This spotlight discusses the critical role of immigrants in the U.S. labor market and the importance of services that support their economic integration. Immigrants represent a significant and growing portion of the U.S. workforce and are essential for addressing labor market needs, especially in multilingual and diverse roles. The workforce…

In the globalized labor market, skills gaps between industry expectations and university preparation are becoming more prevalent. English communication skills (ECS) are vital soft skills in all workplaces, particularly in international business, where English is commonly used as a lingua franca. This case study examined the nexus between academia…

This study explores the ecosystemic impacts of higher education (HE) on the economies of African countries, emphasizing the need for competence-based, and skills-demand-driven standards in collaboration with industry. HE is vital for equipping individuals with essential knowledge and skills for socio-economic transformation. However, in Africa,…

This publication provides data and insights into all nationally recognised vocational education and training (VET) delivered in 2024 by Australian registered training providers (RTOs). In 2024, 5.1 million students were enrolled in VET, up 1.8% from 2023, and comprising an estimated 26.6% of Australia's resident population aged 15 to 64 years.…

In a society where individuals can control their own destiny, socioeconomic origins would have little bearing on educational outcomes or earnings prospects. This ideal has driven the work of generations of Illinois educators, activists, policymakers, and employers, and it animates current statewide efforts to provide equal opportunities and…

This article critically examines the early career experiences and mid-career outcomes of domestic and international doctoral graduates from public German universities in the social sciences and humanities over two decades. We develop triadic thought as a spatial theory to conceptualise professional careers as situated coproductions in the complex…

Purpose: The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Niche-1 is a specialised programme that Bangladesh Open University (BOU) offers. Between 2014 and 2024, over 48,000 soldiers from the Bangladesh army were enrolled in this programme, with an average pass rate of 90.86% over the past decade. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the…

This study examines the critical role of quality standards in improving work-integrated learning (WIL) outcomes in Africa. As higher education institutions increasingly adopt WIL to enhance graduate employability, inconsistencies in quality assurance frameworks and limited industry collaboration hinder their effectiveness. Using a systematic…

Despite unprecedented demand for digital media skills many digital media graduates struggle to transition into employment because of the gap between university pedagogy and real-world professional practice. Traditionally, studio-based learning has been used to give students authentic experiences of the non-linear, interactive cycle of feedback,…

Imagine what education would look like if upon completion every graduate was guaranteed a job paying a living wage, democratically created, doing meaningful work… This is a political possibility in most countries in the world today: Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) demonstrates that, provided a country has sovereignty over its currency, which most now…

This paper explores the experiences of educators in Australia with doctoral qualifications and how they perceive their knowledge and research skills to be valued and leveraged as legitimate funds of knowledge in school environments. Findings from an online survey and four semi-structured interviews provoke further consideration of how teachers'…

Background: Engineering curricula are built around faculty and accreditors' perceptions of what knowledge, skills, and abilities graduates will need in engineering careers. However, the people making these decisions may not be fully aware of what industry employers require for engineering graduates. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study is…

In work-based learning (WBL), autodidactic, informal, nonformal, and formal approaches to learning are viewed not as dichotomous, distinct, or divergent spheres along a continuum but as intersected and clustered spheres. In WBL, prior learning, professional development, advanced standing, and other forms of learning are therefore formally…

The problem addressed in this study is that the performance of biomedical (BioMed) equipment technician (BMET) graduates from online programs is inferior to that of graduates from traditional vocational institutions. The purpose of this qualitative Delphi study was to build consensus among a panel of BioMed career field experts on key performance…

Context: Active engagement and participation in professional practices are an important requirement for expertise development in vocational domains. However, not much is known about how work contexts foster or hinder such expertise development. To further fill this research gap, this study investigates two vocational domains, namely sales…