Vocational education has a crucial role in regional labour markets, providing skills to meet local employment demand. In many regional areas of Australia, there has been a transition in employment from manufacturing and agriculture to service industries. The increase in employment has been most evident in the health and community services sector…

The position of small rural schools is precarious in much of rural Canada today. What is to be done about small schools in rural communities which are often experiencing population decline and aging, economic restructuring, and the loss of employment and services? We argue this issue is a classic "wicked" policy problem. Small schools…

There is no doubt that the labor markets and economies of modern societies have been confronted by a marked intensification of cross-border exchange between modern states that has attained a new and previously unattained quality over the past thirty years. In the economic and sociological literature, this development is usually labeled…

In this article we use comparative micro data for 15 European countries covering the period 1992-2007 to study the impact of labor market reforms on the skill-related individual risk of holding a temporary contract and the risk of being unemployed. Our results indicate no general increase in either of these skill gaps. Using two-step multilevel…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible implications for graduate employability of the economic changes which are affecting the UK in the wake of the "credit crunch". It explores the changing economic context and its implications both for HEIs and for graduates starting their careers. Design/methodology/approach:…

The knowledge economy is changing the way people work. New labor market entrants can expect to experience a succession of jobs in a number of industry sectors during their working lives. They may have concurrent part-time jobs at one time, and no paid work at other times. Work periods will be interspersed with periods of learning, either full- or…

As in developed countries, China's service sector has become the main job creator, the country's labor force is better educated, and the average age of the employed is rising. Driving those phenomena are a fast-paced employment restructuring and a growing private enterprise at the expense of state and collective ownership. (Author)

Surveys of 900 manufacturers in Hungary and Bulgaria show that transition to a market economy is (1) marginalizing women, affected by segregation, layoff risk, and discrimination; (2) diminishing labor market role of older workers; and (3) increasing difficulties faced by youth seeking employment, whose skills do not match new employment needs.…

A study of 600 households found that, during Poland's transformation to a market economy, there was overall job stability; a small proportion changed from public to private sector employment; higher private sector wages prevailed only in urban areas; and those with high education levels, good health, and occupational experience fared best. (SK)

Examines economic trends of digitization, downsizing, globalization, and privatization and their relationship to virtual education. Urges educators to consider social and cultural values and the contrast between the social-bonding model of communication underlying the public culture of education and the transmission model underlying the culture of…

Australian census data were analyzed to determine how the transition to a knowledge economy has altered the character of jobs. Of 340 occupations, 84 declined and 64 doubled in overall employment. Occupations dominated by women and part-time workers grew fastest. The knowledge economy has had ambiguous effects; many workers are underemployed.…

Analyzes the situation of women workers in Czechoslovakia in terms of working conditions, difference in earnings compared to men, and attitudes toward work. Future developments, including massive unemployment of women, are outlined. (SK)

Since the 1970s, economists have recognized that a booming export sector of the economy can have unfortunate consequences for other sectors and lead to both appreciation of that nation's currency and a weakening position for its exports. A model to stimulate the effects of this situation is discussed. (IS)

About three-quarters of current unemployment in these countries is due to deficient labor force demand. Changes in economic policy and improvement in labor mobility are necessary elements in solving the problem. (Author/SK)