Along with demographic change and advances in technology, the transition to green skills is one of a number of mega trends set to transform the economy and labour market. These shifts are also interconnected. The need for "green skills" is therefore not just about new green jobs, but also greening existing roles, increasing economic…

A "crisis account" of shortages of well-qualified scientists, engineers, mathematicians and technologists has shaped education policy in the UK and the USA for decades. The apparent poor quality of school science education along with insufficient numbers of well-qualified teachers have been linked to skills shortages by government and…

Despite a recent economic downturn, there is considerable political and industry pressure to retain or even increase the number of scientists in the UK and other developed countries. Claims are made that the supply of scientists (including engineers and mathematicians) is crucial to the economy and the health of the nation, and a large number of…

This publication highlights the critical role UK universities will continue to play in reviving and sustaining economic growth across the country. Using a range of visual data and statistics, it highlights that the UK's future success depends on developing innovation and the knowledge economy in what is an increasingly competitive global…

Purpose: This paper aims to demonstrate how science and engineering graduates can be recruited and trained to Masters level in precision engineering as an aid to reducing the skills shortage of mechanical engineers in UK industry. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes a partnership between three UK academic institutions and industry,…

This paper challenges the prevailing conventional wisdom in the UK that the government is the sole architect of the education and training (E&T) system and that qualifications are the magic bullet for securing employment in the creative and cultural sector. It also argues that if policy-makers are serious about wanting to diversify 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…

The hotel and catering industry in the United Kingdom is estimated to have employed 2,392,000 people in 1990--about 9 percent of the total work force in employment in the country. These figures came from a major study into the skills needs of the hotel and catering industry in relation to the current provision of vocational education. Data are…

Researchers studied current and projected needs for engineering technicians in the United Kingdom, the match between training supply and demand, and trends in direct recruitment to Level 3 engineering training in order to identify models of best practice for promoting the uptake of engineering technician training. The following data collection…

This paper focuses on the demand for and supply of intermediate-level vocational skills within the United Kingdom (UK) economy. Using existing research from surveys and case studies, Part One argues that there is a lack of evidence that widespread intermediate-skill shortages exist within the expanding service sector. In the manufacturing sector,…

This book analyzes the transformation of British higher education from a closed, elite university system into an open, mass post-secondary education system. It sees the changes in British higher education as stemming from: (1) the rapid expansion in the number of students that created pressures for a shift to a mass, open post-secondary education…

The skills and education/training implications of the development of electronic commerce in the United Kingdom's retail industry and its associated supply chain were examined. The major data collection activities were as follows: a literature review; consultation with leading academics and advisers; an e-mail-based call for information from…

To address the skills shortages stemming from the transition to a more technological and skills-intensive economy, Congress established a program whereby funds from H-1B visa fees would provide seed funds for private companies, labor, and government to join together in creating training alliances focused on skills in short supply. Unfortunately,…

The extent to which providers of post-16 vocational education and training (VET) in the United Kingdom are able to secure timely and relevant learning programs to meet sudden and unpredicted changes in local or national skills profiles was examined in a study that included interviews of nine private training providers and 11 further education (FE)…