The aim of the paper is to review scholarly attempts to define or explain vocational education and training and to develop a theoretical model to analyse national definitions or conceptions of VET [vocational education and training] and how they have changed over time. VET takes many forms and is, perhaps, the least unitary of education sectors.…

Inequality in adult learning and education (ALE) participation has been reported by previous comparative studies. In doing so, however, most of efforts have been made to understand such patterns of inequality in ALE participation at the micro-level using a conceptual approach based on human capital theory. While the micro-level approach offers an…

Purpose: The paper explores the relationship between vocational education and training (VET), the labour market and social justice in the current conjuncture. Approach: The paper adopts an approach rooted in critical policy analysis. It consequently sets the discussion within the wider socio-economic and political context. Such an approach enables…

The global financial and economic crisis has led to alarmingly high unemployment and underemployment in many European Union (EU) countries. Yet, surveys still find that more than one in three employers has problems filling vacancies. The latest European company survey, in spring 2013, found that about 40% of firms across the EU had difficulties…

The transition from school to work can be a difficult period associated with spells of unemployment. Data show that those who leave school early have comparatively low skills and low educational attainment and face the greatest challenges in the labour market compared to their peers who stayed in education longer. Efforts should be made to ensure…

Across OECD countries, more and more individuals have attained tertiary education and the share of those with less education has declined. Although there are more tertiary-educated individuals than ever before, they still achieve good labour market outcomes. This confirms that labour market demand is generally keeping pace with rising educational…

The science and engineering (S&E) labor force helps to create and advance our scientific and technological knowledge, transform these advances into goods and services, and fuel America's economy, security, and quality of life. This report details several aspects of the U.S. S&E workforce, including growth, demographic makeup, earnings, and…

The number of young people who are not in employment, education and training -- NEET, as this group has become widely known as -- is a key indicator on the state of youth labour markets and opportunities for young people more generally. The persistence and, in the years following the global financial crisis, growth of this group of young people is…

The European Training Foundation (ETF) has been providing regular input to the European Commission in implementing the work programme of the Eastern Partnership, a joint policy initiative aimed at deepening and strengthening relations between the EU, its Member States and its six Eastern Neighbours -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova…

The paper analyses employability as a floating signifier--a construct that accommodates different and often contending meanings. A preliminary analysis of scholarly literature identifies two opposed interpretations of employability--an individual responsibility versus a comprehensive context-aware construct. These are subsequently applied to the…

In February 2011 author Robert Schwartz, along with with two colleagues--economist Ronald Ferguson and journalist William Symonds--released a report, "Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century," which was published by Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. When they…

Pennsylvania and the nation have experienced a deep and traumatic recession and a long, slow, and painful recovery. The evidence presented in this report indicates that the recovery has been longer, slower, and more painful than it needed to be because of misguided policies crafted in Washington D.C. and Harrisburg. Since the end of 2010, as the…

The article analyzes the problem of education's transformation into a business, one that fundamentally changes the mission of higher educational institutions. It focuses attention on the fact that the instability of the activity and the uncertainty of the prospect of development of higher education in this country are reducing the quality of…

Careers work is a very political business. Since the early 1990s, successive governments in England and the Netherlands have persistently challenged those working in the careers sector to demonstrate the educational, social and economic value and impact of their work. In this context, the marketisation of career guidance policies and practices has…

California's higher education system is not keeping up with the economy's changing needs, and California stands to face a large skills gap by 2030--it will be 1.1 million workers with bachelor's degrees short of economic demand. Closing the gap will require increasing the number of degrees awarded by every higher education sector in the state. New…