This is the seventeenth 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 09/07/2020-15/07/2020.

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 291,911 cases and 45,053 deaths. The following chart shows how the seven-day average has changed since last week. 

• New Office for National Statistics data on the impact of Covid-19. 
• Concerns about a second wave of Covid-19 in the winter begin to be discussed. 

Ending lockdown

• The economy is gradually opening up following lockdown with outdoor theatre and music restarting from the 11 July and gyms, pools and salons reopening by 25 July. 
• But, not everything is going ‘back to normal’ as shoppers will be required to wear face masks from 24 July. 

Politics and policy

• Analysis has continued through the week on the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs (see summary). This has included articles from The Guardian, The Financial Times, Tony Wilson, Tristram Hooley and Labour Skills Spokesperson Toby Perkins. Many commentators have argued that despite some welcome measures in the Plan for Jobs, it will not be sufficient to stop unemployment rising. 
• The government have announced a major overhaul of higher technical education in the autumn. 

Education 

• The new T Levels are about to roll out. But how will the pandemic disrupt this new pathway? 
• Concerns about the impact of Covid-19 on further education colleges have been in the news this week. 
• University applications surge despite coronavirus. 
• The announcement about additional funding for career guidance (see analysis from Tristram Hooley) stimulated a lot of debate about the area over the week. John Holman argues that career guidance is more important than ever and Ruth Gilbert argues that it should be part of the recovery programme.

Economy

• John Lewis and Boots close stores and cut jobs. 
• Some small growth in GDP in May cannot compensate for the massive falls in March and April. 

The student labour market

• The Plan for Jobs provides a number of stimuli to encourage employers to recruit young people. These include incentives aimed at employing unemployed young people and recruiting trainees and apprentices. Tristram Hooley provides analysis of what this might mean for your business. 
• ISE has launched an employer survey to look at employer engagement with the Plan for Jobs. 
• 5 tips for virtual inductions (ISE blog)
• Can I call you Margaret? (ISE Black Lives Matters webinar).
• Graduate labour market update from Charlie Ball. 

Employer insights

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

• In general ISE members are suggesting that they are not very likely to engage in any of the schemes announced by the Chancellor as part of the Plan for Jobs. 
• Firms are generally planning for similar numbers of student recruits next year to those that they recruited this year. 
• Most firms are still working from home and expecting new hires to do the same. This is working fine for domestic hires who will typically be given two months to move once the return to the office fully begins. International hires are more complex as there are a range of issues if they remain in their home country e.g. shipping equipment, visas and tax.
• Virtual internships are working well. There are some challenges with ensuring sufficient social interaction, but employers are managing these. However, there is not much appetite for internships to remain fully virtual next year, although some employers are interested in a blended model.