Understanding Employer Engagement in Education: Theories and Evidence

Edited by Anthony Mann, Julian Stanley and Louise Archer (London: Routledge, 2014)

The first collection of research essays on the subject of employer engagement in education, the book features 17 essays overwhelmingly drawn from papers presented at Education and Employers’ seminars and conferences.

“This important book takes the first step in field building – pulling together what researchers know from a variety of cases and databases about the conditions under which employers can be mobilised to create an opportunity structure for young people, and about the barriers to bringing such opportunities to scale.”

Nancy Hoffman and Robert Schwartz

A blog about the book is available on the OECD educationtoday blog.

The book is available to purchase via RoutledgeGuilford Press and Amazon.

Understanding Employer Engagement in Education

Contents and Authors

Preface: Nancy Hoffman (Jobs for the Future) and Robert Schwartz (Harvard University)

Seminar material from Nancy is available here and here.

Introduction: Julian Stanley (University of Warwick), Anthony Mann (Education and Employers), Louise Archer (King’s College, London)

Watch Julian discuss theoretical understandings of employer interventions.

Part One: Conceptualising employer engagement in education

Chapter 1 – Conceptualising Aspiration Louise Archer (King’s College, London)

Find talks from Louise here and here on the similar topic of ‘making jobs thinkable’.

Chapter 2 – A theoretical framework for employer engagement Julian Stanley (University of Warwick), Anthony Mann (Education and Employers)

Find a summary of this chapter here.

Chapter 3 – A conceptual framework for the American Labour Market: engagement, achievement and transition James Stone III (University of Louisville)

Chapter 4 – Youth Employment in the Twenty-First Century Kathrin Hoeckel (OECD)

Part Two: Social and economic contexts

Chapter 5 – Social Mobility in Britain 1991-2005 Yaojun Li, Fiona Devine (University of Manchester)

Chapter 6 – The winners and losers in the ‘hourglass’ labour market Craig Holmes, Ken Mayhew (University of Oxford)

Chapter 7 – Local labour markets: What effects do they have on the aspirations of young people? Ralf St. Clair (McGill University), Keith Kintrea (University of Glasgow), Muir Houston (University of Glasgow)

Chapter 8 – The impact of financial and cultural capital on FE students’ education and employment progression Emma Norris (RSA), Becky Francis (King’s College, London)

Find a summary of this chapter here.

View the full report Not Enough Capital? by Emma Norris.

Part Three: Equity and Access in the experience of employer engagement

Chapter 9 – The views of young Britons (aged 19-24) on their teenage experiences of school-mediated employer engagement Anthony Mann (Education and Employers), Elnaz T. Kashefpakdel (University of Bath and Education and Employers)

Chapter 10 – That aroma of where they are likely to go: Employer engagement in high performing English independent schools Prue Huddleston (University of Warwick), Anthony Mann (Education and Employers), James Dawkins (Education and Employers)

Chapter 11 – The role of Work Experience in the UK Higher Education admissions process Steven Jones (University of Manchester)

A summary of chapter 11 is available here.

Chapter 12 – How school work experience policies can widen student horizons or reproduce social inequality Tricia le Gallais, Richard Hatcher (Birmingham City University)

A summary of chapter 12 is available here.

In-depth report into work experience placements by Le Gallais and Hatcher can be found here.

Part Four: Economic Impacts and Employment Outcomes

Chapter 13 – School-mediated employer engagement and labour market outcomes for young adults: wage premia, NEET outcomes and career confidence Christian Percy, Anthony Mann (Education and Employers Taskforce)

A summary of chapter 13 is available here.

Chapter 14 – Exploring outcomes of youth apprenticeship in Canada Alison Taylor, Milosh Raykov, Zane Hamm (University of Alberta)

Read the conference presentation into Canadian high school apprenticeships.

Chapter 15 – Work experience: the economic case for employers David Massey (UKCES)

Conclusions: Julian Stanley (University of Warwick), Anthony Mann (Education and Employers), Louis Archer (King’s College, London)