What Works Unit for Learning & Work

The What Works Unit exists to promote and enable the use of evidence in decision making in employment, learning and skills.

Aligned with our core mission as an organisation, we work collaboratively with others to champion the use and creation of evidence to support lifelong learning, full employment and inclusion.

Our core activities include:

  • Understanding the challenge. We analyse key trends within the labour market to identify key challenges and opportunities to help policy makers and practitioners prioritise investment and design interventions. Our Labour Market and Skills dashboard summarises the latest available data.
  • Summarising the best available evidence. We gather and summarise high quality, UK and international evidence for commissioners, policy makers and practitioners, while also identifying where the gaps are. Our evidence reviews cover a range of topics, from essential and life skills and attainment among learners with more challenges to employment support for disabled people.
  • Supporting the use of evidence. We work with policy makers and practitioners across the UK to disseminate evidence through events and hand-on support to organisations.
  • Generating new evidence on what works to improve employment and learning outcomes. We develop strategic partnerships to identify promising programmes, test new approaches and build evidence.

Explore our what works unit

Understanding the difference you make

An evaluation toolkit for adult learning and career change programmes, developed as part of the Careertech Challenge.
Explore the full toolkit

Find out more about the projects we work on with partners and funders

  • Projects 04 02 2020

    CareerTech Challenge Fund: Evaluation partner

    In partnership with the Department for Education, Nesta launched the CareerTech Challenge Fund to identify new digital and online learning solutions that are effective in building career adaptability and learner motivation for at risk groups.
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  • Projects 30 04 2020

    Future Workforce Fund (FWF) Evaluation

    FWF is a ground-breaking two-year initiative that tests innovative ways of delivering employability support for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of becoming NEET.
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  • Projects 26 05 2020

    Longitudinal education outcomes (LEO) pilot

    Learning and Work Institute has been selected as one of eight organisations to participate in the Department for Education’s longitudinal education outcomes (LEO) pilot programme.
    Read more

Our Advisory Group

The advisory group brings together employment and skills sector specialists alongside data and evidence experts, providing guidance and expertise, and supporting dissemination.
Meet our Advisory Group

Latest resources

  • Research and Reports 02 07 2021

    Using Labour Market Data to Support Adults to Plan for their Future Careers: Experience from the CareerTech Challenge

    The Career Tech Challenge looked at supporting the development of new solutions to help people find rewarding future careers. We’ve been conducting research with the finalists to explore the process of building data-driven solutions.
    Read more
  • Research and Reports 22 03 2020

    Evidence review: What works to support 15 to 24-year olds at risk of becoming NEET?

    Reviews early interventions that target key transition periods for young people who are considered ‘at risk’ of becoming NEET in the future.
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  • Research and Reports 12 03 2020

    Understanding evidence use in adult learning and skills

    The Department for Education (DfE) funded this project to better understand how organisations and institutions across the adult learning and skills sector engage with and use research and evidence to inform their decision making.
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  • Research and Reports 02 01 2020

    Evidence review: Improving attainment among disadvantaged students in the FE and adult learning sector

    For government reforms designed to increase adult learning to be effective and for outcomes to improve, it is crucial to develop the evidence on what works and share knowledge and best practice.
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  • Research and Reports 22 07 2019

    Evidence review: Employment support for people with disabilities and health conditions

    Reviews the evidence of what works to support people with mental and physical health conditions into employment.
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  • Research and Reports 22 07 2019

    Evidence review: Responding to local economic shocks

    Explores the national and international evidence on what works to support displaced workers back into work.
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  • Research and Reports 23 03 2023

    Evidence review: What works to improve adult basic skills?

    Identifies the most effective approaches to developing adult basic skills and, where possible, their cost-effectiveness. A number of interlinked issues are also considered within the context of delivering basic skills programmes.
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  • Research and Reports 22 07 2019

    Evidence review: What works to support progression from low pay

    Reviews impact evaluations and implementation studies to identify effective approaches to increases in earnings or hours, better job security and greater flexibility.
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Want to know more?

For further information about out what works unit for learning and work: contact Emily Jones, head of research
emily.jones@learningandwork.org.uk