Understanding Employment in Post-Industrial Labour Markets

This chapter introduces a mixed methods study of young men&s;s education-to-employment transitions in the post-industrial labour markets of Glasgow and Liverpool between 2016 and 2020, a period shaped by major UK skills, training and labour market reforms such as the Apprenticeship Levy and the Industrial Strategy. The research combines quantitative analysis of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (Understanding Society) with 29 semi-structured interviews with young men aged 16–30. Labour market experiences are categorised into traditional, liminal and marginalised zones of insecurity, and residential deprivation is mapped using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). The qualitative analysis brings out young men&s;s perceptions of precarity, aspiration and exclusion, and challenges narratives that link male unemployment to individual deficits while overlooking the structural conditions shaping their opportunities. Set against the shared histories of industrial decline and ongoing socio-economic pressures in Glasgow and Liverpool, the study assesses the capacity of contemporary skills and training policies to support secure and sustainable labour market integration. This chapter outlines the research context, conceptual framework, methodology and structure of the book.