Work packages

The project's objectives will be met through four linked work packages (WPs):

WP1: Transitions and the Life Course.

WP1 will draw on longitudinal panel and cohort data to investigate the longer-term consequences of younger workers’ early labour market experiences, examining their transitions between (i) different types of employment status and (ii) jobs that differ in quality, measured objectively or subjectively. It will answer questions such as: how does the likelihood of experiencing different types of positive (e.g. to a better job) and negative (e.g. to a worse job) transitions vary between younger workers with different characteristics? How do early labour market experiences affect transitions later in life, and workers’ physical and mental health throughout the life course? Has the likelihood that younger workers will enter jobs that act as ‘traps’ rather than ‘bridges’ changed over time?

Lead researcher: Dr Mark Tomlinson

WP2: Transitions and the Family.

WP2 will use individual level and household panel data to examine the role of the family in influencing labour market trajectories of young workers. It will investigate the relationship between early labour market experiences and household dynamics, addressing research questions such as: do younger workers’ experiences of involuntary joblessness or underemployment have consequences for the employment, hours of work and earnings of other family members? Does the impact of unemployment on the wellbeing and future employment prospects of younger workers depend on the family context and in particular the labour market success of other family members?

Lead researcher: Dr Bert Van Landeghem

WP3: Transitions and Earnings.

WP3 will utilise the Wage and Employment Dynamics (WED) dataset to answer research questions such as: How do different types of transition affect earnings and the likelihood that younger workers will experience in-work poverty? How do early labour market experiences affect workers’ earnings and the probability of experiencing in-work poverty in the longer-term? Do outcomes differ according to gender, ethnicity, disability etc.?

Lead researcher: Professor Peter Wright

WP4: Transitions in Local Labour Markets.

WP4 will examine how young workers’ transitions are influenced by where they live, answering questions such as: how do local economic conditions influence young workers’ transitions? How does being employed in a low-quality or sub-optimal job affect young workers’ wellbeing, sense of attachment to the labour market and feelings about the future? How do different types of employment influence workers’ ability to develop skills, networks etc. that might enhance their capabilities and facilitate subsequent transitions? WP4 will examine the experience of young workers in two city-regions: Greater Manchester (GM) and South Yorkshire (SY).

Lead researcher: Dr Edward Yates