Derived from an ethnography of working cultures and practices at a bike shop in the North of England, this paper rests on a critical application of social practice theories of literacy (Literacy Studies) in order to explore the complex and heterogeneous literacy practices of cycle technicians. Drawing on a series of vignettes constructed from the…

The fourth industrial revolution has led to a tremendous increase in the demand for IT specialists. Until recently, this sector had traditionally recruited university graduates, but given the shortage of candidates, it has turned to individuals with vocational training, finding that they are capable of performing the same work with a similar level…

In England, a new model of apprenticeship was initiated in whose stated intention was to 'put employers in the driving seat'. Regulation of the new model was focused on the mandatory 20% of apprentices' work time allocated to off-the-job training offered by colleges and other training providers. Based on case studies of employers and training…

The creative industry is a sector where digitisation inevitably changes work practices and the skill requirements are high. The rapid digitisation makes it imperative for workers to acquire digital skills beyond mere technical use. The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to offer a deeper analysis of the nature and level of 21st-century digital…

This paper explores the implications for higher education of the emergence of new industries, driven by technological changes. The pace of technology-driven changes creates significant challenges for the alignment between the skill needs of industry and provision by higher education. Drawing on concepts from neo-correspondence theory, we examine…

Post-industrial society has witnessed trends according to which the labour market has become more flexible, services have expanded and immaterial work and horizontal work organisation has emerged, shaping professions in respect to the employment and work they can offer. An outcome of these trends is a portfolio career, an employment pattern based…

This paper considers the potential significance of a concept of lifelong learning in the context of digital disruption. Having noted some contemporary contrasts in the visibility of lifelong learning policy, it revisits the earlier more widespread dominance of the concept, identifying not only variety but also tensions that are inherent and…

Changes in working life require development in vocational education and training (VET) to retain industrial currency. VET teachers are key actors in VET, and their continuing professional development (CPD) in vocational subjects is central to the currency of VET. This study is situated in Sweden, with a mainly school-based VET system where VET…

Employability development is a focus of contemporary engineering education, both abroad and in South Africa, from where this study emanates. However, pedagogic initiatives in service of this goal may fail to take into consideration the ideological underpinnings of this emphasis on employability, as well as of the curricula developed in its…

In order to address the problems of graduate employability in Malaysia, the Malaysian Government produced in 2012, the "National Graduate Employability Blueprint" 2012-2017. In addition to setting out in detail the government's philosophy and vision, the blueprint identifies key players who are expected to play crucial roles in making…

Technical efficiency is the ability of a firm to produce its maximum output using a set of inputs or to minimise the use of its inputs to produce a certain level of output. When a firm is operating at its most efficient, operating costs can be minimised, profits maximised and competitiveness improved. This study investigates the role of a firm's…

Internships are work-based learning experiences, but when they are unpaid and become the standard after formal education, they imply an opportunity cost and could add to the formation of obstacles to the socio-economic mobility that (public) education should seek to attenuate. The present study consists of an evaluation of the intern economy in…

We analyse race and gender trends in the Silicon Valley technology industry from 1980 to 2015, with a focus on education, employment and wages in computer science. Racial gaps in representation are more salient among programmers than in the overall technology labour force; in addition, we document a stable or increasing gender gap across all races…

An important driver of change in work, employment and skills is European Union policy aims of sustainable economic growth and the cultivation of a green economy. Part of the latter--which is supported by increasing environmental regulation--focuses on the development of a "green skills agenda," which involves the "greening" of…

This article seeks to provide a school perspective on the nature and quality of the partnerships which schools form with businesses in order to deliver work placements and workplace learning in Australia. It found that the ability of schools to engage with external partners depended on the ability of school leaders to define and communicate the…