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Elizabeth Gerard

Deputy Director

Elizabeth joined L&W in July 2024 as Deputy Director. She works to influence policy and practice, with a particular focus on issues relating to employment. Elizabeth has more than 12 years’ experience in employment policy and thought leadership, having held senior positions in the New Zealand civil service. This includes reviews of employment support, directing cross-government research work, development and implementation of Employment Action Plans for disadvantaged populations, and advising ministers across a range of labour market issues. Elizabeth has specialisms in employment, skills, and immigration, with a particular focus on labour market disadvantage issues.

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5 November 2025

Responding to the Keep Britain Working Review

Employment News & articles

Learning and Work Institute Deputy Director Elizabeth Gerard responds to the Keep Britain Working Review published on Wednesday 5 November.

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4 November 2025

Final report: A Work, Health and Skills Plan for Wales

Employment Reports & briefings

This research delivered by Learning and Work Institute (L&W), and funded by Serco, comes at a pivotal moment to inform a significant new era for employment support in Wales. The commitment from the UK Government to devolve non-Jobcentre Plus support is part of a broader strategy, outlined in the recently released Get Britain Working White Paper, which aims to streamline and enhance employment support mechanisms across the UK.

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18 September 2025

Piloting JobsPlus in the UK: community-led innovation

Employment News & articles

L&W deputy director Elizabeth Gerard reflects on the community-led innovation on show in the JobsPlus pilots across England.

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10 September 2025

The Youth Guarantee and the benefits system

Employment Young people Reports & briefings

This report, commissioned by Youth Futures Foundation and delivered by Learning and Work Institute, sets out the challenges and opportunities in young people’s interactions with the benefits system.

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21 August 2025

Responding to the latest NEET data, August 2025

Employment Young people News & articles

Learning and Work Institute deputy director Elizabeth Gerard responds to the NEET data released on 21 August 2025.

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9 July 2025

Connect to Work Top Tips

Employment Reports & briefings

Learning and Work Institute has been commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) to produce a series of top tips to support local government to develop a high quality Connect to Work service to help people into work.

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27 May 2025

Transforming opportunity

Employment Young people Reports & briefings

We are pleased to share our vision for an ambitious Youth Guarantee so that fewer than 10% of young people are NEET, and no young person who is able to engage with work or training is NEET for more than a year.

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8 May 2025

Getting the balance right: What the upcoming immigration White Paper needs to deliver to improve training for people in the UK

Better work Lifelong learning News & articles

Elizabeth Gerard, L&W’s deputy director, considers whether the upcoming White Paper, and changes to migration policy, can help to support the Government’s wider objectives.

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4 April 2025

Young people who are not in education, employment, or training – what does the data tell us?

Employment Young people Reports & briefings

This briefing provides an overview of the scale of how many NEET young people there are in the UK, what the characteristics of NEET young people are, and the differences in opportunity between different areas of England.

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