Today, being stuck in low-pay work is a real risk for many. In Wales, about 459,000 workers are employed in low-paying occupations, and almost two-thirds of those are women (Low Pay Commission 2017).
The Welsh Government’s Economic Action Plan and Employability Plan aim to tackle poor-quality work – including improving job progression opportunities for workers in low pay sectors. To help make this happen, we were commissioned to undertake an evidence review of what works. We asked three questions:
- What are the main barriers to job progression in low pay sectors?
- What, if any, approaches are being applied internationally, and what is the evidence on their impact, and cost effectiveness?
- Which factors are important to the successful introduction of new job progression approaches, for employers and employees?
Image: Neil Moralee (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)