This report looks at the impact of the business cycle on participation in adult learning in the EU-27 using aggregate quarterly country level data for the period 2005Q1-2019Q4. Data come from the EU Labour Force Survey. Although downturns may give individuals more incentives and more time to update their skills and knowledge, their ability to pay…

Employment is foundational to young people's successful transition into adulthood, yet many youth with lived experience in the foster care system struggle to obtain employment that provides a living wage. Youth with foster care experience typically do not have the same contacts and connections to employment opportunities as youth who have not been…

Formal vocational education and training (VET) in Slovenia starts at upper secondary level and is provided mainly by public schools that are founded and financed by the State. The education and labour ministries share responsibility for preparing legislation, financing, and adopting VET programmes and qualifications. While the education ministry…

This article summarizes the findings of a 2016 national survey of the formal schooling, further education, and job-related informal learning of the employed Canadian labour force and compares the results with those of prior national surveys conducted in 1998, 2004, and 2010. The major finding is an unprecedented growing gap between increasing…

This report provides an update of Cedefop's statistical overview of vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning in European countries. It illustrates progress on 33 indicators selected for their policy relevance and contribution to Europe 2020 objectives. These also provide a review of progress in key areas of education and…

The concept "not in education, employment or training" (NEET) has only recently been deployed in academic analyses and policy documents in South Africa. This article uses the concept to highlight the acute levels of youth unemployment experienced in that country. It discusses the causal factors, and adopts the concept of "social…

This report provides a statistical overview of vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning in European countries. Data are presented in the form of statistical snapshots--one for each country--for the 27 European Union (EU) Member States and, where data are available, for Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,…

This report provides a statistical overview of vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning in European countries. Data are presented in the form of statistical snapshots, one for each of the 31 selected indicators. To the extent allowed by data availability, data are presented for the 27 European Union (EU) Member States and for…

Appropriate Solutions, Inc. (ASI), the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) follow-up data collection contractor for the state of Ohio, reviewed "JTPA: Another Federal Training Fraud," issued by the CATO Institute. ASI found the report exceptionally shallow and unquestionably misleading. The report appeared to be unaware of the mandated…

Lifelong learning and skill flexibility are especially important for workers in China, where structural economic adjustment has generated 22 million layoffs from state-owned enterprises since 1997. Skills that were in huge demand in previous years, such as accounting, international trade, and language translation, are now facing serious oversupply…

The "market" is not a natural phenomenon but a social relationship. Growing gaps in income distribution and changes in employment patterns are dramatically increasing inequality. Vocational and adult educators accept too readily the claim that training can change the economic environment. (SK)

A review of women's status in Europe concludes that the integration of women into the labor market, rise in their education/training levels, and wider availability of child care are not enough to enable equal access to power. Adult education can help ensure wider opportunities and freedom of choice for women. (SK)

This volume on apprenticeships in Australia summarizes 11 research studies. After an "Introduction" (Nigel Smart), the reports are: "Apprenticeship in Australia: A Concise History" (John Ray); "Issues and Directions from the Australian Apprenticeship and Traineeship Literature" (Stephen Saunders); "Determinants…

A four-stage feminist research project investigating European Social Fund (ESF)-funded vocational training for unemployed women used the grounded theory approach. Stage 1 involved the formation of the research questions and design. Steps included the ontological, epistemological, and methodological positioning of the researcher. Stage 2 was the…

A study assessed the success of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs by examining current approaches, featuring operational and experimentally based measures, all using the individual as the unit observation. The research used Program Year 1990 JTPA termination and associated program participation records in Illinois and Texas. Two…