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Dave Simmonds

Emeritus Fellow

Dave Simmonds OBE was the chief executive of the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion up until its merger to form Learning and Work Institute. Dave was the co-founder of Inclusion in 1996 and built it to be a respected voice in UK ‘welfare to work’ research and policy. Dave has also worked as a special adviser to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, and the OECD. Dave has advised the Scottish and Welsh governments, as well as the Northern Ireland Executive and the Republic of Ireland on their work on unemployment. Dave was awarded an OBE in the honours list for summer 2005 and is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Employability Professionals. Prior to Inclusion he was interim director for England at the National Lottery Charities Board, now Big Lottery, and held various posts at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, where he was responsible for economic policy and voluntary sector involvement in labour market programmes.

18 August 2026

Labour Market Briefing: August 2026

Our analysis of the ONS labour market statistics, released on the morning of 18 August 2026.

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18 August 2026

Labour market dashboard

Every month, Learning and Work Institute produces detailed and timely analysis of the latest labour market statistics from ONS. Explore our interactive charts.

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18 August 2026

Labour market stats response, August 2026

L&W’s chief executive Stephen Evans responds to the latest labour market data from ONS.

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12 August 2026

Small employers, big opportunities: apprenticeships for young people

Olly Newton, Executive Director at Edge Foundation, reflects on key messages from the Edge Foundation-sponsored workshop at Learning and Work Institute’s Employment and Skills Convention, exploring how small employers and local partners can support more young people into apprenticeships.

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11 August 2026

Delivering local work and health programmes: Top tips

Developed as part of the Labour Market Evidence Programme, these top tips share practical lessons on designing, delivering and evaluating local work and health programmes.

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21 July 2026

Labour Market Briefing: July 2026

Our analysis of the ONS labour market statistics, released on the morning of 21 July 2026.

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21 July 2026

Labour market stats response, July 2026

L&W’s chief executive Stephen Evans responds to the latest labour market data from ONS.

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10 July 2026

Building trust before jobs: supporting NEET young people in East Finchley 

Andrew Potter, Project Manager of the JobsPlus pilot in East Finchley, outlines a different approach to supporting young people into employment and training.

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29 June 2026

What enables the effective design, delivery and evaluation of local work and health programmes?

This report presents findings from an evidence review on what enables the effective design, delivery and evaluation of local health and work programmes.

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