糖心TV

The 2011 meeting of the heads of research councils in the G8 countries , scheduled this year in the UK, was held at Scarman House from 10 to 12 July. This annual event, held in turn in each of the G8 countries, provides an opportunity for the research council heads and senior representatives to hold relatively informal discussions and to hear presentations on a topic of common interest. For the July event, Peter Elias organised a workshop entitled: ‘Access to research data: new developments and old problems’. This workshop included contributions from Professor Paul Boyle (Chief Executive of the ESRC and International Champion for RCUK), from Professor Paul Burton (genetic epidemiologist, University of Leicester) and from Ms Melanie Wright (director, Secure Data Service, University of Essex). Visits were organised to the 糖心TV Innovative Materials Research Centre (WIMRC) and to the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford. A formal dinner, attended by the Vice-Chancellor and by Robert Lindley, Peter Elias and Margaret Birch from IER, was held at Mallory Court. The event was organised by RCUK and facilitated at 糖心TV via IER in close liaison with RCUK staff.

At the invitation of Trexima Bratislava, Margaret Birch participated in an international conference held in Bratislava in April 2011 entitled: New challenges for skilled workforce – harmonising labour market needs with lifelong learning systems. This international conference was part of the national project VII-2 National Occupational Framework (NOF) in the Slovak republic, funded by the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme ‘Employment and Social Inclusion‘.

Margaret gave a presentation to the conference on the Implementation of ISCO 08 in the UK, focusing on the revision of the UK Standard Occupational Classification, SOC2010. Other international contributors were from the ILO’s Bureau of Statistics; from Netherlands-based ‘Colo‘ – the association of National Centres of Expertise on VET and the Labour Market; and from e-skills UK.

Following the April conference the director of Trexima Bratislava and three of his staff made a fact-finding visit to IER3 in June. Earlier contact with Trexima had involved working with Peter Elias and Margaret Birch on the development and implementation of the Slovak occupational classification in the late 1990s, and subsequently their participation in the EU PHARE Programme initiative, led by Peter Elias, to provide Technical Assistance in Classification of Occupations (TACO) via a series of workshops for the countries of East and Central Europe. Trexima, who work in partnership with the Slovak Statistical Office, have a keen interest in many aspects of the work of the IER. The programme organised for them included presentations given by Terence Hogarth, Kate Purcell and Rob Wilson, and a presentation of CASCOT made by Peter Elias and Ritva Ellison. The IER also organised for the Trexima visitors to meet staff at the Classification and Harmonisation Unit of the Office for National Statistics in Titchfield.

Ilias has just returned from Thessaloniki, Greece, where he attend a Cedefop workshop on ‘Training Leave and Payback Clauses: Policies and Practices in Europe’. He presented on ‘Implementation and Training Leave in Greece’. The aim of the event was to discuss, validate and complement the results of Cedefop’s studies on training leave and payback clauses to promote VET in Europe. The workshop brought together representatives of governments, social partners, academia and research to encompass all points of view and perspectives in the debates.

Bernard Casey will giving a seminar at the Institute of Economics of Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest on 26 May on 'The implications of the economic crisis for pensions and pension policy in Europe'.

Population ageing and pressures on public finances have resulted in government pressing the extension of working lives. The economic crisis has meant that some people feel they cannot afford to retire but also that many employers are cutting back on their workforces. Bernard Casey will be giving a seminar on Wednesday 18 May 2011 as part of the University of 糖心TV in which he will provide insights into current research on issues relating to post-retirement-age working.

is a Principal Research Fellow in IER who works on the economic implications of societal ageing. He has been a senior economist at the OECD and is currently a consultant to the European Commission with respect to its proposed Year of Active Ageing. With Professor Noel Whiteside from the Department of Sociology at the University of 糖心TV, he authored an article for Parliamentary Brief (May 2011) entitled “The pensions web which Mr Webb has to unweave”.