Research: How community education can pave the way out of economic inactivity

The latest article on our research platform is by Claire Lavery, Knowledge and Communications Lead at the Centre for Effective Services (CES), on ‘How community education can pave the way out of economic inactivity’.

It sets out findings from two research projects undertaken by CES in 2023 looking at the experiences of lone parents in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The first project identified a range of structural barriers blocking parents’ access to employment including:

• Unaffordable, unreliable, and inflexible childcare
• Limited employment options that allow lone parents to combine work and childcare
• Lack of employer understanding or flexibility in relation to lone parents’ circumstances or needs
• Challenges accessing further and higher education opportunities to gain work-related qualifications/skills.

The second piece of research highlighted how community education providers are supporting lone parents by identifying and responding to skills gaps and local employment opportunities by delivering tailored courses and education programmes available in their local areas.

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation is currently undertaking research into ‘economic inactivity in the border region’ to identify place-based factors that contribute to challenges in accessing employment for people who have been away from the labour market for some time due to caring commitments, or as a result of long-term health conditions or disability.

We hope to publish the final report early in 2026 so watch this space for further details.

In the meantime, you can read Claire’s article here.