This paper draws on longitudinal birth cohort data for Britain to analyse participation in learning activities by people in their 30s and 40s. People in this age group have received less attention than either young adults or people in retirement. Yet technical change and the need for new skills make it important for them to engage in learning to…

Understanding what constitutes learning across working life and how negotiating worklife transitions can be best supported has never been more important for working age adults, their workplaces and communities. The kinds and frequencies of changes in occupational and workplace requirements have consequences for personal goals, workplace viability…

The Foundation Skills Framework (FSF) is a work-based model developed in 1999 in response to a need for common language and understanding of the skills needed by Pennsylvania's workforce. Through funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE), the original project was designed to…

This chapter sets out to introduce some theoretical reflections on the employability construct in adult and higher education. At the same time, it illustrates some perspectives for educational action through the presentation of career service activities aimed at the development of transversal skills.

This chapter applies a Welfare Regimes framework to further examine the processes of domestic adaptation to the Youth Guarantee (YG) in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Belgium, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom. It connects the evidence from Chaps. 9 [ED616380]-17 [ED616377] to selected Welfare State Regimes' (WSRs)…

Purpose: This paper reviews changing government policy on adult education in England over the past 20 years and the funding regimes affecting adult and community learning and union-led learning, which play a major role in learning opportunities for socially excluded adults. Design/methodology/approach: A review and analysis of extant literature,…

Background/Context: Postsecondary education plays a central role in income and wealth mobility (Chetty et al., 2017) and in buffering individuals from the negative effects of economic downturns (see recent evidence from BLS, 2019; BLS, 2020). Much of the policy and programmatic focus around college completion has centered on increasing the share…

This article considers how neoliberalism has created a reductionist view of lifelong learning in the UK focused on upskilling workers for the labour market. This critical policy analysis uses Marx's theory of labour-power, as conceptualised by Glenn Rikowski, to examine the Skills and Post-16 Education Act, 2022 and to identify its ideological…

Since the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century, technological advances have driven the workforce's skill set requirements. Rapidly evolving technology, including advanced automation and artificial intelligence, spark organizational needs to thrive in a time of uncertainty and accelerating change. Increasing demands from this highly…

The purpose of this study was to describe occupational therapy services for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to identify continuing education needs. A self-administered questionnaire was structured with guidance from the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, and was disseminated to 70 Jordanian occupational…

Given changes in the 21st century workplace and expectations of employers, the notion that a bachelor's degree is the sole pathway to sustainable employment and a middle-class life in the United States has become obsolete. Many (e.g., Fleming, 2016) have argued that employers are now seeking employees with technical skills, digital literacy, and…

This publication provides a summary of the outcomes of international students who completed a nationally recognised vocational education and training (VET) qualification in Australia during 2019 using data collected in mid-2020. These students were surveyed as an additional component to the 2020 National Student Outcomes Survey. Information is…

Self-governance and responsibilisation are integral to Basic Key Skills Builder (BKSB) assessments and Functional Skills qualifications. However, very little is known of its neoliberalist effects and the governance practices of tutors teaching disengaged youth taking Functional Skills as part of the overall employability certificate. Adopting a…

The new emphasis on vocational skills provides adult education a new raison d'être and presents new developmental dilemmas to the field of adult education. This chapter examines these tensions in light of significant social change that places underqualified adults at great risk to a vicious cycle of marginalization and how adult education will be…

"Research Messages 2020" highlights the diverse range of research activities undertaken over the past year by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). Research published during 2019 encompasses a range of themes and topics categorised according to three broad areas: (1) structures and systems for skilling and…