This study advances the analysis of cognitive skill use at work by considering another crucial factor: the motivation-to-learn (MtL). Previous research has indicated that MtL forms cognitive skills in the school setting. However, the role of MtL in the work setting is much less understood. The present study analyses the association between MtL and…

Moulier Boutang's book "Cognitive Capitalism" introduces a radically different conception of the key resources -- 'immaterial labour' and 'capture of externalities' -- for economic activity, compared with the argument in the knowledge economy discourse that professionals manipulate 'symbols'. The paper explores this claim by firstly,…

Innovation occupies a pivotal place in our understanding of knowledge-based economies, and this is raising questions about sources of innovation, how it originates, and the role played by employees, work practices and learning. This paper explores these issues through case study research into a new approach to providing healthcare for homeless…

A fundamental shift is taking place in the way we think about the future of work and its relationship to education, training and the labour market. Until recently, expanding higher education was widely believed to result in higher earnings, reflecting an insatiable demand for knowledge workers. In the United Kingdom, this race to higher education…

Luxembourg exhibits strong transnational traits within its skills regime, defying any neat fit with existing educational typologies. It is characterised by its high-skill economy, cross-cultural characteristics, and central location within the European Union. As such, Luxembourg has developed a hybrid strategy of responding to labour market…

'Employers know that they can hire worldwide now … so, there is limitless supply of people … who can do the job … . they're all qualified, most of them are actually over-qualified … . I'm a wage slave basically, I don't think we have very much social status … . we are replaceable workers … I mean, the employer holds all the cards really. We are…

This article argues that a focus on human capability and its development can be used to rethink the high skills policy visions favoured over recent decades. The article briefly summarises the increasing concerns with government policy formulas which have adopted a narrow focus such that skill and its accreditation is regarded as the outcome rather…

For over a decade policy-makers have claimed that advanced industrial societies should develop a knowledge-based economy (KBE) in response to economic globalisation and the transfer of manufacturing jobs to lower cost countries. In the UK, this vision shaped New Labour's policies for vocational education and training (VET), higher education and…

Korea's developmental skill formation system was shaped in the 1970s by the Korean developmental state that proactively sought rapid Heavy and Chemical Industrialisation as the nation's overarching goal. Vocational education at the upper secondary level and post-school in-company training in particular were strategically nurtured and closely…

Career management skills (CMS) are increasingly touted as necessary for all citizens, young and adult, particularly given the realities of employment and self-employment in a knowledge-based society, where "protean", "portfolio" careers are expected to increasingly become the norm, and lifelong career guidance an entitlement of…