This report presents the findings of the UK Employer Perspectives Survey 2010. The Employer Perspectives Survey (EPS) is one of two major employer surveys conducted on a biennial basis by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (the UK Commission). The aim of the survey is to provide robust evidence for policy makers regarding employers’ engagement and satisfaction with government support for recruitment and workforce development. The survey is unique in that it allows for comparisons to be made across the four nations of the UK, where different initiatives are in operation, and it compares employers’ perspectives of services and initiatives across three areas of government policy: general business support; employment; and skills. The UK Employer Perspectives Survey 2010 developed from employer surveys conducted by one of the UK Commission’s predecessors, the Sector Skills Development Agency, and was designed to enable some comparisons to be made with previous survey findings. The Survey was also designed to complement the UK Commission’s other major employer survey, a UK-wide Employer Skills Survey. Whilst the Employer Perspectives Survey is externally focused, in that it examines employer awareness and use of external support, the Employer Skills Survey is internally focused and seeks to understand employers’ skills challenges and their responses to these challenges. The UK Employer Perspectives Survey 2010 was conducted between June and August 2010, as the UK was emerging from recession and in the immediate aftermath of the election of the coalition government. Reductions in government spending were anticipated but the details were unknown.

This report provides analysis from a major survey of employers across the UK, exploring their experiences and perceptions of key aspects of the skills system across the UK. This is an important platform of evidence for the newly formed UK Commission for Employment and Skills in delivering its remit to raise UK prosperity and opportunity by improving employment and skills. The survey covers: Skill challenges experienced by employers; Training practices; Wider high performance working practices; Perceptions of vocational qualifications (this aspect was included for the first time in this survey to provide data for the evaluation of the UK Vocational Qualification Reform, Programme); Perceptions of Sector Skills Councils. The survey was conducted between December 2007 and February 2008, before the economic downturn began to bite in the UK. It is important to view the results of the survey in this context.

Digital has already delivered a major blow to businesses slow to respond. There’s more to come. The very concept of work is being redefined as different generations enter and exit the workforce amidst a rapidly changing technological landscape. Responsive and responsible leaders must act to harness the power of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for long-term advantage and shareholder value. Mindful to put their people first, at the center of change. The new leadership imperative is clear: Create the future workforce. Now.

Concerns that technological progress degrades job opportunities have been expressed over much of the last two centuries by both professional economists and the general public. These concerns can be seen in narratives both in scholarly publications and in the news media. Part of the expressed concern about jobs has been about the potential for increased economic inequality. But another part of the concern has been about a perceived decline in job quality in terms of its effects on monotony vs creativity of work, individual sense of identity, power to act independently, and meaning of life. Public policy should take account of both of these concerns, inequality and job quality.

Instruction of team skills is quickly emerging as an important and missing dimension of engineering education. This project evaluated a new framework for guiding students in providing self- and peer assessments of their effectiveness in teamwork. This framework is the foundation for a new web-based tool that offers students structured feedback from teammates, along with personalized exercises and actionable strategies that guide targeted learning in the areas thereby identified. Specifically, the study documented in this report investigated whether the feedback framework, when used for intra-team self and peer feedback, increased students’ abilities to learn about and improve their team-effectiveness in executing design projects. The framework consisted of 27 competencies across three aspects of team-effectiveness: organizational, relational and communication competencies. The framework was tested in a randomized controlled experiment in a first-year engineering design class of 280 students against an unstructured feedback prompt. Students were asked to provide feedback at the mid-point of the course and to provide their thoughts on the utility of the feedback they received in an end-of-term survey. Student assessments were also compared to teaching assistant assessments.

Data collected for the Australian National University (ANU) annual ANUpoll series shows Australians are comfortable with their job security, however they are less optimistic about finding a different job for the same or better wage. ANUpoll data shows about 88 per cent of Australians think it is 'not at all likely' or 'not too likely' they will lose their job, or in the case of business owners, lay off employees or close the business. The data also shows more than half of all Australians say it would be 'not easy at all' to find a job with another employer with approximately the same income and fringe benefits. Lead researcher on the ANUpoll series Dr Jill Sheppard said while Australians appear secure in their current job, they are pessimistic about their future employment prospects. "These findings are interesting in the context of the current wage growth debate. People may be confident in their job security at their current employer but think they won't get better conditions elsewhere. They might be tempted to remain in their current job to maintain the conditions they have now," Dr Sheppard said. "The biggest concern relating to job security is that an employer finds someone overseas will to do their job for less money, with nearly 20 per cent of Australians feeling 'very concerned' about this." The industries most concerned about losing their job to an overseas worker willing to work for less are retail trade, accommodation/food services and agriculture, fishing and forestry (all between 20 and 30 per cent 'very concerned'). ANUpoll also regularly measures Australians satisfaction with the way the country is heading. In the six months between ANUpolls, satisfaction with the direction of Australia dropped nearly 10 per cent, and dissatisfaction rose nearly 10 per cent. "This ANUpoll suggests Australia is facing a crisis of public dissatisfaction," Dr Sheppard said.

A long-running research study looking at ways to increase access to postsecondary education of underrepresented students found that enhanced career-education programs and promises of financial support made as early as high school boosted participation rates. And higher participation rates yielded substantial economic returns to the lives of young people. The study, Education and Labour Market Impacts of the Future to Discover Project, was conducted by the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) and published by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. SRDC’s Future to Discover project began in 2003 to look at ways of reducing barriers that underrepresented students face, such as a lack of financial resources, poor academic preparation and a lack of information about postsecondary education. The study provides “a first, cautious answer to one of the most critical questions asked by decision makers concerned with PSE access programming: ‘How much of a difference will PSE make to the lives of youth who will not go if we do not intervene?’”

It’s a familiar feeling. You need something. You invest resources – time and effort – to get it. You finally see it in front of you. You reach for it. And… you realize there’s still a barrier preventing you from grabbing and using it. This is the reality faced by researchers and government officials looking to understand whether our secondary and postsecondary education system is providing students with the skills they need to succeed in the economy of tomorrow. But this barrier is not insurmountable