In Finland, doctoral employment outside the academy has been increasing. Universities can no longer absorb the numbers in the doctoral labour force and research and development (R&D) policy emphasises the need for specialised research capacity in non-academic sectors; the highest academic degree is assumed to add value. However, the transition…

Recent criticism of higher education accreditation has prompted calls for reform and sparked interest in piloting alternative quality assurance methods that better address student learning and employment outcomes. Although this debate has brought much needed attention to improving the outcomes of graduates and safeguarding federal investment in…

The report gives an overview of an expert consultation on the role and future of education and skills in the digital world. It looks at which skills are important and necessary to undertake the different types of jobs available, and what skills we need to be thinking of developing now and in the future. It explores how we ensure that people are…

For native and nonnative English speakers, employment increasingly requires proficiency in communication, given its critical role in employees' ability to successfully carry out work-related activities. Although communicating competently is important for employability, survey findings have suggested that employers believe that colleges are not…

Social work programs shape the profession through their admission practices. A stakeholder analysis of a baccalaureate social work program was conducted to seek stakeholder perspectives on admission practices through interviews and focus groups with 53 participants representing seven stakeholder groups. Results suggest that external stakeholders…

In this paper, we describe the use of ePortfolios at a public, land-grant university and document how the ePortfolio has been used to develop more authentic learning experiences. We discuss the best practices for ePortfolios and its varied use as a teaching and learning tool. In addition, we discuss the challenges of implementing ePortfolios. For…

How can we dramatically increase the number of low income young people who graduate high school and earn a postsecondary credential by age 25? One strategy that reaches beyond traditional education boundaries is gaining traction: broad regional partnerships that bring together K-12 school districts and higher education with workforce development,…

The basic idea of the research was to take advantage of IT and establish a direct contact between businesses (employers) and universities in order to exchange relevant data on the knowledge, skills and competencies of students who got their first job in the economy. We used the best practices from previous papers that dealt with designing web…

Amanda Arbouin breaks new ground in documenting the learning and employment of black graduates in the UK. Ten British graduates of African Caribbean heritage review their education, both compulsory and post-compulsory, and their careers. They relate how they navigated the obstructions and microaggressions encountered while pursuing academic…

With the release of this comprehensive new report, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership has provided the mentoring field with important new data about the scope of mentoring in the United States. This report advances what is understood about mentoring in several important ways. First, it moves beyond a simple head count to explore Americans'…

The aim of this article is to explore the historical context of vocationalism in universities. It is based on an analysis of the history of the university from a vocational perspective. It looks for evidence of vocational engagement in the activities of universities over time, taking a long view from the birth of the Western University in the…

In the past decade successive UK governments have placed a strong emphasis on, and renewed interest in, the role of higher education in skills development. In the light of recent skills policy developments in England and drawing upon the findings of an empirical qualitative study of specific workforce development initiatives and previous research,…

This article examines collaborative initiatives individual foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) develop with China's vocational education and training (VET) schools amid localised shortages of skilled workers. It thus focuses on employer initiatives in responding to VET system weaknesses rather than, as is common, those weaknesses. Using Suzhou…

Dysfunctional leaders suffocate others with coercive power and ego, are unpredictable, and often lack self-awareness about their dysfunction. Dysfunctional leaders are incredibly difficult to work with and can cause a series of cascading personal consequences for employees who work with them. This Perspectives in Human Resource Development essay…

This article examines what has happened to training in public sector organisations in the UK in a period of austerity. It draws on individual-level data collected over the period 2000-2012 and establishment-level data collected from employer surveys carried out between 2005 and 2012. To understand these data further, 75 qualitative interviews with…