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This paper summarises the roundtable discussions convened by the charity Carr‐Gomm in October 2007. Participants included providers of services to vulnerable people, policy makers and academics, creating a useful mixture of theoretical and practical knowledge. The Social Exclusion Task Force report in 2006 gives a clear indication of the picture of unemployment for vulnerable people. In addition, developments in funding for key government departments, coupled with population projections, suggests that there is a strong external impetus for vulnerable people to be employed. Discussions covered a range of topics including Who benefits when vulnerable people work?, What constitutes good work? and Barriers to supporting vulnerable people into work.Overall, the group concluded that the most urgent priority is for third sector employers themselves to create flexible work opportunities which can be taken up by vulnerable people. This experience should then be used to disseminate learning and to make the case for change with other employers.

The Audit Commission has produced a review of the Supporting People programme covering the period 2005‐2009. This article summarises the review, which covers the impact of the Supporting People programme, a review of the Government's response to the Audit Commission's 2005 report, an assessment of ongoing and new challenges and options for overcoming identified barriers. Although there is evidence of poor understanding and implementation in some areas, overall the benefits of good housing‐related support services and their preventative value remain important.

This paper aims to provide qualitative insight into a unique, collaborative project undertaken by BAA (Glasgow) and Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) over a three‐year period at Glasgow International Airport.

The qualitative case evidence is conceptualized within the parameters of current thoughts and practices in Learning and Employability in the contemporary HE sector. Primary data were gathered from 27 students who had engaged on the program and also from BAA operational management staff based at Glasgow Airport. Program management perspectives are provided in order to triangulate the perspectives of all stakeholders involved in the initiative.

This study underlines the increasing importance of such prestigious initiatives to contemporary learning experiences at tertiary level. The students reported a higher level of preparedness for working life from an early stage of their studies and although charged with operational challenges from both a program administration viewpoint and for the industrial partner, BAA proved to be supportive, responsive and flexible with both students and the university itself. Benefits for all three parties are tangible and celebrated with positive prospects for the industry in Scotland.

This paper represents case material from a unique HE/industrial collaboration with a major employer within a UK context.

Both employers and employees may seek flexible employment patterns, but for different reasons – employees for lifestyle reasons and employers for financial and business imperatives. This paper focuses on the first of these issues, summarising the results of a comparative case study analysis of female work roles and participation in flexible working arrangements in three contrasting leisure providers. The research findings suggest that gender role segregation existing in generic, non‐leisure specific jobs – such as reception – may be constraining equal opportunities for women more than lack of family‐friendly (or flexible) employment policies.

The purpose of this research is to provide a qualitative insight into contemporary issues of consumption and associated lifestyle identities within the branded coffee house sector in Scotland.

Based on summary case findings, the ethno‐methodological approach has provided a consumer‐based focus via the use of narratives which have helped to build pictures on routine aspects of this social phenomenon for analysis.

The study has highlighted a number of emergent issues and patterns pertinent to this popular sector as it infiltrates Scottish society. The addictive mix of quality products, sophisticated packaging, high levels of personal service with added social and environmental scruples have led to phenomenal growth in the postmodern Scottish urban landscape. Scottish consumers has become daily devotees to the designer cup with 83 per cent claiming that this type of consumption is fuelled by lifestyle considerations.

Fieldwork was facilitated by nominated access in four branded operations across four Scottish cities. Controlled conditions were employed to facilitate generalization with further research desirable over a wider timeframe to allow evaluation of potential relationships between gender, geography and usage patterns.

Implications for the ubiquitous Scottish public house are clear in that there is evidence of competition with the branded coffee sector in terms of share of discretionary leisure spend. This, coupled with the apparently increasing feminization of social space with its preference for clean, healthy and positive lifestyle choices as opposed to the negative, predominantly male dominance of Scottish pub culture, indicates potential decline and further gender segregation at a time when companies are trying to involve the family more in the public house market.

This paper will be of interest to anyone who has pondered life over a cup of designer coffee in or from a branded outlet and wondered whatever one did before the advent of this US‐led revolution which people have adopted and adapted as their own brand of café culture.

This paper aims to provide a selective bibliographic review of developments in career management and in particular, notions of talent from both an organizational and hospitality graduate perspective. It also aims to embrace the recruitment, retention and progression of talent across an industry, where success is ultimately dependent on the capabilities of employees to deliver at the point of service.

A thematic analysis has been undertaken of selected bibliographies as they contribute to current thinking in the area of graduate careers and talent management in the hospitality industry.

Emergent themes have provided a framework to aid a deeper understanding of implications and practical applications. It concludes the need for committed, professional, motivated and developed graduates in the attainment of immediate and long‐term objectives, so crucial for hospitality organizations, to combat retention issues.

Informs the potential of talent management as a driver of competitive advantage, within an industry where investment in people is a priority to ensure quality of service provision.

The paper provides an applied perspective on the management of talent within hospitality, highlighting the need for increased industry‐wide recognition and adoption.