Research

This section of the website provides a home for the wealth of research on skills and employment issues relevant to London. Find out what research is in progress or planned via our research monitor, or look for existing evidence under published research.

Related research pages

London Skills and Employment Board

The London Skills and Employment Board was established to provide leadership in improving adult skills and employment in London.

Alliance of Sector Skills Councils

Find the latest sector research from the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), the employer-driven organisations that articulate the voice employers on skills issues.

UK Commission for Employment and Skills

Read research on current skills trends and projections in the UK and nation states, and factors affecting investment in skills and how they are used, and different perspectives of the skills system.

Department for Work and Pensions

National research on what influences participation in the labour market, and evidence on the delivery and impact of welfare to work programmes.

Office for National Statistics

Read ONS's article, The labour market accross the UK in the current recession.  This article features regional labour market analysis.

More
National Employer Skills Survey for England 2009 Key Findings Report

The National Employer Skills Survey for England 2009 Key Findings Report is an evidence report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), detailing skills problems facing employers.

 

Key findings include:

 

  • The number of employers reporting hard to fill and skill-shortage vacancies has fallen in 2009, compared to previous levels between 2003 and 2007.
  • The proportion of employers experiencing skills gaps rose in 2009 to 19% - the first recorded rise since the survey started in 2003.
  • More than two-thirds of employers (68%) provided some form of training or development in 2009 – a figure similar to the level recorded in 2007.
  • Employers in London are significantly less likely than average to either offer Apprenticeships (5%) or have staff undertaking them (2%).
     

The National Employer Skills Survey has a dedicated website. Here registered users can access copies of the main outputs from the National Employer Skills Surveys for England carried out since 2003.  Users can access and analyse the datasets themselves and filter the findings by sub-region.
 

For further information, visit the National Employer Skills Survey website.
 

Published Research

Find the latest published research on issues affecting skills and employment in the capital.

Research Monitor

Details of research planned by, or in progress for the main regional skills and employment agencies in London

Abstracts

Voice of London Employers 2010
May 2010

The Voice of London Employers (VoLE) 2010 research, commissioned by London First, examines the views and attitudes of London’s employers towards the London labour market. Read our digest of the key findings and the full report.

London labour market information and analysis from Sector Skills Councils
January 2010

Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are responsible for providing sectoral labour market information and analysis, and are currently preparing data specific to London. We will provide links to this data as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, read summary sectoral information on London provided by some SSCs especially for the Observatory.

The London Story

Read the latest update to this key piece of evidence to understand the key opportunities for and challenges to London’s labour market.
 

London Focus

The Observatory has now started its focused research on young people in the capital and is currently drawing together a wide range of evidence. Coming soon: a new area of the site dedicated to our research findings and the issues facing young Londoners today.