Colin Lindsay

Professor Colin Lindsay MA, MSc, PhD has been researching and teaching on employability, skills, public management and social policy for more than fifteen years. He has published more than 30 peer reviewed articles, book chapters and policy reports. His most recent book is ‘Disability benefits, welfare reform and employment policy’ (co-edited with Donald Houston, published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).

He serves on the Editorial Boards of two journals: ‘Education & Training’; and ‘Social Policy and Administration’. He has co-edited special issues of four journals: ‘Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy’; ‘Policy Studies’; 'Social Policy and Administration'; and ‘Work, Employment and Society’. He is a member of the Editorial Team for ‘Social Policy and Administration’.

He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the British Sociological Association and the Social Policy Association.

Professor Colin Lindsay's research interests include: public management reform; HRM and employment relations in the public sector; new governance in public policy; policy evaluation; employability, skills and access to training; experiences of low-skilled work; and approaches to promoting equality in the workplace. He works closely with the Scottish Centre for Employment Research (SCER), and is currently conducting research with colleagues at SCER on workplace innovation. He has conducted research for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills; the Scottish Government; the Scottish TUC; and the European Commission. His current research focuses on the link between health and employability; and the impact of new technology on employees’ experiences of job quality.

Dr Lindsay's research addresses a range of issues including:

• public sector employment relations and work redesign (e.g. research recently published in the International Journal of Human Resource Management);
• workplace innovation in SMEs (ongoing research with the Scottish Centre for Employment Research);
• the governance of employability and labour market policies (e.g. research recently published in Public Administration);
• labour market exclusion and the barriers faced by disadvantaged groups;
• and inequalities in access to workplace training.

Professor Colin Lindsay teaches human resource management at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level.  He is also Module Leader for programmes within the Department's undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

BA (Year 4 Honours UG) (Human Resource Management). Module Leader: ‘HRM and Employment Relations in Public Services Management’. 

BA (Year 3 Honours UG) (Human Resource Management). Module contributor: ‘Employment Relations’. 

MSc (PG) Human Resource Management/International Human Resource Management. Module Leader: ‘People Resourcing’. 

MSc (PG) Human Resource Management. Module contributor: ‘Critical Issues in Human Resources’; 'Leaning, Managing and Developing People'. 

• workplace innovation
• performance management (with particular reference to public service organisations)
• employee resourcing
• training and development
• professional practice in public services
• public management and HRM
• employability
• health and labour market disadvantage