Reducing the number of vocational qualifications available is a current or recent priority area of many VET [vocational education and training] systems internationally, but what is the best way to achieve this and is there anything that needs to be considered? Focusing on cases studies on New Zealand, England, Finland and the Netherlands, this…

Purpose: This paper reviews changing government policy on adult education in England over the past 20 years and the funding regimes affecting adult and community learning and union-led learning, which play a major role in learning opportunities for socially excluded adults. Design/methodology/approach: A review and analysis of extant literature,…

This study focused on people in Dorset and Somerset with low qualifications, meaning those with at most a lower secondary qualification who experience a high risk of poverty and social exclusion, and explored green job opportunities that exist for them, including those that would require reskilling (training to obtain different skills) or…

Hiring people with a higher-level education is an increasingly urgent priority for business. This is because our economy and the world of work is changing, making more flexible and new routes to higher-level education more important than ever. The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) most recent education and skills survey found as a result…

Using vignettes, this study compares employers' assessments of matched and mismatched job applicants in England and the Netherlands. It contributes to the overeducation literature in several ways. First, matching is measured from the perspective of employers, who are better informed about job requirements than employees. Second, overeducated…

This report explores the links between trade unions and workplace training, and the potential benefits of social partnership in the skills system. The UK is relatively unusual in having no formal role for trade unions in the training system. In most advanced economies, trade unions and employers work alongside government in shaping the skills…

"Vocationalism in Further and Higher Education" presents a collection of research-based papers on the 'English model' of vocationalism and higher education. It argues that negative societal and political perceptions have hindered the debate about the significance and relevance of vocational education and training provision to learning,…

This paper explores the perceptions of professionals working with young people who are NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) about their role in young people's trajectories. The issue of professionally and educationally inactive young people is a growing concern in Western economies and has been at the forefront of government agendas for…

The research examined the effects on participants of an employment enhancement programme (EEP), which was delivered by a work-integration social enterprise in an area of high unemployment in the South-East of England. The EEP was designed to increase the employability of young people aged 16-24 years who are not in employment, education or…

Entry to Employment (E2E) is a work-based learning programme aimed at 16-19 year-olds in England deemed not yet ready for employment, an apprenticeship or further education and training. Taking into account educational, social and personal circumstances which are often severely disadvantaged, it aspires to provide these young people with training…

Purpose: Though the notion of competence is common terminology in European VET policy at national and supra-national level, understandings vary widely, both across countries and within. The particular conceptions of competence adopted in the EQF are themselves problematic and the framework allows for a variety of interpretations. The purpose of…

Examines Britain's General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) from four perspectives: ideological tensions in government policy and cultural values; relationship between GNVQs and the new managerialism in postcompulsory education; GNVQs, the labor market, and upskilling; and the importance of addressing wider educational issues beyond…

Indepth interviews with informants revealed four interrelated policy tensions during development of the UK's General National Vocational Qualifications: the tendency to favor academic over vocational education, potential conflict between long-term strategic imperatives and short-term political objectives, employment and education departments'…

This book presents young people's views, understanding, and opinions on a range of issues related to learning, employment, and the world of work in England. They are compared with the statements and policies of those responsible for education, training, and employment. Chapter 1 explores education, training, and employment options open to young…

The factors responsible for the atypical success experienced by some English further education (FE) colleges were examined through case studies of eight FE colleges that have managed to extend their high-quality vocational education and training (VET) provision in recent years. The 8 colleges were selected from only 56 identified as having…