Emily Andrews
@emilyishness.bsky.social
Director of Policy and Research @ Learning and Work. Previously @ Ageing Better, IfG. Very ex-teacher. PhD Victorian dementia. Views informed by my job, but my own.
Further scepticism on post-14 vocational education from @daisychristo.bsky.social. I, like her, became a teacher in 2007, but had forgotten the insanity of all kids being put through the European Computer Driving License to boost league table standings. substack.nomoremarking.com/p/the-proble...
The problem with "parity of esteem"
Vocational education at age 14 is not the answer
substack.nomoremarking.com
Does Andy Burnham care about 'systems change'? 'Systems change' is the buzz phrase among place-based policy-folk. Surely people in GMCA talked about it with him when he was there - even if he didn't use the term much himself. 🧵
Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 5d agoNew post just out: "Burnham's first mistake" Splitting 14 year olds into academic and vocational paths seems intuitive. But it's a terrible idea that risks increasing inequality, and closing down options for the young people that need them most. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/b...
As the boss (@stephenevans.bsky.social) says: "The benefit system can create incentives, but only employers can create apprenticeships." www.gov.uk/government/n...
Government invests in young people with more opportunities close to home
Thousands more young people will be able to gain the skills, qualifications and experience they need for future careers, as the government today rolls out a major package to break down barriers stoppi...
gov.uk
Hopkins' poems of finding solace, vibrancy and meaning in nature really helped me in some hard times. Here is an ode to my local park, inspired by 'Nothing is so Beautiful as Spring'. It's a Golden Shovel (read the final word of each line), so it's sort of nestled within Hopkins' poem.
Paul Connolly@thepaulconnolly.bsky.social · last wk.Gerard Manley Hopkins. #BOTD 1844. Catholic convert & priest he worshipped God by trying capture the actuality & motion of things in astonishing verse, its innovative ‘sprung rhythm’ & verbal density anticipating Modernism. Here’s my recording of his poem The Windhover #poemsaloud #poetrycommunity
The key questions for Burnham's vocational education announcement - and an initial attempt at an answer. 🧵1/6
Not sure whether or not to read this month's labour market briefing? The stats are a bit boring this month but LOOK AT THIS COOL CHART. More cool charts via the link.
Learning and Work Institute@learnworkuk.bsky.social · 2mo agoOur June labour market briefing is now live! 🔴 Read our analysis of this month's labour market stats from ONS: learningandwork.org.uk/labour-marke... #employment #work
"Following the Milburn Review this further confirms the need for urgent action to support young people who are not in education, employment or training." ✍️ L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to today's labour market statistics from ONS.
Labour market stats response, June 2026 - Learning and Work Institute
L&W's chief executive Stephen Evans responds to the latest labour market data from ONS.
learningandwork.org.uk
Ha! I thought the online version was punchy enough…
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 2mo agoOne of the secrets about the FT is that if you buy the paper they sometimes tell you what they really really think before some subeditor spots it. Compare the print and digital copy about SpaceX www.ft.com/content/1638...
1. The Milburn Review interim report is imminent & tomorrow we have new NEET stats. This matters because almost 1m young people are not in education, employment or training, up 1/3 since the pandemic, risking LT damage to their career prospects. learningandwork.org.uk/theres-one-m...
There’s one million NEETs in the UK. Are we doing enough? - Learning and Work Institute
Stephen Evans, Chief Executive at Learning and Work Institute, reflects on the Government's expansion of the Youth Guarantee and if support is going far enough to help young people into work or traini...
learningandwork.org.uk
The Milburn review is expected to put out an interim report this week, diagnosing the challenges faced by young people who are NEET. However, we’ll have to wait until autumn for the solutions. But, do we? And should young people have to wait? We already know quite a lot about what works. 🧵
Sounds like the Milburn review is going to vociferously reiterate the view held by everyone in employment world that 'systems failures' are the heart of the NEET issue. (eg. see this from @stephenevans.bsky.social from March) So - what specific failures need to be shouted about the loudest?🧵
"The labour market remained flat heading into the current international crisis, with employment, vacancies and other measures all flat or worsening. If the crisis persists, this risks being the calm before the storm." ✍️ L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to May's labour market data.
Labour market stats response, May 2026 - Learning and Work Institute
L&W's chief executive Stephen Evans responds to the latest labour market data from ONS.
learningandwork.org.uk
Sadly I don’t have a bunch of agents ploughing through my inbox while I am here, but am still v glad I have made the time for today’s @ifow.org conference. Looking forward to a day of clever, thoughtful, tech-aware discussion.
Roll up, roll up, get your labour market key stats here. Slow wage growth is leading the headlines today, but there's nothing new really in the latest labour markets release, so we've done a bit of a deeper dive into youth (un)employment.
Learning and Work Institute@learnworkuk.bsky.social · 5mo agoOur March labour market briefing is now live! 🔴 Read our analysis of this month's labour market statistics from ONS. ⬇️ #employment
A boring set of labour market stats means we’re going to need to try and liven up our briefing through force of personality. Will we succeed? Sign-up here to receive our attempt direct to your inbox later today: learningandwork.org.uk/supporter-ne...
Supporter network - Learning and Work Institute
learningandwork.org.uk
Stephen Evans@stephenevans.bsky.social · 5mo ago1. Fairly flat set of labour market stats today. Some further easing, including in earnings growth, but any falls seem much smaller than pre-Christmas data. This leaves underlying challenges, like needing another 2m people in work to hit Govt 80% employment rate target. And economic risks ahead.
1. Fairly flat set of labour market stats today. Some further easing, including in earnings growth, but any falls seem much smaller than pre-Christmas data. This leaves underlying challenges, like needing another 2m people in work to hit Govt 80% employment rate target. And economic risks ahead.
The Chancellor struck a positive note overall on employment prospects in her statement, but worth noting that the latest OBR forecast puts the 2026 unemployment rate peak at 0.33 ppts higher than their November forecast.
No policy announcements today - but Reeves said there is more to be announced on Youth unemployment, which is clearly truly worrying this Gvt (more so than overall ⬆️ of unemployment rate, which OBR thinks will peak this year). We have had a lot already announced - so what else might be coming?
📉🤯📉 Should we be panicking about the labour market? I have commandeered the L&W monthly briefing + our expert team to help me think this question through. 🤯📉🤯 You can read the whole thing here - but here are some headline thoughts... learningandwork.org.uk/labour-marke...
Labour Market Briefing: February 2026 - Learning and Work Institute
Our analysis of the ONS labour market statistics, released on the morning of 17 February 2026.
learningandwork.org.uk
📉🤯📉 Should we be panicking about the labour market? I have commandeered the L&W monthly briefing + our expert team to help me think this question through. 🤯📉🤯 You can read the whole thing here - but here are some headline thoughts... learningandwork.org.uk/labour-marke...
Labour Market Briefing: February 2026 - Learning and Work Institute
Our analysis of the ONS labour market statistics, released on the morning of 17 February 2026.
learningandwork.org.uk
"Overall, employment is falling, unemployment rising and vacancies flat." 💬 L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to the labour market statistics released by ONS today.
Labour market stats response, February 2026 - Learning and Work Institute
L&W's chief executive Stephen Evans responds to the latest labour market data from ONS.
learningandwork.org.uk
Introduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you Daisy, after a beloved great-aunt. They worried I would be mocked for having a girly/old fashioned name. So they lumbered me with the name of half the millennial women I meet. 'Emily Andrews' is so common, my hairdresser sees two of us
Kate Bevan@katebevan.com · 6mo agoIntroduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you: Angharad. Which is a lovely Welsh name but I am quite sure that it would have been a massive millstone growing up in the US and Canada in the 70s where none of the kids in the playground would know how to pronounce it.
"Looking ahead, slow growth and global instability increase the risks of rising worklessness, increasing the importance of the Government focusing on growth." ✍️ L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to today's labour market statistics released by ONS.
Labour market analysis, 20 January 2026
Learning and Work Institute's response to the labour market stats for January 2026, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
learningandwork.org.uk
"Occupational standards can be the foundation of a smarter, more responsive skills system. But only if we’re willing to rethink how they work—and who they’re really for." Read L&W's @stephenevans.bsky.social and Pearson's Donna Ford-Clarke's article on occupational standards in England. ⬇️📝
From confusion to clarity: rethinking England’s 670 occupational standards - Learning and Work Institute
learningandwork.org.uk
"We need a twin approach of providing more help to find work and creating the conditions for employers to create jobs." ✍️ L&W Chief Executive @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to the labour market statistics released by ONS today.
Labour market analysis, 16 December 2025
Learning and Work Institute's response to the labour market stats for December 2025, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
learningandwork.org.uk
Some worry signs in the labour market. Payroll jobs & employment heading down, with relatively large falls for retail & hospitality. Unemployment at its highest since the pandemic, partly reflecting more people looking for work (inactivity down) but suggesting they're struggling to find jobs.
"With four out of five of the workers of 2035 already in the workplace today, we cannot rely on schools, colleges and universities to provide the Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons of the Brave New World we are entering in this latest technological shift." www.ft.com/content/460b...
The UK must escape the doom loop of low skills
Social mobility like my own is all too rare when so many are trapped in low-income jobs by lack of training
ft.com
I missed the leak when I went to get a sandwich. Does this mean I still have to watch the speech?
This sums up the fundamental tension in the "impact" agenda for me. The route to policy impact is to accept the premise of what policy-makers want to achieve, and help them achieve it. My whole academic training taught me to question/disrupt/reject policy-makers' premises.
David Higham@oldtrotter.bsky.social · 9mo agoI fear that the major problem is that politicians crave simple answers and academics are trained to question. There was a really good research project on this years ago which I think @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social was involved in?
