This article explores the relationship between school mathematics qualifications and the transition into employment. As part of a large-scale, three-year independent evaluation of pilot qualifications in 14-19 school mathematics, all 39 Sector Skills Councils and Employment Skills Boards in the UK were invited to provide evidence regarding their…

Purpose: This paper aims to report the results of a replication study of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness within a Romanian public sector hospital, and to discuss the extent to which they are similar to and different from findings from equivalent studies carried out in two British NHS Trust hospitals. Design/methodology/approach:…

The Learning and Skills Network's (LSN's) think tank, the Centre for Innovation in Learning, in association with the 157 Group, the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) and the Association of Colleges (AoC), has undertaken timely and important research into how to support and improve employer engagement in the further education (FE) and skills…

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has said his three priorities in office will be "localism, localism and localism". What does localism mean for local democracy and, with swingeing funding cuts in the offing, what can one do to ensure the relevance of adult learning to the localism agenda is…

In the UK policies such as the Children's Plan 2008-2020 through to Promoting the Emotional Health of Children and Young People (2010) identify that professionals such as teachers, youth workers, social workers and youth offending specialists, do not have the necessary underpinning knowledge to adequately support children and young people's…

Purpose: UK government strategies for higher education (HE) continue to emphasise the promotion and enhancement of students' employability skills and subsequent graduate opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to explore what this means for those HE learners already in work. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the findings of a…

The National Strategic Skills Audit by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills found that one in eight adults of working age has no qualifications; more than a quarter are not qualified to Level 2; and almost a half are not qualified to above Level 2. The CBI report, "Ready to grow: business priorities for education and skills,"…

Co-investment between the state, employer, and employee is an intrinsic feature of most vocational and education training systems. The government's strategy is to "profoundly" shift responsibility for funding learning and skills from the state to individuals and businesses. At a time of stringent cuts in publicly-funded further education…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine conceptual and theoretical links between intuition and coaching; investigate accomplished coaches' practical experiences of intuition; identify skill set of an intuitive coach; discuss implications of findings for coaches', HRD professionals', and line managers' learning and development.…

Purpose: The first purpose of this paper is to review the practical and theoretical distinctions between training and development in the organisational psychology and human resource development (HRD) literatures. Then the paper seeks to investigate how managers responsible for the training and development function conceptualise these activities in…

This paper examines the ways in which credentials from a range of education providers are used to (re)produce transnational financial elites in London's international financial district. Extant research has examined the long-standing relationship between educational background and entry into these financial labour markets. Far less attention has…

Based on a literature review from English language journals related to the field of human resource development (HRD), the conceptual framework for this study was derived from the models developed by American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) for HRD practice. This study compared and analyzed the similarities and differences in HRD roles,…

Despite a vocal commitment to fairness, the British Government has, according to these authors, wholeheartedly failed to live up to this pledge when it comes to skills and adult training. A report on adult learning released in December by Demos found a system rife with inequality and contradictions. As the jobs market becomes increasingly…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues around a multiple generational workforce and more specifically, the challenges and benefits for education providers and employers. Design/methodology/approach: Reviewing research papers, analysing academic texts, interrogating market intelligence and contextualising case studies, the…

This report looks at the future opportunities and challenges facing the UK university research base and makes recommendations as to how the system can respond to these. It comes at a time when the UK has elected its first coalition government for 70 years and is facing unprecedented economic challenges. The report is aimed at policy makers…