Employability is rapidly becoming a primary aim of PhD programmes. Internships have been shown to maximise students' chances of employment; however, there is limited evidence for how relevant this approach is to social science PhD students. This article reports on a mixed methods study, designed to utilise secondary and primary programme…

Learning and Work Institute (L&W) was commissioned by the Department for Education to identify and illustrate effective practice in the delivery of English, maths and digital skills across a range of traineeship and/or apprenticeship providers, and to identify any practices that are particularly effective for learners with learning…

This is the first large-scale survey of young people's views on communication skills in the UK. The purpose of this survey was three-fold. Since a search of the published literature had highlighted real gaps in knowledge, the author and her colleagues wanted answers to the following questions: What do young people think about communication skills?…

Literacy is the combination of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills we all need to fulfil our potential. These life skills are essential to the happiness, health and wealth of individuals and society. "Literacy: State of the Nation" provides a coherent picture of literacy in the UK today. It reveals that: (1) One in six people…

This paper reports on an investigation into the workplace writing of university lecturers as a significant element of their professional practice. The research has focused on lecturers' routine, everyday writing, as opposed to their more prestigious or scholarly writing. In order to gain an understanding of writing as professional practice, about…

Since the publication of the Moser Report in 1999, improving the basic skills of adults has been a major priority for all of the UK's governments. There has been a particular interest in building up workplace provision, because of the assumed relationship between the basic skills of the employed population and productivity. A longitudinal study…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how knowledge of different kinds is put to work in workplace education programmes for adults with low skills and adults with higher skills. A novel framework, which has moved beyond narrow conceptions of "transfer" to concentrate on different forms of knowledge and the ways these are…

We argue that the Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers, with its dual emphasis on literacy and occupational skills, can serve as a new model for writing classrooms and writing program administrators. We further contend that the "contact zone" classroom should be replaced with community-based "federations."…

Research (Martin, 2008) has shown that speaking and listening are the literacy skills most used in the world of work. Yet, employers frequently bemoan the lack of young people's communication skills, with many believing that it impacts their chances of making it through an interview and their future employability (Simon, 2009). Effective speaking…

As the importance of information literacy has gained increased recognition, so too have academic library professionals intensified their efforts to champion, activate, and advance these capabilities in others. To date, however, little attention has focused on advancing these essential competencies amongst practitioner advocates. This paper helps…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the value and learning potential of work-based projects to both worker-researchers and their organisations. Design/methodology/approach: Within the School of Health, Community and Education Studies at Northumbria University, work-based learning (WBL) programmes are becoming increasingly important as…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate some of the kinds of formal and informal workplace training activities that workers with low literacy engage in from different parts of Canada and the United Kingdom. The study employed a multi-site case study research design with 31 employees and 18 instructors from seven different types of…

A joint project carried out by Leeds University and Loughborough University, funded by JISC, studied the information literacy of non academic staff in higher education. The in-depth, qualitative study deployed an information audit, interviews and focus groups with eleven staff in the Finance and Research Departments at Loughborough University. The…

Purpose: This paper seeks to examine workplace learning strategies, learning facilitators and learning barriers of public accountants in Canada across three professional levels--trainees, managers, and partners. Design/methodology/approach: Volunteer participants from public accounting firms in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick completed a demographic…

This paper provides a comparative account of two conceptualisations of pleasure. The first draws on Foucault's analysis of bio-power. The second provides a phenomenological account where pleasure is viewed as an aspect of our immediate consciousness. These conceptualisations are illuminated through an analysis of employees' accounts of learning at…