Dr Steven Roberts is a lecturer in the Education School at the University of Southampton. After five years in various management positions in the retail sector, he undertook his first degree in Industrial Relations/ Human Resource Management and Social Policy at the University of Kent. He was then awarded a fully funded ESRC 1 + 3 studentship to undertake his MA in Research Methods and a subsequent PhD in Social Policy. His PhD was an in-depth qualitative analysis of the transition to adulthood of ordinary and often overlooked young people. With the broad notion of youth transitions still serving as a significant influence, his current primary research interests include work based learning provision in the service sector and the experience of non-traditional students in Higher Education.