntree Foundation); and the employment barriers faced by refugees (Department for Education and Skills). Employee relations The Institute is one of the co-sponsors of the Workplace Employee Relations Surveys (WERS) and formed part of the research team which analysed the latest 1998 survey. Current Employment Group projects under this theme include: a national survey of employees in Britain funded under the Economic and Social Research Council’s Future of Work Programme; an evaluation of the impact of tax credits on employer costs, staff recruitment and wages, funded by the Inland Revenue; a project examining the implications of transferring jobs from the public to the private sector, funded by the Office for Government Commerce; the relationship between union membership and job satisfaction, involving cross-sectional analysis of WERS 1998, funded by the Leverhulme Trust. A recently completed project is the analysis of the employment transitions of the over 50s, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Education, training and skills Much of the Group’s work in this area is funded by the Department for Education and Skills. Current projects include the evaluation of the Adult Basic Skills Pathfinder Extension Extensions for the DfES and a study of the experiences of minority ethnic students in architecture education for the Commission for the Built Environment and Architecture (CABE). The Group is keen to expand its’ programme of work in this area. Research methods Employment research at PSI is both quantitative and qualitative and covers both individuals and organisations. PSI is one of the four co-sponsors of the Workplace Employee Relations Surveys and has a long running programme of analysis of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. Data are also generated for specific purposes, through the design of ad hoc surveys. The group also makes use of the major data sets available from the Economic and Social Research Council Data Archive, particularly the Labour Force Survey, the British Household Panel Survey, the Family Resources Survey and the National Child Development Survey. Our methodological approaches are under continuous development. PSI employment researchers were amongst the pioneers of large-scale surveys of employers with respect to practices in their firms. More recently, our evaluation research uses advanced control and comparison group methods. The group runs an internal seminar series attracting domestic and international speakers on both methodological developments and topics in line with researchers interests. Staffing and collaborative links The Employment Group's research is highly collaborative. Nuffield College Oxford and PSI have jointly conducted several employment-related studies over the past 10 years. In addition, the Group currently has close links with the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation in New York, the University of Western Ontario, the University of Melbourne, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. The Group is currently funded from the following sources: the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Education and Skills, Department of Trade and Industry, Scottish Executive, Department of Health, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Rural Development Commission, the European Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission. |
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NewsNew report examines unpaid domestic work in the EU [added 03/08/2010] New PSI report examines financial and employment needs of social housing tenants [added 01/07/2010] Daylight saving: is it time for change? [added 11/05/2010] New PSI briefing on green fiscal reform [added 15/06/2010] Back to ‘the future’: assessing Britain in 2010 [added 12/05/2010] Concerns expressed about support for people who need more help in Provider-led Pathways to Work [added 23/02/2010] More support needed for low-skilled workers to progress into better jobs [added 09/02/2010] Understanding social cohesion during [added 19/01/2010] |
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Address: Policy Studies Institute, 50 Hanson Street, London, W1W 6UP
E-mail: 
Telephone: 020 7911 7500 | 
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