About Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Our work on SDG Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
We work towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, to create a better and fairer world.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by all United Nations member states. It provides a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.
Find out more about our work across all the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Research
IMPACT (Improving Adult Care Together)
The University of Stirling has partnered with a consortium of key stakeholders from across the four nations of the UK to develop a new centre for adult social care. The centre - IMPACT (Improving Adult Care Together) - has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation and the Health Foundation and is the first centre of its kind in the UK.
The aim of the centre is to lead the way in helping people working in adult social care, carers, and the people they support make better use of high-quality, practice-based evidence to support innovation in adult social care and build capacity and skills in the adult social care workforce.
Faculty research themes
Stirling Management School has focused one of their key research themes around SDG Goal 8 and conduct research which addresses workplace challenges related to diversity, inclusion, new technologies, innovation and the impact on employment through research on human capital; working lives; under-employment, employability and skills.
There are a multitude of projects covering this SDG including exploring the future of female entrepreneurs in Scotland, the impact of Covid-19 on the location of work in the UK, and the mobility power of EU citizens and employers in the UK horticulture and healthcare industries.
Learning and teaching
Responsible Business
This is a compulsory module in all undergraduate Business Studies and Management courses, and available as an elective across the University. This module examines how ethics play out at the organisational level and, simultaneously, the ethical challenges of doing business in a globalised economy. Students develop business ethics skills through debates around moral dilemmas facing employees, managers, and business leaders.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses
The University offers a variety of short courses, modules and programmes for CPD. These world-class, accessible and affordable professional development courses allow employers to upskill their workforce or for workers to develop their personal interests with the latest thinking in their sector.
Flexible study options allow participants to fit in a course around their other commitments. From part-time study to distance or blended learning, the choices are abundant. Distance learning means students can access CPD courses even if they’re outside the UK and benefit from world-class teaching wherever they are.
Through our CPD offerings, the University offers accredited programmes that give exemption from some professional examinations, putting world-class expertise into practice to help workers further their career.
Net zero internships
The Net Zero Business Support programme works in partnership with external organisations to deliver one-to-one and one-to-many interventions that educate and inspire climate action. Beginning in 2024, funded through UK Shared Prosperity Funding leveraged through Stirling Council, the programme supports the region in building capacity for carbon reduction planning.
The programme consists of a cohort of six Net Zero Business Support Interns, from undergraduate, postgraduate and recent graduate backgrounds and takes them through an intensive six-week programme of training to upskill and build confidence in using industry recognised tools to develop carbon reduction plans. Once the training is complete, each intern is assigned to a business to provide one-to-one support, develop a plan and add staffing capacity as a sustainability support officer for a minimum of four and maximum of eight weeks.
The project helps to bridge academia with the wider local business landscape as well as providing joint benefit for students and SMEs.
University operations
Ethical careers
The Student Skills and Employability team is putting sustainability at the heart of everything it does - from the promotion of vacancies to careers events. The team aims to work with organisations who share the same sustainability values.
The University of Stirling Students' Union passed a motion for the University's Careers and Employability Service to divest from fossil fuels. The team collaborated with the Students’ Union to develop a careers policy that balances flexibility, impartial advice and actively championing organisations that promote sustainability.
Agile Working Framework
The University defines work as an activity rather than a place, and the focus is on performance rather than presenteeism. Working practices are underpinned by the Agile Working Framework, an informal, principles-based approach to hybrid working designed to enable progressive working practices that support agility, growth, and high performance.
Eight out of 10 staff surveyed said they have experienced the Agile Working Framework positively. Feedback has demonstrated that our principles are being translated into a positive staff experience, with people benefitting from this new approach. Staff feel enabled to deliver against their work priorities and respond to challenges flexibly whilst feeling trusted to make the right decisions about their working arrangements.
Civic engagement
Young Pathfinders
Young Pathfinders is an educational outreach programme, which empowers young people from Stirling and Clackmannanshire to make a positive impact on their communities and the world. This innovative, extracurricular environmental education initiative is tailored for young people, with the goal of fostering the next generation of eco-conscious leaders. The programme equips students with essential knowledge, skills, and tools to make a positive impact.
The programme is delivered by the University of Stirling’s Enterprise Programme Team as part of Scotland’s International Environment Centre, which was established as part of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.
Scottish Government Town Centre Action Plan
University of Stirling academics were at the forefront of the independent report titled ‘A New Future For Scotland’s Town Centres’ which was delivered to the Scottish Government with a view to rejuvenating the heart of local communities.
The report was commissioned to build upon the internationally recognised town centre first approach developed and adopted in Scotland and provided an opportunity to rethink and reenergise the efforts to develop towns and town centres that meet the divers social, environmental and economic needs of communities.