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In 2017, as part of its programme of work promoting better working lives, the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) commissioned IER to produce two reports on job quality. The first report focused on Understanding and Measuring Job Quality; the second on Indicators of Job Quality. The IER team was led by Professor Chris Warhurst and comprised Sally Wright, Dr Clare Lyonette and, for the second report, Dr Sudipa Sarkar. Both reports were published by the . The research was used by the CIPD in its consultation submission to the 2017 UK Government’s Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. The research also helped inform the development of a new UK Working Lives survey for the CIPD. Subsequent to the completion of the research, Dr Sarkar was seconded to the CIPD to assist with the development of the new survey, which was administered by YouGov over winter 2017-18.

This conference organised jointly by the , 91¸£Àû IER, the , and the will bring together stakeholders from national government departments, cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) as well as business, NGOs and research institutions to discuss the key challenges facing the United Kingdom in building more and better quality jobs. The will focus on discussing the key challenges and opportunities from Brexit and sharing local solutions as well as international lessons from OECD countries on how effective skills policies can foster productivity and inclusive growth. at The Shard on Thursday 2 November 2017.

The Director of IER, Professor , as Chair of Human Relations Editorial Management Committee, Tavistock Institute will be attending various festival events next week.

The Tavistock Institute opens its doors with a very public celebration of its 70th birthday 17 - 20 October.

Venues across London: Swiss Church, Covent Garden (main); Conway Hall, Holborn; Garden Museum, Lambeth; Wedlake Bell, Mansion House; Wellcome Library, Euston Road.

Festival website:

91¸£Àû IER experts have contributed to new guidelines on promoting positive mental health at work.

Erika Kispeter and Sally Wright examined how Suffolk County Council has responded to the challenge of managing mental health at work. The was published in October 2017 alongside new Acas guidelines to mark .

The new Acas guidance aims to help employers promote positive mental health in their workplaces. Employers are encouraged to read the materials and develop practices and policies for their own workplaces.

The case study concluded that:-

• Senior management support is essential to the success of mental health training programmes
• Training should be part of a broader organisational strategy and be reflected in business objectives
• Training materials need to be tailored to an organisation’s unique needs
• The ‘train the trainer’ model can be effective but staff volunteers need support and time allocated to conduct training separate to their day-to-day responsibilities

The case study, Promoting positive mental health at work by creating a sense of shared responsibility, is available online .

A new led by IER raises concerns that employment and career development opportunities for young people are becoming polarised between those with the resources to access secure, fulfilling employment and those on the path to precarious and unpredictable working lives with poor prospects.

The , Present tense, future imperfect? Young people’s pathways into work was published on September 28. It presents the findings of a three-year study examining the youth labour market in the Midlands from the perspectives of young people themselves, and their employers. The project was conducted by a team led by .

The study finds evidence that young people with solid educational and family backgrounds, with the contacts and confidence to seek out career opportunities, are highly likely to gain access to work in secure occupations with good conditions of employment and career development. By contrast, job-seekers without these advantages are increasingly found in low-skilled, low-paid jobs, very often on short-term contracts with no guaranteed hours and with few opportunities for progression.

This research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council ().