Purpose: This study is to examine and develop sector skills strategies and action plans for the textile and apparel (T&A) sector. Design/methodology/approach: The paper used a participatory action qualitative method anchored on the Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED) framework, utilising the workshop-based approach with 24 key…

The emergence of new credentials is changing the landscape of traditional post-secondary education. The tight labor market's rising demand to fill vacancies in high-demand career fields such as cybersecurity has led to so-called "alternative credentials" to rapidly upskill and reskill existing professionals to move into the industry.…

When comparing lifelong learning systems in Europe, Swedish vocational education has been characterised as a statist, school-based ideal type, with strong emphasis on egalitarianism and social citizenship. However, the popularisation and expansion of higher vocational education (HVE), a post-secondary training form that has a mandate to train…

Traditionally, academic institutions have relied on interviews with industry representatives and alumni surveys to gauge market demand, an approach that often results in dated and limited information. In this article, we show that using real-time data from job postings in professional sites provides more direct, rich, and timely insights regarding…

This study aimed to examine the literature on the skill sets of autistic individuals and determine how these skills align with current and projected future labour market needs. Based on a literature review, researchers identified the following skill categories common to autistic individuals: visual skills, attention to detail and systemizing…

Purpose: The present study investigates the influence of demographic factors on the demand for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan has implemented various skill enhancement programs to harness the demographic dividend. However, only a small portion of the workforce receives any form of…

Australian vocational education and training (VET) policy makers have persistently proposed more user choice when reforming the national training system. Increasing alternatives by encouraging multiple providers to trade in regulated contestable markets remains the cornerstone of governments' policies. However, despite policy intentions, students'…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the formal workplace learning situation in Nepal and argue that workplace learning is not in priority in Nepali Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) despite a regular policy emphasis. Design/methodology/approach: Data were gathered using both desk-based review of pre-diploma and…

The nation's health-care system has strained to keep up with the COVID-19 crisis. This pressure is occurring alongside mismatches in the supply and demand for health-care professionals that predate the pandemic, shaped by the aging of the U.S. population, declining birth rates, and other trends. Immigrant professionals have long played a vital…

The COVID-19 pandemic created a historic, global disruption in the labor market. In the short term, the labor force participation rate dropped precipitously as workers were laid off or furloughed, especially in sectors that were most affected by social distancing protocols, such as hospitality, travel and leisure, and retail (Lund et al., 2021).…

The "Merdeka Belajar -- Kampus Merdeka" (MBKM) program emphasizes learning relevant to the needs of workplace so that students can compete with their abilities. However, the lack of information regarding MBKM is an important note. The research aims to analyze and review Scopus-indexed MBKM documents critically. The research focus is…

This article explores the underexamined idea of employer engagement as the institutional agency around the supply-demand relationship surrounding education and training (E&T) and VET in England (2012), arguing why VET needs are still likely to be unmet. A single case-study methodology and forty convergent interviews with high-skill employers…

Governments, businesses, and educational institutions need to collaborate and make significant investments in order to address the growing digital skills crisis. In Europe, hundreds of digital skills initiatives have been launched with different forms of government and private industry support in the last five years alone. Consequently, digital…

America needs community colleges to be the most adaptive and responsive sector of the higher education system in order to remain competitive in a global marketplace. Employers need community college career technical education (CTE) programs to be responsive to labor force needs and produce competent middle-skilled workers. Policymakers need…

Purpose: The present study aims to investigate the reasons for the gap between academic education and the required skills of the labor market in Iran. Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose, the authors adopted a thematic analysis method. The participants in the study were connoisseurs from universities and research institutes in Iran, who…