In this article, we examine how policy documents from three European countries -- the Netherlands, Germany and England -- position a key outcome of higher education: the development of high-level professionals. Our findings show significant differences between the policies in the three countries in terms of in definitions of high-level…

Germany has a strong skill development system. The country's 15-year-old students performed above the OECD average in the last (2018) edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), continuing a trend of significant improvement since PISA's first edition in 2000. Its adult population also has above-average literacy and…

Vocational education and training (VET) in Germany is based on close cooperation between the State, companies and social partners. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is responsible for general VET policy issues and has a coordinating role for all training occupations. The BMBF works closely with the Federal Institute for…

After consistently bad results in every PISA test (Programme for International Student Assessment) and an accompanying prediction of lack of skills in its future workforce, Germany might be on track for losing out in international competition. Because of PISA's overwhelming marketing presence, its results are a major political influence. The OECD…

Just over a decade ago, an OECD "Starting Strong" team reviewed the system of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Germany. Regarding the staffing of early childhood provision and referring in particular to resistance at the political level to raise the formal qualification level of educators in alignment with European trends,…

In this era of global competition, human resources will play a decisive role in the battle for efficiency and competitive advantage, where nations and organisations with superior and quality-oriented human capital will soon outperform those with inefficient and quantity-oriented labour force. Rate of human capital formation will be more important…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2013, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1 to 3 of June. Education, in a global sense, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and acts. One of the…

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a…

While Article 128 of the Treaty of Rome very clearly states that a common policy for vocational training should be developed, this policy has never come to fruition. This is largely due to resistance from Germany and France, which already possessed highly developed vocational training systems. But the failure can also be attributed to the clash…

Increasing enterprises' expenditure on their employees' vocational education and training (VET) is of concern for governments in many countries. This article identifies and discusses policy goals for increased enterprise expenditure on VET and elaborates options for achieving these goals. Throughout, measures that attempt to mandate and regulate…

Human capital is one of the central strategic factors in the location of production facilities in Germany. It can be formed and maintained only by qualified basic education, vocational training, and further training. The best possible and continuously updated qualifications are necessary and advantageous for the individual as well. Unskilled…

Short-term forecasting methods for assessing the number of students finishing schooling in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are reviewed. Types of data that are available for each country are discussed, as well as suggestions for data that need to be collected for more efficient forecasting. (Author/IS)

The long-term economic and social impacts of the rise in levels of education on mechanisms of access to employment and on human resources management were examined in a comparative study of educational expansion and the labor markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, with special reference to the United States. Five teams of…

Representatives of the School-to-Work Roundtable studied education systems and work force training programs in Denmark and Germany. The group visited vocational schools, technical colleges, and firms sponsoring apprentices in Copenhagen and Munich and spoke with students, teachers, and mentors in apprenticeships in metalworking, textiles,…

Although education and training should be a source of relative advantage for Australia, the competitive benefits expected from the nation's "clever country" strategy have been slow to emerge. When 22 countries including Australia, Germany, Singapore, the United Kingdom, United States, and New Zealand were compared from the standpoint of…