This paper provides a critical analysis of the Chartered Institute for Management of Sport and Physical Activity's (CIMSPA) transformative aspirations for UK Higher Education (HE) based Sport and Physical Activity Vocational Education and Training (SPAVET) provision. In doing so, we apply selected elements of Giddens' Structuration theory to offer…

E-learning is of increasing importance in delivering flexible and distributed programmes for workforce skill development such as induction, product knowledge, systems compliance, and customer service. This research consists of a desktop exploratory review of e-learning concepts, policies, surveys, and a set of proposals and recommendations from…

Purpose: This paper aims to report on a project re-imagining of a Level 1 English-model broad vocational curriculum for low-attaining youth. The project, funded by Rothschild, has sought to develop a knowledge rich and engaging curriculum, which is more consistent with notions of social justice than contemporary low-level vocational curricula.…

The loss of jobs in the automotive manufacturing industry, together with a more general decline of the manufacturing industry in Australia, has implications for the types of skills needed in the labour market. Both of these scenarios affect particular groups of people, such as displaced car workers, but within that category other groups such as…

Vocational training systems that take the needs of the word of work seriously and maintain strong and dynamic connections with it are faced to growing complexity and instability. Some countries try to cope with this through creating new mediation mechanisms between the systems of training and work that allow higher level complexity while…

In a global and increasingly "knowledge-driven" economy where even semi-skilled jobs require qualifications, what may be done with and for young people whose attainment in school is low? This article draws on recent research with head teachers, college principals and administrators in English local authorities, combined with material…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse what retail and hospitality industry employers want from training and trainers. Design/methodology/approach: The research project was undertaken for Service Skills Australia, the Australian Industry Skills Council that oversees formal training for a range of service industries in…

Purpose: Disparities in learning opportunities endure. This paper aims to investigate whether the learning representative schemes in the UK and New Zealand (NZ) may redress disparate opportunities for learning. Design/methodology/approach: An interview study of UK trade unions' educational officers and an interview study of representatives of…

This paper proposes and discusses the need for research into foundation degrees which have been specifically developed for teaching assistants. This is necessary to develop knowledge and understanding due to the deficiency of pertinent research and potential consequences to all those involved. All relevant parties, from policy makers to…

Employability skills are central to gaining and keeping employment (e.g. whether paid or unpaid, as an employee or self employed) as well as career progression. The lack of such skills is regularly referred to as one reason for the United Kingdom's often cited long tail of underachievement. Employability skills are at the forefront of government…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyse the conceptual approaches to competence and practice in competence management in France. Design/methodology/approach: Extensive literature review, discussion with academic experts in the French competence network of AGRH and interviews concerning developments following the 2003 national agreement…

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…

The unprecedented extent of privatisation of provision in the school system on a for-profit basis is clearly one of the most significant transformations accomplished by the Blair government. However, another aspect of private sector involvement has proved much more problematic: the direct involvement of employers in the formation of the future…

Purpose: This paper seeks to investigate the provision of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Small Ethnic Minority Businesses (SEMBs) operating in the West Midlands region of the UK. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach is employed, involving in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 66 owner/managers of small ethnic minority…

An international comparison study investigated the organisation and management of continuing higher education (CHE) in Germany, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Austria and the United States of America. CHE is compared on the system level (boundaries between traditional study programmes and CHE, linking of CHE and vocational training,…