Microcredentials are not new. They have been in use in various countries and education and training sectors; they have played a role, among others, in the certification of IT courses or health workers' professional development. However, only recently have microcredentials gained EU-wide attention in policy debates. Most countries, as yet, have no…

The current historic COVID-19 Pandemic moment has thrown into sharp relief the need for flexible and rigorous higher education that meets upskilling and reskilling needs of global workforces. Discussions of micro-credentialing predate the Pandemic but have received increased focus as potentially assisting in addressing perceived skills gaps.…

As new technology reshapes workplaces and jobs across North America, the United States, Mexico, and Canada need to reinvent the ways that they educate, train, and re-skill their workforces. With Mexico and Canada now the United States' two largest economic partners, more than ever the three countries need to work together to effectively and…

Ontario's 24 colleges will play a pivotal role in establishing Ontario as a global leader in higher education -- producing a workforce with the qualifications and expertise to help drive economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown. In its recently released white paper, The Future of Ontario's Workers, the StrategyCorp Institute of…

This paper focuses on the potential of competency assessment to support the long-term growth of the labour market by facilitating the appropriate employment of skilled immigrants. A competency-informed approach involves looking holistically at an individual's ability to apply knowledge and skills with appropriate judgment in a defined setting. The…

"The Measures of Success" (MoS) project set out to develop, implement, and present the results of an evaluation model that could assess longer-term outcomes of workplace education programs for increasing literacy and Essential Skills. The model was tested at 18 work sites in Manitoba and Nova Scotia and included training programs that…

Located differentially (and to its detriment) within a status hierarchy of knowledge, vocational education has been called upon to satisfy an increasing range of political and social needs, including meeting the needs of industry and government and catering for increasing pupil diversity. Faced with stubbornly immobile rates of school completion…

Globalization is putting increasing pressure on jobs in the United Kingdom, particularly among less skilled activities. The European response through the Lisbon Strategy has been diffuse, while UK policy appears much more focused, concentrating on the need to raise education and skill levels. The present paper examines the transition towards a…

Future workforce planning in private and public enterprise requires reliable information on which projections are made. Currently limited information exists about vocational education and training (VET) professionals. This report consolidates two national studies on the TAFE workforce, and on VET professionals in private and public registered…

Presented are three brochures--for employers, colleges, and prospective employees respectively--that collectively explain Britain's efforts to simplify the nation's current vocational qualification system and to set up new national vocational qualifications (NVQs) for all occupational areas by 1991. The new NVQs are based on the achievement of…

Discussion of the Australian education system gives a brief overview of the entire system, then details key developments in higher education and in the vocational education sector, including aspects of funding, international cooperation, reform and expansion, quality assurance, delivery systems, apprenticeship programs, responsiveness to the labor…