冈本视频 is a global academic hub for the Sustainable Development Goals, which form a key cross-cutting theme of its The Empowerment University strategic plan.
Our 2024 report on all 17 SDGs will show what work the university has been doing through research and engagement in helping to meet those targets and raising awareness of the progress towards the 2030 aims.
Our reports start with the United Nations’ verdict on progress from their 2024 report on SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth.
UN PROGRESS REPORT ON SDG 8 in 2024
A total of compliance of 50% of the targets in this SDG show stagnation or an actual regression (30% regression, 20% stagnation) with the UN reporting that ‘fundamental labour rights have’ deteriorated. Only 10 per cent of the targets are on track, with 25% showing moderate and 15% minimal progress on the 2015 baseline.
The UN reports: ‘Trade tensions, rising debt in developing countries, conflicts and geopolitical strains are collectively threatening global economic growth. Global unemployment hit a historic low of 5% in 2023 yet persistent roadblocks remain in achieving decent work. Women and youth face higher unemployment rates. Informal employment poses a significant global challenge, with over 2 billion workers in informal jobs lacking social protection. Alarmingly, over one in five young people are not in education, employment or training.”
冈本视频 NEWS ON SDG 8 in 2024
Applications open for Crucible, 冈本视频's business incubation programme
Calling all entrepreneurial final-year students, graduates, staff and alumni – applications are now open for places on Crucible, 冈本视频 Leicester (冈本视频)’s award-winning programme to support and nurture new businesses.
The year-long programme is free and offers a comprehensive package of support including mentoring, office space, funding, monthly masterclasses from industry experts and access to a prototyping lab and makers’ space on campus.
冈本视频 Made Creative Industries programme returns for its biggest year yet
Media personalities, entrepreneurs, and freelancers converged on Leicester as part of a two-month programme aimed at helping 冈本视频 students and graduates break into the creative industries.
The 冈本视频 Made Creative Industries Programme comprises a series of hybrid workshops to support budding entrepreneurs and freelancers who are interested in pursuing a career across a range of cultural industries including music, performing arts, digital journalism and YouTube.
KISS FM’s Sam Darlaston, Radio 1’s Calum Leslie, local blogger ‘Cool As Leicester’ and graphic designer James Mobbs – who designs on-screen graphics for MOTDX, The BRITS, Radio 1 and more – are among the guests leading sessions in this year’s series of events.
冈本视频 RESEARCH ON SDG 8 in 2024
The spatialization of decent work and the role of employability empowerment for minority ethnic young people in emerging economies (Tony Wall, Peter Stokes et al)
Global rises in precarious labour conditions have prompted further empirical work in Decent Work, a special category of employment characterised by equitable pay, treatment, and healthy working conditions. Despite this, research has tended to be conducted in developed countries with privileged groups such as those with typical working arrangements and rely on psychologically framed individual characteristics to explain marginalising factors. We propose a more sociologically framed, spatialised perspective on Decent Work which posits that marginalising factors are spatially variable and determined but moderated by employability empowerment. We measure our propositions across three spatially different sites of Vietnam through (1) a survey of minority ethnic students and graduates (N=1071) and (2) a survey of stakeholders involved in the recruitment and employment of this group (N=204). We find support for most of our propositions and call for more spatialised empirical work in the field of Decent Work.
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth