While enjoying the respect and prestige in some countries, in others, despite being a significant educational sector, vocational education continues to suffer from low status and negative societal sentiments. Vocational education in China has been positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy, absorbing the 'left-over' students with 'less…

In the Reform Era, the Chinese Government has placed great emphasis on the role of education in ensuring the economic success of individuals and of the country as a whole. While vocational and academic post-secondary qualifications are officially set at the same level, vocational education is positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy…

Skill mismatch, the discrepancy between the skill levels held by employees and those demanded by employers, has long been of interest to analysts of the labor market. Such mismatches are worth exploring to better understand the processes of recruitment and career development and the role of education in the labor market. This study aims to analyze…

Rural America has long been perceived as "left behind" by policies that leave it struggling while benefiting bustling urban cities and suburbs. That narrative holds some truth: rural America has a declining population, along with lower educational attainment and lower workforce participation than urban America. But while rural America…

Part 3 of the Houston Longitudinal Study on the Transition to College and Work (HLS) examined: (1) Supply and demand for labor in the Houston area and Texas, including an examination of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's (THECB) "60×30TX" strategic plan; (2) In-demand occupations and skills in the Houston area; and (3) Early…

In the competitive world of recruiting, the better an applicant can apply what has already been learned to a new environment, the greater the career opportunity. This study captured the transformative learning experience of students, guided by their instructors and industry partners, related to learning and executing Lean Six Sigma principles in a…

The author earned a physics degree in college and then failed to find a job in the aerospace industry. He writes of how he fell back on his training as an electrician for sustenance and from that extrapolates how the trades have become confused with work of the hands rather than of the mind. He uses the venerable debate between Booker T.…

This document is the appendices for "Transitioning to College and Work Part III: Labor Market Analysis in Houston and Texas." The report examined: (1) Supply and demand for labor in the Houston area and Texas, including an examination of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's (THECB) "60×30TX" strategic plan; (2)…

This paper is the first in a series of policy reports dealing with the impact of human capital investments on the U.S. labor market. It is part of a larger series of papers from the ETS Center for Research on Human Capital and Education that uses data from the "Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies" (PIAAC) to…

The top ten killer diseases in Malaysia are largely associated with inactivity. In relation to that, Malaysia has come out with policies on prevention, control and management of non-communicable diseases (NCD) into the social, economic and environmental systems through various stakeholders. Thus, this study examined the level of physical activity…

This article analyzes the characteristics of the existing and expected deficit of professional skills and qualities of workers employed by Russian companies. Analyzed factors include generic skills, soft or behavioral skills, the influence of the qualification, and shortage on the effectiveness of the companies as a whole. The data is based on a…

It is generally accepted that human capital is an important factor in economic growth, but its impact on growth depends on the demand for education and skills on the labor market. Demand for human capital is largely determined by the institutional environment that governs the basic conditions for economic activity. The author expresses ten doubts…

The trend in the Reading class in KSA has been what is called "Standards Based Proficiency" as opposed to the more desirable "Real World Reading Requirements". This is also where the greatest gap occurs. Whereas white collar jobs may require more reading, blue collar jobs may invariably involve reading of technical manuals and…

No Child Left Behind radically shifted the balance of power in American education policy-making from the states to the federal government, not because a new consensus had emerged to make such a shift, but because both Democrats and Republicans were angry with the nation's teachers, holding them responsible for a massive increase in the costs of…

Montessori educators follow Montessori's lead and use the word "work" to describe the child's concentrated attention with a hands-on material. But this word may lead to communication problems with parents and those in the non-Montessori world: educators, administrators, accreditors, and so on. These communication problems are…