Our work has involved progressive IT developments in international community building and knowledge sharing in, for example, supporting community building within career guidance and counselling and organisations in their knowledge-maturing. Other IT developments include: Cascot a computer program designed to make the coding of text information to standard classifications simpler, quicker and more reliable; the LEFM a computer package designed to enable users to produce their own economic projections for local areas within the UK; and the LMI online learning module designed for those working in careers information, advice and guidance.

Software packages

CASCOT

The Institute has played an important part in the development and revision of the Standard Occupational Classification at UK and EU levels and has created and continues to develop the CASOC (now CASCOT) software for computer-assisted occupational coding.

Jones, R and Elias, P. CASCOT: Computer-Assisted Structured Coding Tool. Institute for Employment Research, Coventry, University of Warwick

LEFM

Collaboration with Cambridge Econometrics has led to the development of the Local Economy Forecasting Model (LEFM) a software package for forecasting and scenario building at the local and sub-regional levels.

Wilson, R.A. Local Economy Forecasting Model (LEFM). User Manual and Computer Software Package. Institute for Employment Research, Coventry, University of Warwick.

 

371 Database

Elias, P. and A. McKnight 'A Database of Information on Unit Groups of the Standard Occupational Classification'. Institute for Employment Research, Coventry, University of Warwick, 70pp + diskette

 

Knowledge sharing websites

The following websites have been set up as part of IER’s commitment to knowledge sharing:

National Guidance Research Forum

This NGRF project website (launched in September 2004) was funded by the Department for Education and Skills (Access to Learning for Adults Division) and a range of governmental agencies to facilitate the development of a learning community for career guidance. Its aim is to enhance career guidance outcomes by: supporting collaboration; facilitating knowledge transformation; and creating a dynamic community for practice and research for guidance. The target audience is those interested in career guidance research and includes practitioners, managers, policy makers, trainers, students and researchers. Since its launch in 2004, the NGRF website has expanded to include two learning modules and additional sectors in the LMI Future Trends section.

The NGRF currently comprises:

• Effective guidance – provides a range of materials and resources on information, advice and career guidance practice, theory and policy for the careers guidance community.
• LMI Future trends – brings together and synthesises a range of labour market information on 25 broad sectors.
• LMI Learning module – online module to support learners’ ability to access, understand and manipulate labour market information
• STEM Careers learning module – module focused careers awareness and labour market information
  relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

To find out more about this development email guidance dot research at warwick dot ac dot uk

Futuretrack is an academic research study exploring the relationship between higher education, career decision-making and labour market opportunities. Graduate employment has become a heated issue in media and academic debates among those concerned with the relationship between higher education and the labour market. But what are recent graduates doing? Is it now necessary to have more than just a degree? Are people who didn’t go into higher education and got a job after school at a disadvantage or advantage relative to graduates? Who gets the good jobs and who ends up under-employed, and just what is ‘graduate employability’? This project website brings together all the information on the project so that those interested in the research can keep up-to-date with the project progress and findings.

To find out more about this project email Futuretrack2006 at warwick dot ac dot uk

Guidance, learning and careers at IER

This GLACIER project website brings together the range of project materials, developments and findings related to careers information, advice and guidance, together with materials on research methods and those from the ESRC teaching and learning programme on work-related learning. This project website also includes the comparing qualifications tool.

To find out more about this development email guidance dot research at warwick dot ac dot uk

Other website developments

IER was instrumental in the development of the Government's Jobseekers Direct website, which was designed to enable people to find jobs, training courses and information on a range of occupations to help them make informed career choices.