Trade unions have a long history of providing learning for their members. After years of decline this flourished after the 1997-2010 Labour government introduced the Union Learning Fund and legal rights for union learning representatives. This article reviews that extraordinary renaissance and discusses how a new Labour government could learn the…

The apprenticeship model of work-based training is often held up as an effective mechanism for enabling individuals to learn specific skills and subsequently transition to employment in a skilled occupation. Over time, technological, regulatory and social changes have affected the training of apprentices. It is in this context that the National…

From the mid-20th C., construction and engineering pedagogy and curricula have moved from long-held traditional experiential apprenticeship approaches to one ostensibly decoupling practice and theory. This paper traces this decoupling and explores modern-day opportunities and challenges for recoupling university education with industry practice.…

The Student Outcomes surveys include a series of questions that focus on the specific skills acquired by former students. Many of the skills are employability skills. The former students who responded to the Student Outcomes surveys were very likely to say their institutions helped them develop skills and that those skills were useful for…

The context of this study was to examine factors contributing to significant workforce shortages in building trades in the United States. As it is, recruitment of qualified skilled trades workers is becoming increasingly difficult due to lack of a pipeline of prospective workers, and training programs. The study assumed a theoretical inquiry…

A significant workforce shortage exists in most skilled trades areas in the U.S., but this is especially true in building and construction trades. The number of jobs in the construction industry is expected to grow by almost 20% between 2008 to 2018, while only growing by 11% for all other industries. With the prospect of significant shortages in…

This supporting document sets out the content analysis technique and detailed findings that underly part of the research conducted for the report titled "VET for secondary school students: acquiring an array of technical and non-technical skills." That report is the first in a set of studies that aims to understand the value of…

This report expands on previous analyses to describe the skills needed to fill infrastructure occupations nationally. More than 14.5 million workers--or 11 percent of the entire U.S. workforce--are employed in infrastructure-related activities, many of which operate different physical assets and extend far beyond construction projects. In turn, a…

Over the past two decades, inner-city communities have witnessed double-digit joblessness among an increasing number of residents who are relegated to the status of the "permanent" unemployed or the permanent underclass. These residents cannot hope to be competitive in a changing and evolving labor market. Relying on public assistance, low-wage…

It seems evident that the prospects of the country's development lie in a balanced model of the sectors and branches of Russia's economy, first and foremost with the creation of high-technology sectors and with higher significance attached to intellectual work and services. In terms of sociology, this task is linked closely to changes in the…

During the recent economic downturn, media and industry reports of skill shortages in the trades continued to appear. The intent of this paper is to examine the evidence for skill shortages in the trades persisting during the economic downturns over the last 20 years, using various indicators. These include employment growth, vacancy rates,…

The purpose of this article is to review the extant literature on women in skilled trades and construction to identify specific gaps in our knowledge of the career development processes and needs of this understudied and underserved population. Our aim is to stimulate the interest of scholars and their engagement in research and practice relevant…

As Australia's economy recovers from the economic downturn, attention is turning once again to skills shortages. To gain insights into the labour market for tradespeople, this report investigates changes in supply, demand and how adjustment occurred through the varied economic conditions of the past 20 years. It concludes that there was no overall…

A Draw an Engineer Test was used to capture the perceptions of engineering held by two similar groups of 6th grade African-American students. Forty-four students who had graduate level engineers in their classrooms during a prior school year as part of a GK-12 project were matched to 44 students who had not. Matching criteria included race,…

This study explores the common features of high-quality traineeships using case studies from the cleaning, child care, construction, retail, finance and insurance, and meat processing areas. The research identifies a range of policy measures that could improve both the practice and image of traineeships. A good practice guide has also been…