This is the seventh 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 30/04/2020-06/05/2020.

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

The week in Covid-19

Data taken from Wikipedia.

An update from the Office for National Statistics on the social impact of Covid-19 has been published.

The end of lockdown

• Plans will be announced later this week on the beginning of the end of lockdown. The Financial Times explores what the end of lockdown will mean. Draft versions of the new rules have begun to leak out.
• Labour market experts Jonathan Portes and Tony Wilson set out their vision for the end of lockdown.

Education

• Plans are developing to reopen UK schools. The Secretary of State suggests that schools will reopen in phases with primary schools likely to be first in June.
• Concerns about the validity and reliability of this year’s examination arrangements are ongoing with teachers being warned about potential bias.
• Most incoming university students plan to stick with their plans to go to university in September/October. However, even if teaching is online they will still have to pay full fees.
• The government has announced a package of support for higher education.
• Covid-19 is having a big and long-term impact on higher education. Monica Langella from the London School of Economics summarises some of the main impacts on higher education.
• The growth in the importance of online learning raises problems for those with poor digital access. Anna Ambrose discusses the digitally excluded in FEWeek.

Economy

• A recession now seems certain with one study arguing that each month that lockdown controls are in place will see a reduction in annual growth by 1.5%. EY argue that it will take three years for the UK to recover. Some economists argue in the New Statesman that the UK should not repeat the austerity strategy that it adopted after the 2008/2009 recession.
• Many commentators expect that the post-Covid-19 economy will be different to the pre-Covid-19 economy. This is likely to take a variety of forms including the shortening of global value chains.
• Which industries face the biggest challenges? A new briefing on the prospects for different sectors from FISSS.

The student labour market

• Deloitte scraps its summer internship scheme.
• Concerns about the student labour market continue to grow. The FT asks about the job prospects for the class of 2020. In The Guardian, Polly Toynbee argues that ministers must learn from the policies of the past.
• Research suggests that there are likely to be long-term scaring effects on young people who enter the labour market during a recession.
• Charlie Ball offers his round up of the graduate labour market in Luminate.
• It is important to listen to the perspectives of current and former students. The New Normal blog explores the perspective of current students on their labour market prospects. Cosmopolitan includes an article looking at the experience of the pandemic on recent graduates.

Student recruitment

• How to engage school leavers and apprentices during the pandemic (ISE blog from Simon Reichwald).

Employer insights

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

• Summer internships. Many employers are cancelling summer internships, with some developing alternative virtual offers. They are trying to offer some feedback and support to candidates where schemes are cancelled, but they report that they are unlikely to be able to use short or virtual schemes as part of their selection processes for future employees.
• Autumn recruitment campaigns. Many employers do not anticipate being on campus in the autumn. Instead they are more likely to run digital campaigns and attend virtual careers fairs and events.
• Recruitment budgets. Many employers expect that their budget for recruitment will be squeezed next year.
• Starting salaries. Many firms report that there will be no increase in starting salaries this year, with some reporting cuts.
• Virtual induction. Many firms are planning for a virtual induction of new starters in the autumn. Some firms have indicated that they are currently thinking about how best to deal with new starters who will need to shield for longer periods.