Just decades ago, the internet was an entirely new concept, but it's become second nature for billions of people and is now embedded into daily life across the world. While the internet is old news, there are recent technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and the cloud that have gone from niche, specialized roles in the global…

This report shares data in the following categories as they relate to graduates in Ontario's economy: (1) Matching skills to employer needs: pathways, entrepreneurship, and innovation; (2) Ontario's college graduate advantage compared to the U.S.; (3) Ontario's post-secondary graduates in the world economy; (4) Educational attainment and…

The main focus of the paper is on youth unemployment and wider transitions into work, but it also has some thoughts on adult unemployment and re-training. This paper is founded upon a basic assumption -- namely that if the public money available across the United Kingdom to support measures around skills and unemployment is finite, then targeting…

Apprenticeships are a great way to combine learning and earning and meet employers' skills needs. That is why they have a long history dating back several centuries, though today's apprenticeships have a wider focus including on all ages, a range of levels, and existing as well as new employees. Changes in the economy, and the importance of skills…

Streamlining the vocational qualification development process in Australia is a current priority of the skills ministers of both the Australian Government and state and territory governments. This research summary explores the development processes associated with vocational qualifications in selected countries and compares them with the current…

This project is focused on the second element noted by the Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) to streamline the national vocational education and training (VET) system so that it can better respond to the needs of industry -- faster development of qualifications. It looks at the vocational qualification development processes in different…

In the 2015 general election campaign David Cameron celebrated the success of apprenticeships during the Coalition and promised another 3 million. This article argues that the "reinvention" of apprenticeships has neither created real skills nor provided real alternatives for young people and that the UK schemes fall far short of those in…

An important driver of change in work, employment and skills is European Union policy aims of sustainable economic growth and the cultivation of a green economy. Part of the latter--which is supported by increasing environmental regulation--focuses on the development of a "green skills agenda," which involves the "greening" of…

To reduce high unemployment among their young people, countries are looking to others for help. During the economic downturn, some countries have performed better and youth unemployment has remained relatively low, for example in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. This has been attributed in part to their apprenticeships or "dual'"…

A university degree is regarded as the "gold standard" to set young people up for their future careers, but it may not be the best path for potential graduates and others. With the ever increasing debt burden faced by graduates, and a glut of graduates in the labour market, might there be another option? This report looks at the…

Learning and Work Institute (L&W) was commissioned by the Department for Education to identify and illustrate effective practice in the delivery of English, maths and digital skills across a range of traineeship and/or apprenticeship providers, and to identify any practices that are particularly effective for learners with learning…

Intermediaries--also referred to as bridge builders, boundary spanners, conveners, and other names--fill the critical role of connecting all the parties in the system to empower people with the skills required in the labor force. Those parties generally include employers, educators, workers, and prospective workers. Within these categories may…

This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest…

The level of youth unemployment in Nigeria has always been an issue of concern for Focus Learning Support team, particularly in our interactions with foreign students studying in the UK; and also with our dedication in "Making Education Count for the Youths". This paper examines some of the difficulties experienced by young people in…

The UK government aims to increase both the number, and also the status, of workers with intermediate-level skills, with a view to creating a "modern class of technicians" who can help to bolster economic growth and prosperity. This article considers the prospects for such a policy by focusing on one particular, but neglected, group of…