This is the 60th of a series of bulletins produced by ISE to update members on key data and policy related to Covid-19. This bulletin covers the period 29th July – 19th August 2021.

You can access all of the Covid-19 bulletins on ISE insights.

Latest Covid-19 data

Data taken from Wikipedia and from the government’s Covid-19 dashboard.

The UK has now had over 6.3 million identified Covid-19 cases and 154,000 deaths (with Covid on the death certificate).

The number of new cases seems to have plateaued. The number of deaths has now been rising slowly for eleven weeks.

Covid news

Data from the government’s Covid-19 dashboard.

• Covid cases rose sharply in July and then fell again. Paul Hunter (University of East Anglia) explains why cases fell and looks at what might happen next. While Robin McKie in The Guardian asks whether Covid-19 is now on the run in the UK. Less, optimistically, Adam Kleczkowski of the University of Strathclyde expects that we will see another wave.
• Vaccination is playing an important role in reducing the number of Covid cases. But it is not 100% effective. Sanjay Mishra (Vanderbilt University) looks at why some cases of Covid break through the vaccination. While Alex Richter looks at why it is important to vaccinate young people.

Education

• Research from City and Guilds suggests that the pandemic is increasing the appeal of university amongst young people.
• The government have confirmed that students will not need a vaccine passport to attend university. But some universities have opened vaccine stations on campus.
• Covid has reduced the amount of ‘hands on’ education that is taking place in higher education. Jim Dickinson of WONKHE argues that this is a problem that needs to be addressed.
• Long Covid creates a new challenge for universities to deal with argues Jim Dickinson in WONKHE.

The economy

• The Office for National Statistics have released a new bulletin on the economic and social impact of Covid. It shows the economy continuing to bounce back.
• Despite signs of economic recovery, Thanos Verousis of the University of Essex argues that Covid will have a long term impact on business.

The labour market

Drawn from government data on unemployment and NEET levels.

• New data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the labour market is continuing to recover.
• There is an ongoing recruitment crisis in the hospitality sector.

Changing patterns of work

• The government has been urging businesses to ramp up the return to the office. Jane Parry from the University of Southampton looks at how young people can thrive in the post-pandemic workplace.
• The Conversation podcast looks at whether the time for the four day week has arrived. On the other hand Elliot Chappell and Sienna Rodgers on LabourList warn that work has been intensified and argue that workers should have the right to disconnect. The need for a right to disconnect has also been explored by Rowena Mason in The Guardian.
• Wired asks whether it is time for a new hybrid working etiquette.

Student recruitment and development

• The ISE poll from July explores current application and renege rates.
• As we return to a new normal Billy Sexton from the AllAboutGroup argues that one of the key questions for the sector is whether we are using online, face-to-face or hybrid approaches to careers events.
• Micha-Shannon Smith of Prospects looks at what puts graduates off of applying for jobs.
• Diversity continues to be a key issue in student employment. David Steel of upReach argues that Covid has changed the context for contextual recruitment. Amberjack set out four fundamentals for inclusive assessment. Sanctury Graduates set out how to improve social mobility within a graduate programme.
• ISE has published a number of case studies from employers over the last few weeks. These include IBM discussing how they have changed their internship programme and M&S discussing how they have reworked their emerging talent strategy.
• The ISE podcast looks at the value and future of graduate programme.