Higher education opens doors to job enhancement and economic benefits to adult learners. Despite facing multiple barriers such as life-work-school time conflicts and financial constraints, adult learners continue to seek higher education and certifications. Rural employers also benefit from supporting degree completion or job-specific…

As the UK's economy grows, in the context of global change, the needs of employers, employees and learners will also change. For the UK to prosper economically, compete internationally, and reduce economic disparities, the UK's skills base will need to be responsive and meet these changing needs. More flexible learning approaches have the…

This book presents the most comprehensive discussion of emerging trends in higher education in the Asia Pacific, ranging from graduate attributes to integrated workplace learning, with an in-depth focus on work readiness, employability and career development. It draws on the relationship between graduate attributes and employability, as well as…

The credential landscape of vocational and higher education in the UK has expanded in recent years, alongside a rise in the number of students undertaking qualifications and a steady increase in tuition fees. The transition from an apprenticeship to higher education is one example of the progression from vocational to higher education. However,…

Why are progression rates for Advanced Apprentices so low? Previous research points to a range of supply-side and demand-side barriers. Fundamentally, many employers do not exhibit the sort of demand for higher-level skills that could be used to justify the level of investment required. And, in some cases, employers just don't realise their…

This pocket guide presents statistics about: (1) the public vocational education and training (VET) system, which includes activity undertaken at technical and further education (TAFE) institutes, other government providers, community education providers and publicly funded delivery by private providers; (2) apprentices and trainees, who are…

This article examines internships as part of the apprenticeship model of learning adopted in higher education. We focus on employers' views on internships, which have hitherto received only limited attention. Our study explores employers' experiences in organizing internships, and their collaboration with one University of Applied Sciences,…

The purpose of this article is to begin an exploration into the value of certification preparation programs in high skills lifelong learning, specifically in the field of business and management. This segment of lifelong learning is often referred to as executive and professional education (EPE). As professions and skills are made obsolete in the…

This report reviews the engagement of older learners (defined as those aged 50 and over) in education and training with particular reference to their involvement in higher education. The ageing of populations was one of the most important trends in the 20th century and will raise major challenges in this century. Appended are: (1) Selected UK…

This paper presents the main results obtained from 40 in-depth interviews with persons in charge of human resources and/or company directors, and from a questionnaire targeting 872 companies surveyed from a data base of the 5,000 main Spanish companies. The objectives of this paper are the following: first, to identify the competencies required of…

Research messages 2010 is a collection of summaries of research projects published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The summaries are clustered under five broad themes used by NCVER to organise its research and analysis: Industry and employers; Students and individuals; Teaching and learning: VET system; and VET in…

The paper takes into discussion the issue of quality of higher education services, from the perspective of graduates and employers as main beneficiaries of higher education services, by putting face to face expectations of students at graduation with employers' requirements. In the two surveys conducted in 2006 in Romania, both graduates and…

This article presents the findings of a study catalysed by the outcomes of research into the attitudes and perceptions of UK undergraduate students of tourism management in relation to the need for foreign language skills, reported and discussed in a previous paper in this journal (Leslie et al, 2002). While that earlier study paid some attention…

This report contains the results of a pilot survey of employer satisfaction with Connecticut's public college graduates from the class of 2003 conducted by the Department of Higher Education (DHE) in the spring of 2005. The project was part of a four-state project entitled, "Defining Best Practices for Responsible Accountability Models in…