Understanding Employer Engagement in Education: Theories and evidence

Leading international contributors examine issues surrounding employer engagement and social mobility: conceptualisations of employer engagement; trends in social mobility; employer engagement and social class; access and management of work experience; social capital and aspiration; access to employment.

The book makes employer engagement an innovative focus in relation to the well established fields of social mobility and school to work transition. By examining what difference employer engagement makes, the essays raise questions about conventional models and show how research drawing on different fields and disciplines can be brought together to provide a more coherent and convincing account. Building on new theorisations and combining existing and new data, the collection offers a systematic exploration of the influence of socio-economic status on school-to-work transitions, and addresses how educational policy can shape more efficient labour market outcomes. In doing so, it draws on, and speaks to, existing literature which has considered such questions from the perspectives of gender, ethnicity and social disadvantage.