The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 35 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. The Organisation for works with countries to develop skills strategies tailored to specific needs and contexts. The Organisation prepared a global…

The higher skills policy of the UK New Labour Government emerged from the recommendations of the Leitch Review of Skills, and was implemented in England between 2007 and 2010. The policy aimed to encourage higher education (HE) institutions to engage with employers and employer representative bodies to design and deliver HE provision that…

There are things in the skills White Paper that those who care passionately about lifelong learning and the empowerment of adult learners will welcome. But as well as admiring the angels in the architecture, the author contends, they need to look for the devils in the detail. The White Paper cannot be considered apart from the spending review…

This paper outlines the theoretical foundation of a skill enhancement programme in early childhood settings which follows the ideas of the Anti-Bias approach. A focal point of the concept is to acknowledge the connection between societal, structural and individual biases. It challenges those biases and assists educators in improving their…

On 11 November the Government published its third skills strategy for England in six years (quite apart from Lord Leitch's "Review of Skills" commissioned by the Treasury). Entitled "Skills for Growth: the national skills strategy," this White Paper, together with a separate analytical paper and a "Skills Investment…

Recent guidance for UK government policy makers has warned that HEIs face an uncertain future and has advocated transdisciplinary curricula. Earlier, in 2005, two other UK government papers highlighted the advantages of integrating design-related strategies into business environments and addressed the impact creativity could have on business…

The concept of lifelong learning implies a cycle where the learner contributes prior learning into a new learning environment and sees that learning upgraded. In recent years, a range of internal and external pressures have encouraged Australian universities to identify the meta or generic skills embedded in tertiary study. Using a content…

The Digital Britain White Paper outlines the Government's vision for the digital future of the country. In this article a number of industry experts, stakeholders, politicians and commentators tell how they viewed the report and its likely repercussions.

Recent policy reports by Lord Leitch and Sir Michael Lyons on educational skills and corresponding government spending raise the question of how a demand-led system for adult skills led by employers can operate concurrent with intertwined policies driven by different factors. There is also the need to integrate with regional policy and policies…

Discusses the extent to which the Australian language policy "White Paper" meets the real needs of the Australian people, and the quality of Australia's on-going performance in and commitment to well-articulated language and language education policymaking relating to languages other than English. (GLR)

In the context of research that reports weaknesses in adults' critical thinking skills, the primary aim was to examine adults' use of critical thinking skills that are described in taxonomies and to identify areas for development. Position papers written by an opportunity sample of 32 experienced adult educators formed the data for a descriptive…

Looks at the "Passport to Success" scheme introduced by the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce in a bid to address the employability skills problem among young people. States that the scheme was launched in September 2001 in partnership with a local comprehensive school with the intention of helping pupils make the transition from school into…

The nature and effects of current common understandings of the relationship between work and literacy were examined along with the typical design and objectives of workplace literacy programs for members of Australia's work force. Special attention was paid to the following topics: changing demands of work and literacy at work; discourses of…

In forestry, as in other fields, technological advances have resulted in significant changes in work practices and skill requirements. Vocational training and improvement of forestry workers' skills through lifelong learning can help achieve sustainability in forestry. The objectives of lifelong learning are to integrate people into working life…

The Learning and Skills Development Agency agrees that national training organizations (NTOs) have a vital role to play in delivering the United Kingdom's skills agenda and that doing so will require strengthening their role. The agency particularly welcomes the fact that the NTO framework will do the following things: include clear statements of…