The global labour market has undergone a significant reshaping due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrably impacting employer skill demands and recruitment strategies (O’Reilly et al., 2023).
Within the UK, this has manifested as a more competitive landscape for graduates (Institute of Student Employers, 2021) and a potential widening of existing skills gaps (UK Commission for Employment and Skills, 2017; CBI/Pearson, 2021), creating challenges for both job seekers and employers (MacDonald et al., 2024; Roberts, 2022). To investigate these evolving demands, we designed a sequential mixed-methods study, commencing with a targeted qualitative exploration within London, widely recognized as a critical graduate employment hub in the UK (High Fliers Research, 2024; Centre for Cities, 2024; Institute of Student Employers, 2024), followed by a national quantitative survey across England. This mixed-methods study will provide a comprehensive investigation into the evolving expectations of employers regarding essential graduate skills in the post-COVID-19 UK labour market.
This research/project is supported/funded by the BA/Cara/Leverhulme Research Support Grants.
Research team:
If you are interested to participate in the study or to find out more about the project please contact Dr Sviatlana Kroitar on sk1092@le.ac.uk.