Purpose: Employers often claim that the lack of employee competence is a limitation in their enterprises' success and viability. Consequently, employers are important stakeholders in considerations for workforce continuing education and training (CET) policies and practices. Hence, the authors undertook an exploratory investigation to understand…

Purpose: Currently, lifelong learning and sustainable employability are increasingly fostered in the context of interorganizational networks, which provide workers with access to network activities (e.g., training, career counseling). This study aims to investigate the relationship between workers' participation in network activities and their…

COVID-19 and social distancing have crashed into the structural shifts brought about by the fourth industrial revolution. And while meeting skill needs has been on employers' and policy-makers' agendas for long, investing in people in a more comprehensive way is becoming more urgent: as European economies are picking up speed, the hunt for talent…

The automation of job tasks due to technological change increases the pressure on workers whose jobs consist largely of such activities. In this context, politics and science attach great importance to further training, although the benefits for affected workers have hardly been investigated. Drawing on human capital theory and the task-based…

A skill gap in Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments (PS-TRE) between U.S. Baby Boomers and younger generations has been documented in previous studies using the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Survey of Adult Skills (Rampey et al., 2016). Bringing this generation of workers up to speed in this…

Competence in contemporary working life requirements is increasingly aligned with electronically mediated tasks and work roles: ie, the digitalisation of work. This alignment necessitates workers learning and utilising the conceptual knowledge and ways of working needed for this work. This knowledge is often distinct from and displaces workers'…

A companion to "Traditional Trade Apprenticeships: Training Activity, Employer Incentives and International Practice," this report collates qualitative material from in-depth interviews and focus groups with employers, trainers, apprentices and relevant government officials describing what is effective, what is not, and what needs…

The effectiveness of workplace learning programs is linked to employee/learner motivation. However, our current understanding of workplace learning does not always acknowledge the importance of learner motivation to acquire new skills. In this study, I proposed that to obtain learning success and engage employees to learn on- the- job, employers…

The UK entered the deepest recession in history in 2020, following a decade of sluggish growth. Coronavirus restrictions led to a sharp rise in unemployment, vacancies plummeted, and millions were furloughed. The pandemic has also accelerated technological change, with increased digitalisation and firms discovering new ways to harness emerging…

The pandemic has caused a major economic shift for businesses and workers. Countless companies have had to quickly upskill their workers, equipping them with the skills they need to pivot to digital or remote services. As a result, the importance of efficiently and effectively training and onboarding workers with the right skills for the job has…

According to the 2016 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Education at a glance, much of the learning at work takes place through employer-supported training. Both employers and employees recognise the benefits of such training because skilling the workforce can lead to better jobs, greater firm competitiveness,…

Developments in five priority areas for VET, agreed in 2015 by the EU-28, Iceland, Norway, candidate countries, the European Commission and EU social partners, are at the centre of this report. Work in 2015-19 shows continuity with earlier national strategies and initiatives. It confirms the recent focus on apprenticeships and other forms of…

The nature of apprenticeships is changing. Increasing proportions of adult apprentices are prompting demand for various alternative pathways to completion. One option for an alternative pathway to accelerate completion is the use of recognition of prior learning (RPL) to identify existing skills and knowledge in combination with gap training. This…

Transition planning officially begins between the ages of 14 and 16 for most students with an IEP. However, the process is lifelong. Job Exploration Counseling, or Career counseling/guidance includes a wide variety of activities which help students explore career options and opportunities available. Job exploring options are intended to foster…

Many are accustomed to the idea that we learn at school and that a college education is acquired in college classrooms. In reality, however, learning takes place in all aspects of a person's life--through military experience, raising a family, volunteering, and, perhaps most significantly, in the workplace. Learning that occurs in the workplace…