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Chapter Two Methodology

The design of the Part-Time Employment and Secondary Education research included the identification of four local authorities to participate in the Focused Studies element. This element of the research allowed for a more in-depth investigation of schools pupils, parents and schoolteachers views on a range of issues related to pupils' part-time employment. The sample of employers was also drawn from these four local authority areas.

In the main survey pupils had been requested to provide information on their work status and to provide the name of the business that they worked for. Within the four local authorities, which formed the sample for the Focused Studies, a number of employers were identified as representative of the range and type of employment undertaken by school pupils. (See below for full sampling details.)

Pupils had been requested to provide the names of their employers but no contact details were asked for. Using the names provided, web-based business and telephone directories were used to identify the location and contact details for employers. In a number of cases pupils provided insufficient or limited information as a result of which some employers could not be identified.

Once identified, initial contact was made with employers to request their participation in the study. If they agreed to participate a telephone interview was carried out based upon a standardised interview schedule. The schedule consisted of open and closed questions covering the extent of their employment of school pupils; recruitment methods; induction and training; use of contracts; their involvement with local schools in work experience and other enterprise activities; their views on the value of part-time work; and their opinion on the idea of formally recognising part-time employment.

Responses to open-ended questions were written down at the time of the interview. In the section reporting the interview findings the quotations used should not be treated as verbatim transcriptions, rather they should be viewed as presenting the flavour of the employer comments.

A draft interview schedule was piloted through a face-to-face interview with an employer. The key problems identified were the length and level of detailed information requested. A major review of the interview schedule was undertaken resulting in a shortened and more focused schedule. It was evident that a trade-off would need to be made between securing employer participation and the length and depth of material covered in the interview.

The activities detailed above were carried out from January to May 2005. The majority of the interviews took place in March and April.

The Sample

The target sample was to interview 40 employers reflecting the range and type of employment undertaken by school pupils. In total 42 interviews were completed, the additional two interviews were employers who had recently employed school pupils (one in Retail and one in Miscellaneous). We have included their interview responses in this report. Table 2.1 provides a summary of the number of employers interviewed within four main employment categories. Employment such as babysitting was excluded from this element of the research given the rather unique nature of the employer-employee relationship.

Table 2.1 Employer Participation and Job Sector

Throughout the study of employers we have grouped responses by job sector to investigate the extent to which there are similarities or variations based on sector. The job sectors are detailed in the above table. The sectors are self explanatory with the exception of Miscellaneous. Research has shown that young people work in a wide range of jobs and some of these share common features allowing them to be grouped together, eg Retail. However, some pupils are employed in relatively unique jobs and we have grouped these under the Miscellaneous heading. In the present study this category includes nursing homes, leisure facilities such as swimming pools, a cycle maintenance business and a golf range.

To achieve the required sample a total of 110 employers were contacted with an average of three telephone contacts per employer. From this group 21 employers refused to participate in the study (see Table 2.2). A number of reasons were given for non-participation including not having the time and that they did not employ school pupils. In some cases the latter statement was clarified by indicating that they had employed school pupils in the past but were not currently doing so and were unwilling to participate in the research. In the case of the larger chain stores some managers indicated that they could not consider participation without clearance from their Head Office. The researchers contacted the relevant Head Offices but found it difficult to gain approval while others simply refused permission. As a result these larger stores are not represented in the sample.

One other group of employers is not represented in the sample. While a number of hairdressers were identified by pupils as employers all attempts to recruit them failed. This may be in part due to the nature of the business. The employers were typically busy with customers when contacted and could not stop to take part in the research.

Table 2.2 Non-Participants by Job Sector

From the remaining employers a total of 42 completed the interview. Tables 2.3 to 2.6 provide a summary of the size of the business, indicated by the total number of employees, and the number of school pupils employed. In the latter case we discriminated between school pupils under 16 year of age and those in the 16-18 year old age group.

Table 2.3 Profile of Delivery Businesses

Table 2.4 Profile of Retail Businesses

Table 2.5 Profile of Hotel/Catering Businesses

Table 2.6 Profile of Miscellaneous Businesses

Of the 42 employers interviewed, 25 had businesses where ten or fewer employees worked. Of the remainder only one had more than 50 employees, the remaining 16 had between 11 and 50 employees. In the present sample the majority of pupils are employed in small enterprises, but as explained earlier this picture may be biased by the difficulty in obtaining the cooperation of large stores.

Of the 40 businesses who were currently employing school pupils, the majority (23) have only 16-18 year olds. In contrast 9 of the businesses have only school pupils under 16 years of age in their employment. The remaining 8 employed a combination of under 16s alongside 16-18 year olds. There is no obvious pattern linking the age of school pupils employed to the particular sector.

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