Newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not hold back at the launch of Skills England -- a new government agency -- in July 2024. The Labour Party's 2024 election manifesto had stated that Skills England would 'bring together business, training providers and unions with national and local government to ensure we have the highly trained…

The student workforce plays a substantial part in several low-paying industries such as retail and hospitality, and this has grown over time. However, there has been little recent research. The usual assumption is that students compete successfully with the local labour force for low-skill, part-time jobs, but there is little evidence for this.…

Australia's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic depends on the ability of employers to fill the skills shortages resulting from lower migration and upturns in economic prosperity associated with ongoing technological change. The national vocational education and training (VET) system is best placed to support employers to meet these skill…

This support document contains a literature review for the project entitled: "Engaging More Employers in Nationally Recognised Training to Develop Their Workforce. Research Report" (ED616445). The aim of the overall research project is to identify strategies to improve employer uptake of nationally recognised training in the current…

This paper represents the latest in a line of papers and think pieces that the author has prepared on this topic -- for the UK government, the UK Skills and Productivity Board, and the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council -- since 2014. It seeks to explain why trying to bring skills supply into closer alignment with demand for skills…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Engaging More Employers in Nationally Recognised Training to Develop Their Workforce. Research Report" (ED616445) and is an added resource for further information. This support document reports on the outcomes of the interviews with representatives of the…

Purpose: The concept of employer branding has drawn the attention of both academicians and practitioners over a decade. However, inaction, the objective of the employer brand managers were hardly tapped. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the views of HR manager on employer branding activities and its implementation.…

Purpose: This study explores employer perspectives regarding barriers to and responsibility for the workforce integration of skilled immigrants. Specifically, this study assesses employer perceptions of how influential various barriers are to the integration of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in the workplace, uncovers employer perceptions of…

The rising prominence of micro-credentials started during the COVID-19 pandemic, where online resources offered competency-building opportunities for the work-from-home (WFH) human capital. During this pandemic, traditional universities faced total halt to face-to-face lectures, but ways paved for open and distance learning (ODL) universities to…

Purpose: To identify a skilled micro-credentialled training pathway for agricultural careers. Design/Methodology/Approach: A survey consisting of open ended and Likert-type ratings questions regarding workforce skills requirements, training priorities and training delivery preferences was administered with 17 agricultural business managers and…

The dual learning system gained prominence as part of the education system in Kazakhstan, involving training students in close collaboration with businesses to equip them with the skills and expertise needed for a modern workforce. This study contributes to existing literature examining the adoption and implementation of German-originated training…

The key drivers of employer investment in workforce training include improving the quality of a product or service, the adoption of new technology, and to meet legislative, regulatory or licensing requirements. Various types of training -- accredited, unaccredited, informal -- are accessed by employers to fulfil their training needs. This report…

Projections show that in the next 5 years, Brazil will have 9 million students in higher education courses (a 50% increase in the period). This growth is concentrated in the distance learning modality, which is expected to triple until it reaches 4.5 million students. This phenomenon may be explained by the development of technological tools, the…

Context: Against a backdrop of dwindling oil resources and increasing unemployment rates, the government of Oman has set out to diversify its industry and establish a knowledge-based economy. In this context, forming a highly-skilled Omani workforce is considered to be of crucial importance. Yet, the national TVET system suffers from low social…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Engaging More Employers in Nationally Recognised Training to Develop Their Workforce. Research Report" (ED616445) and is an added resource for further information. This support document reports on the outcomes of 35 interviews with employers in five…