This is the sixteenth of a series of bulletins produced by ISE to update members on key data and policy on Covid-19. This bulletin just covers the period 02/07/2020-08/07/2020. 

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

The week in Covid-19

Data taken from Wikipedia and from the government’s Number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases and risk in the UK webpage. 

The UK currently has reported a total of 286,979 cases and 44,517 deaths. The following chart shows how the seven-day average has changed since last week. 

Ending lockdown

• The Prime Minister warned people not to overdo it before the country opened up at the weekend. 
• Despite aspirations to move out of lockdown a number of coronavirus hotspots have been identified which may face local lockdowns. 

Politics and policy

• A frenzied week of lobbying and speculation (including the publication of the ISE’s plan for the reconstruction of the student labour market) ends with Chancellor Rishi Sunak launching his Plan for Jobs. Key elements of it include funding for career guidance, additional training for young people, wage subsidies (Kickstarters), incentives for employers and a range of other stimuli. The commentary has already begun with articles by the Association of Colleges, Tony Wilson and Tristram Hooley.  

Education 

• Are apprenticeships the way out of this recession? Probably not, says Becci Newton of the Institute of Employment Studies. 
• New IFS research suggests that a financial crisis in higher education may result in a number of universities going bust. Although HEPI argue that there are some serious flaws in the IFS report. One upside for universities is the possibility that postgraduate enrolments may rise in response to the crisis. 
• More than 800 people and 200 organisations have signed an open letter to Gavin Williamson calling for a career guidance guarantee. 

Economy

• The OECD warns that UK unemployment could reach five million. 
• There have been big job losses in the retail sector while there are concerns that the childcare sector is in serious financial problems. 
• Job postings have grown throughout June as sectors have begun to open up. However, they remain a lot lower than this time last year. 

The student labour market

• The Office for Students publishes new case studies on how universities can support the local graduate labour market.

Employer insights

The following insights are based on ISE’s interactions with employers during the period covered by this briefing.

• Hiring numbers. Some firms are reducing hiring numbers for next year. 
• Applications. The volume of applications per vacancy is rising rapidly.
• Induction and new starters. Some firms are delaying new starters by up to six months others are planning to induct new staff virtually. 
• Training and development. Some firms are planning to delay training and development for new hires this year.
• International secondments. Most firms are delaying international secondments.