Documents Lewis, Paul 13 results

"Employment protections are currently being targeted by European policy makers seeking solutions to persistently high levels of unemployment and weak economic growth. This article argues that labour market deregulation is unlikely to usher in a period of renewed growth in good quality jobs. The findings point to the important role of employment protections in stemming job losses in the initial stages of the economic crisis that began in 2008, although protections have not prevented subsequent heavy job losses in the most distressed economies. The study also finds that involuntary participation in non-standard employment has increased since the crisis and shows that this has resulted in an increased risk of in-work poverty. "

"This article examines the impact of statutory regulation on qualifications and skills in the social care sector in the UK. It draws on various sources and a set of case studies, first carried out in 2003 and replicated in 2008. The analysis shows that the advent of the statutory regime has had a positive effect on the volume of training and qualifications in the sector. However, few organizations have combined training with a broader set of human resource management practices of the kind required for the establishment of a high-performance work system. This constitutes one of the continuing limits to further skill development. Changes in the regulatory regime risk losing benefits that have been gained."

"We consider two aspects of the link between apprenticeship and large employers in Britain: the contributions of apprenticeship to employers' supplies of intermediate skills and of employers to the Advanced Apprenticeship programme. Evidence is taken from interviews with managers in twenty-nine organisations. We find that apprenticeship does function outside Advanced Apprenticeship, primarily because of trainee ineligibility. Employers' use of apprenticeship depends on its cost-effectiveness relative to recruitment and upgrade training within HRM practice. Some employers value apprenticeship as a source of long-term employment and career progression. The intensity of training depends on ownership attributes, with family firms operating larger programmes. Employers participate in Advanced Apprenticeship, in terms of contractual role and programme delivery, in diverse ways. The implications of their choices for training quality are not unambiguous."

"This article examines the responses of national governments to the economic crisis that commenced in 2008. We argue that the current search for new bases for accumulation is leading to reforms designed to weaken the position of labour. Moreover, the tendency towards a weakening of labour's position was already evident across different ‘varieties of capitalism' before the crisis erupted. We discuss the implications for comparative institutional analysis and stress the need for a renewed focus on the underlying dynamics of capitalist economies."

"We consider the link between apprenticeship and large employers in Britain, in terms of the contribution of apprenticeship to intermediate skills and the contribution of large employers to the Advanced Apprenticeship (AA) programme. Evidence is taken from interviews with managers in 28 organizations. We find that apprenticeship functions to only a limited extent outside AA, and then primarily because of the ineligibility of particular categories of trainee. The use that employers make of apprenticeship varies considerably, in association with its cost-effectiveness relative to recruitment and upgrade training within human resource management strategy, and with employers' evaluations of the technical content of AA qualifications. The prospects for increased sponsorship of apprenticeship by large organizations are curbed by the greater appeal of recruitment and upgrade training in various contexts."