This publication provides a comparative statistical analysis of skills development through continuing vocational training (CVT) in EU enterprises. It is based on data from the latest rounds of the CVTS survey (CVTS 5, 2015 and CVTS 4, 2010) covering EU-Member States, Norway and North Macedonia and reporting on progress towards key policy…

Our latest research assesses Metro Milwaukee's progress on a range of metrics associated with knowledge and innovation. We find our region has made strides in increasing educational attainment levels and adding scientists, engineers, and technology workers to the regional talent pool. Yet, the news is not as encouraging with regard to…

The Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges, will annually provide the State Board of Education with The Workforce Training and Economic Development (WTED) Fund Annual Progress Report. Administration and oversight responsibility for the fund was transferred from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to the Iowa Department of…

Although skill shortages are often portrayed as a significant problem for the Australian economy, there is surprisingly little evidence about their prevalence, causes and consequences. It is difficult to find robust evidence about where skill shortages occur, why they occur, what businesses try to do about them and whether their responses are…

This paper presents the recruiting trends for 2010-2011. This year's report is based on nearly 5,800 respondents, of which approximately 4,600 provided useable information, and 3,714 included complete hiring figures used for the projections. Despite the gloomy national labor market situation, the college segment of the market is poised to rebound…

While the Milwaukee region's economic base is rooted in its manufacturing history, many believe that the region's future prosperity will be tied to its ability to successfully transition its economy into one that is based on knowledge and innovation. Indeed, fostering innovation has become the call to action for business and political leaders…

In the context of the UK government's target of 50% participation by young people in higher education, issues relating to the use of graduates in firms assume renewed significance. Increasing attention is paid to the potential for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to absorb a larger number of new graduates. With reference to the…

Small businesses employ slightly more than half of the private sector work force. In many ways, such as education, race, origin, age, and part-time status, the small business work force differs from that of larger enterprises (Author)

The authors were the principals in the evaluation of the Prince's Trust's Young People's Business Start-up Programme, 1994?1999, as it operated nationally in the UK and in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. In this paper they report the methodologies used in the evaluation and the key findings. They then use their reflections on both…

The social, economic and political systems of former communist countries have faced considerable changes since the late 1980s. Most countries in Eastern and Central Europe have undergone their own individual brand of transition from a centrally planned, command system to a more or less liberalized, Western-style market economy. Many observers…

Academic researchers are increasingly recognizing the potential of graduates to influence management decisions in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper focuses on a detailed qualitative study which looked at graduates who had obtained employment in SMEs in the East Anglia region of England. It examines the skills, competences and…

This report documents the relationship between the supply of reliable, affordable, accessible child care and the health of Vermont's economy. The child care industry is a growing part of the Vermont economy, pumping money into local communities by supporting working families, creating jobs, and generating taxes through employment and the purchase…

Studies show that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are reluctant to employ graduates and to up-skill existing employees. The cultural barriers exemplified by this unwillingness limit the ability of SMEs to exploit new knowledge and innovate. In conjunction with its goal of producing a "knowledge economy" the UK government is committed to…

In contemporary China, there are two far-reaching developments that impact directly on graduate employment: (a) a highly entrepreneurial and rapidly growing small business sector and (b) a rapidly expanding higher education sector. Paradoxically, while the small business sector continues to suffer from acute skills shortages, new graduates are…

Technology and knowledge transfer from universities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is seen as one way to strengthen a region's innovation capability. But what if SMEs do not want to play along? Looking back at some 10 years' experience of supporting SMEs, the authors describe in detail the 'Active Knowledge Transfer' programme, which…