Employment and skills
Employment is defined as “working for at least one hour a week for some payment, either for a wage or for profit, or commission, or without pay in a family business” (Gov UK, 2025). The employment rate is defined as the rate which “measures the proportion of the working-age population in employment. A rising employment rate indicates economic growth.
Employability skills are defined as “the foundational skills, personal qualities, and attitudes which enable individuals to succeed in the workplace and advance in their careers” (Institute for Employment Studies, 2025). Education and skills are often interlinked and include factors such as apprenticeships, GCSE’s and further education, providing individuals with the ‘hard skills’ which are often recorded in the data, whereas soft skills (such as personality) are often not recorded in datasets.
The Health Foundation highlights that employment is crucial for health, offering benefits like financial stability, social connection, and a sense of purpose, which improve both mental and physical well-being. Conversely, unemployment can negatively impact health through increased stress, poverty, and unhealthy behaviours. This relationship is cyclical, as poor health can also be a barrier to employment.
Impacts of Coventry Job Shop on mental wellbeing and economic outcomes: A longitudinal evaluation
The Coventry Job Shop is a service by Coventry City Council that offers 1 to 1 coaching, practical support, direct vacancies, careers advice, skills support and more to local people find and keep a job. HDRC collaborators and members of the public are involved in applying to secure research funds to evaluate the Coventry Job Shop, which aims to generate knowledge about the impact of Coventry Job Shop on mental wellbeing and employment. Report | Job shop evidence scoping
The collaboration between the HDRC team and parter organisations (including Warwick University and Employment and Skills Team at Coventry City Council) was established in 2024. A funding application was made to an NIHR funding stream in 2025, which was unfortunately unsuccessful. The HDRC team and the Principal Investigators are looking to repurpose the project for other funding opportunities.”
Returning-to-work and musculoskeletal issues
The HDRC supported the Council's Adult Social Care and Occupational Health teams’ goal of developing interventions to improve the return-to-work process for staff on sick leave due to musculoskeletal health issues. This involved a systematic review of the literature to see what interventions exist and how effective they are.
Green skills
Green skills are skills that people do for work that can help protect the environment and support sustainability. Green skills can link to jobs like retrofitting housing, electric vehicles and batteries, for example. A rapid scoping review of local authority or industry initiatives around specific green skills led to learning that could be considered locally by the Council’s Employment and Skills team. Read the Report | Green skills evidence synthesis.
A Multisector Partnership addressing poor mental health and suicide risk in the construction industry
Academics from the University of Warwick led on a NIHR Work and Health research bid application exploring mental health and suicide risk in the construction industry. Bringing together researchers from other higher education institutions, Coventry HDRC, members of the public, and the Office for National Statistics, this research proposal aimed to understand the determinants of poor mental health and suicides in the construction industry, evaluate industry-led initiatives to improve this and mobilise new knowledge into practical actions for the industry. Although unsuccessful, lead academics from the University of Warwick are currently completing other research and events in this field and will repurpose the bid for a future funding call.