Youth transitions to good employment: East Birmingham & North Solihull
This project will improve our understanding of, and ability to address, place-based inequities as a means of promoting inclusive growth.
Background
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, this project will explore the transitions of young people aged 16-24 into ‘good employment’ (characterised by quality jobs offering security and opportunities for progression) in East Birmingham and North Solihull (EBNS) and provide transferable insights into how to use place-based policymaking to achieve inclusive growth. Birmingham is central to national prospects for economic growth. Yet there are significant labour market challenges to meet if growth is to benefit local populations and address existing inequalities.
EBNS has a young ethnically diverse population, high unemployment and significant deprivation. The project will improve our understanding of, and ability to address, place-based inequities as a means of promoting inclusive growth. Led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with an impact coalition comprising Birmingham City Council (BCC), Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the project will provide a rich empirical account of the relationship between macro-level employment opportunities and the complex demography, assets and contingencies of local areas.
We will map employment and skills services, undertake a comparative analysis of employment trajectories of young people from diverse communities within EBNS, and explore how young people's strategies for navigating transitions to employment are influenced by place. With BCC, SMBC and WMCA providing a framework for policy engagement, the empirical account developed will inform and influence policy development related to devolution and employment and skills support.
Timescales: January 2025 to December 2026
Objectives
Objectives
The aim is to improve our understanding of, and ability to address, localised inequalities as a means of promoting inclusive growth. The project addresses five research questions will be addressed through a mixed-methods approach:
- What does the evidence on employment and skills trajectories and outcomes tell us about the accessibility and effectiveness of support for different young people?
- What do future employment opportunities look like and what are employers’ perspectives on prospects for integrating young people from EBNS into the workforce?
- How far are different young people from good employment and how do they navigate that journey?
- What insights and policy learning does the experience of young people’s journeys towards good employment in EBNS yield at local, regional, and national scales for public, private, and third sectors?
- How can we use the evidence from the research to co-design an employment and skills intervention to be implemented in EBNS?
The Team
The Team
Professor Anne Green (City-REDI)
Professor Ian McGimpsey (School of Education)
Dr Tarek Mostafa (School of Education)
Dr Darja Reuschke (City-REDI)
Dr Maryna Ramcharan
Dr Abigail Taylor (City-REDI)
Dr Kostas Kollydas (City-REDI)
Dr Sara Hassan (City-REDI)
Dr Jodie Pennacchia (School of Education)
Dr Ibtihal Ramadan (School of Education)
Reen Blake-Carr (City-REDI)
Stuart Mitchell (City-REDI)
Project lead contact details: Anne Green
Project Support contact details: Stuart Mitchell