A report by a committee of MSPs examined initiatives to improve employability, such as modern apprenticeships and work and training places. It said that early private sector involvement was vital if employment initiatives were to succeed.
Source: Improving Employability, 8th Report 2012, SP Paper 226, Scottish Parliament Finance Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2012-Dec
An MSP began consultation on a proposed Bill to require private sector employees working on public sector contracts to be paid the 'living wage'; and/or to require Scottish Government to prepare and report to the Parliament on a strategic plan to promote the living wage.
Source: John Park MSP, Living Wage (Scotland) Bill: A Consultation, Scottish Parliament, TSO
Links: Consultation document | BBC report
Notes: The living wage in Scotland was defined in the document as £7.20 per hour, based on a complex calculation that considered the costs of a range of goods and services representing the minimum income standard for people in different household types across the United Kingdom.
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined children's and parents' experiences of working parenthood over time, drawing on data from a qualitative, longitudinal study with 14 working families from Scotland. It considered how these experiences could be understood in relation to the moral narratives of parenting and constructions of childhood.
Source: Jeni Harden, Alice MacLean, Kathryn Backett-Milburn, and Sarah Cunningham-Burley, 'The "family-work project": children's and parents' experiences of working parenthood', Families, Relationships and Societies, Volume 1 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article said that, despite numerous spatially targeted policy interventions, local labour market deprivation in Scotland was characterized by patterns of spatial concentration and isolation.
Source: Alasdair Rae, 'Spatial patterns of labour market deprivation in Scotland: concentration, isolation and persistence', Local Economy, Volume 27 Number 5-6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A report by a committee of MSPs said that European structural funds had brought many social and economic benefits to Scotland, delivering infrastructure projects and empowering employment and development support in both rural and urban areas. It examined the factors that had encouraged or discouraged Scottish stakeholders and businesses from engaging with the structural funds, and made suggestions to resolve particular issues.
Source: EU Structural Funds, 5th Report 2012, SP Paper 179, Scottish Parliament European and External Relations Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2012-Jul
The first results were published of a new 'Humankind Index' for Scotland, designed to measure prosperity through a wider set of indicators than simple Gross Domestic Product. The index involved a weighted set of elements ('sub-domains') that people had reported as being the most important influences on their ability to live well:
An affordable, decent, and safe home.
Good physical and mental health.
Living in a neighbourhood where people could enjoy going outside, and having a clean and healthy environment.
Having satisfying work to do (whether paid or unpaid).
Having good relationships with family and friends.
Feeling that close friends and relatives were safe.
Access to green and wild spaces, and to community spaces and play areas.
Between 2007-08 and 2009-10 Scotland's prosperity had increased by 1.2 per cent, according to the index. Deprived areas had a measured prosperity (in terms of index points) 10 per cent below the figure for Scotland as a whole, coming off worse on 12 of 15 sub-domains. The major disparities were in terms of whether people were able to enjoy going outside and having a clean and healthy environment; access to green spaces and play areas; and safety. These three areas accounted for just over 40 per cent of the difference between deprived communities and Scotland as a whole.
Source: Stewart Dunlop and Katherine Trebeck (with Kim Swales and Jennifer Glinski), The Oxfam Humankind Index for Scotland: First Results, Oxfam Scotland
Links: Report | Summary | Methodology
Date: 2012-May
The Scottish Government published a report setting out the actions being undertaken in Scotland in support of the delivery of the Europe 2020 strategy for inclusive growth. It identified priorities for delivering sustainable economic growth, driving recovery, boosting employment, and tackling inequality. On tackling poverty and income inequality, the framework for action aimed to: tackle income inequality by 'making work pay', maximizing the potential for people to work and maximizing income for all; take long-term measures to tackle poverty and inequality; and support those experiencing poverty.
Source: Europe 2020: Scottish National Reform Programme 2012, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper examined the relationship between under-employment and migration among five cohorts of graduates of Scottish higher education institutions. There was a strong positive relationship between migration and graduate employment – consistent with the hypotheses that a sizeable fraction of higher education graduates were leaving Scotland for employment reasons, and suggesting the over-education/under-employment nexus was a serious problem in Scotland.
Source: Irene Mosca and Robert Wright, Chasing Graduate Jobs?, Working Paper 16, Centre for Population Change
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined shifts in skills policy in Scotland towards emphasizing the importance of effective skills utilization. It advocated greater collaboration in skills utilization practice and research between relevant stakeholders.
Source: Chris Warhurst and Patricia Findlay, More Effective Skills Utilisation: Shifting the terrain of skills policy in Scotland, Research Paper 107, Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (Cardiff and Oxford Universities)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Feb
A report said that many workers in Scotland were being exploited by employers who felt that they could treat people unfairly because of the recession. It called for the establishment of a Fair Employment Commission in Scotland, to guard against abuses and protect workers' rights.
Source: Keith Dryburgh, Fair Employment: Why Scotland s workers need a Fair Employment Commission, Citizens Advice Scotland
Links: Report | CAS press release | STUC press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Feb