Purpose: This paper explores the implications for higher education of the rapid development in technology used by the manufacturing sector. Higher education programmes change or new courses are introduced in attempts to match labour market demands. However, the pace of change in the manufacturing industry challenges the authors to reconceive how…

This study aims to determine the problems encountered in the process of acquiring vocational skills in vocational high schools and their suggestions according to the opinions of teachers working in the vocational branches of the production-manufacturing sector. In the research, the phenomenological method, one of the qualitative research methods,…

This article explores the efficacy and cost effectiveness of New Labour's skills-based policies to help low paid workers adjust to the pressures generated by globalisation, of which the leading example was Train to Gain (T2G). It also analyses the more general issue of how, why and under what circumstances education, training and skills can help…

The loss of jobs in the automotive manufacturing industry, together with a more general decline of the manufacturing industry in Australia, has implications for the types of skills needed in the labour market. Both of these scenarios affect particular groups of people, such as displaced car workers, but within that category other groups such as…

In its first Career and Technical Education (CTE) playbook, "Putting Career and Technical Education to Work for Students" (see ED609912), ExcelinEd examined the need and rationale for strengthening statewide CTE programs and provided a process that state policymakers can undertake to do just that. Serious efforts to develop and…

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms…

Non-formal adult education and training (NFET) in South Africa is instrumental in breaking the high level of poverty and decreasing the social inequality the country continues to face as a post-apartheid democracy. Public and private NFET centres in South Africa aim to meet the training needs of adults who have been deprived of formal education…

Prior research has classified strategies to facilitate adult learners' transitions to postsecondary opportunities into five broad categories: advising, General Educational Development-plus (GED-plus), English as a second language, career pathways, and college preparatory (Zafft, Kallenbach, & Spohn, 2006). This two-part study relied on…

Low-qualified adults have experienced a greater rise in unemployment than any other group in Europe. What particular barriers are they facing in (re-)entering the labour market? How can VET be used in active labour market policies to help overcome these barriers? How can training programmes be designed to address the particular needs of this…

This bibliography summarizes recent research on the structure and effectiveness of workforce development programs. While the term "workforce development" can mean many things, this document focuses on programs to help low-skill, low-wage and displaced workers increase their employment and earnings, as well as labor market trends that…

"Research Messages 2014" is a collection of summaries of research published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2014 in the context of changing economic, industrial, social and education conditions, organised under the following broad categories: (1) Productivity: to sustain and build Australia's human…

There is persistent evidence over several decades that the UK lags behind its international competitors in terms of the skills and qualifications of its workforce, with a detrimental impact on overall economic performance. The most recent attempt by the UK government to address this includes a new strategy aimed at increasing the degree of…

Over the past two decades, an innovative approach to workforce development known as sectoral employment has emerged, resulting in the creation of industry-specific training programs that prepare unemployed and underskilled workers for skilled positions and connect them with employers seeking to fill such vacancies. In 2003, with funding from the…

This training monograph was produced by the Manpower Development Higher Education System and provides manpower planners with the types of theoretical and practical information necessary to achieve planning effectiveness. The training is designed for delivery on three consecutive days. The material is most appropriate for the new planner or for the…

There is a clear national consensus that for the United States to remain economically competitive, schools will have to change to emphasize higher levels of performance and skills. Students need to be independent, directed, and effective learners to be able to adapt to changing work environments by acquiring and using new information. However,…