This study addresses the gap in evidence on employability of people from disadvantaged groups in the context of the greening of the economy. We focus in particular on people with low qualifications (i.e. those with at most a lower secondary qualification (level 2 or below in the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED)). However,…

What is the significance of regulations of job contracts and wages when it comes to young people's access to labour market? This is an issue that has attracted and continues to attract a great deal of interest in both research and politics. Proposals for deregulated employment protection and reduced entry-level pay recur regularly in public…

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the times. Many feel powerless to reverse the damage to the planet. The complexities involved in achieving this are without historical precedent. To shift from a global economy that extracts and degrades to one that is reciprocal and sustainable, it must start with education. Pearson asked 5,000…

The current crisis in British VET (Vocational Education and Training) is explained in terms of the decline of opportunities beyond preparation for university for young people after school. The continuing large numbers of "NEETS" (those not in employment, education or training) is but one aspect of this problem: much larger is the decline…

Successive governments, agencies and employer organisations have stressed the need for school leavers to be better prepared for working life, in particular, to achieve what are frequently termed employability skills; schools are expected to contribute to this policy agenda. Some academic commentators, however, criticise the concept of…

When some people think of post-18 education, they only perceive real merit in the traditional university route. The central role that further education (FE) plays in the economy and society is often overlooked and undervalued. In truth, FE for adults, whether in a college, at work, or an informal evening class, not only has the power to improve…

All workplaces are sites in which people learn. To state such a fact still seems fairly revolutionary given that many employers and policymakers tend to restrict the meaning of job-related learning to formal episodes of "training" that can be counted and costed. This view is rooted in a wider perception prevalent in society in general…

Australian research has demonstrated that students with a disability are more likely to remain out of the full-time workforce. These research findings have been the catalyst for a call for a comprehensive career development and transition planning approach for all students with disabilities in schools as well as for employers to rethink the role…

Purpose: The paper alerts small business employers to new dictates of the Disability Discrimination Act (2005) as it applies to learning disabilities. Then the "Learning to Work" project featured in the paper offers small business employers a set of approaches and methods for the identification of a learning-disabled young adult…

A survey of 19 British companies documented their use of education and training programs. Questions covered such areas as (1) expenditure rates, (2) strategy and policies, (3) appraisal and budgeting, and (4) accounting practice. Problems and potential changes were solicited. (CH)

Ethnic minorities in Britain continue to be disadvantaged in the labor market through employment and training discrimination. Government-sponsored programs sometimes extend disadvantage through constant policy changes, contradictory policies, and inefficiency or prejudice in training and employing organizations. (SK)

A series of articles discusses vocational training for youth, employment standards for the disabled, and educational reform movements in the United States. (SK)

This report summarises the findings of the project, The New Duty to Promote Disability Equality. Section 1 describes the individual aim of each site. Section 2 identifies the main themes arising from the project. Section 3 describes how the project findings have been disseminated. Section 4 highlights key messages for organisations working in and…

A four-stage feminist research project investigating European Social Fund (ESF)-funded vocational training for unemployed women used the grounded theory approach. Stage 1 involved the formation of the research questions and design. Steps included the ontological, epistemological, and methodological positioning of the researcher. Stage 2 was the…

This report synthesizes findings of a survey of vocational training measures for women in the nine countries of the Western European community. In the first section, some basic figures are presented on numbers of innovative measures, proportion of women gainfully employed, distribution of employed women among economic sectors, and persons…