This study analyses the participation of low-skilled employees in employer-provided training and examines the mechanisms that encourage the training participation of low-skilled employees. Building on theoretical considerations of human capital theory and the task-based approach, we seek to show that job tasks play an important role in explaining…

This paper contributes to debates around social mobility and social capital by exploring the links between social class background, assistance from non-parental personal contacts for finding employment, and social class destination. The literature on social mobility, social capital and social networks is reviewed, drawing a conceptual distinction…

The High Impact Tourism Training (HITT) was a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme implemented by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV). It targeted informal workers from the tourism sector, notably women and youth, unskilled and semi-skilled workers in seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia: among…

The drivers of learning for mid-career workers with few initial qualifications from the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy and Poland are examined. The focus in this article is upon the learning pathways and experience of the low-qualified drawn from empirical research which gathered and analysed the strategic career and…

Objective: To develop a practical step-by-step approach to constructing narrative health interventions in response to the mixed results and wide diversity of narratives used in health-related narrative persuasion research. Method: Development work was guided by essential narrative characteristics as well as principles enshrined in the Health…

This explores the narratives from three individuals in low-skilled employment in the UK. The interviewees reflected upon their experiences of learning from compulsory education and beyond and their pathways through education to employment. The narratives illustrate how with the support of significant others, resilience and proactivity, they can…

"Education, education, education" has been a mantra in transnational and national policies since the mid-1990s: everybody has to take part in learning activities throughout their lives in order to stay employable. Hereby lifelong learning establishes a dividing practice between active and inactive lifelong learners constituting the…

The institutionalised categorisation of adults who are over 55 years of age, unemployed and low-skilled as "older" and "disadvantaged" may adversely affect their employment prospects and their self-esteem. This paper reports on the findings of a study that explored the experiences of a small group of such adults; in particular,…

The research investigation into the career trajectories of low-skilled, mid-career individuals in Europe, on which this symposium focused, has emphasised the importance of career support. Participants sometimes had not even completed their initial school qualifications. Often, though not always, they had significant skill deficits. The majority of…

Bridge simulator constitutes a very fundamental and vital tool to trigger and ensure that seamen or seafarers possess the standardized competence required. By using the bridge simulator technique, a reality based study can be presented easily and delivered to the students in ongoing basis to their classroom or study place. Afterwards, the validity…

The vast majority--70%--of the Indian population lives in rural areas. They are far removed from India's image as a society with an emerging middle class and well-regarded schools. This research focuses on education and opportunities for skill development for this rural population. The researchers investigated the area around the Chilika Lagoon, a…

It is generally accepted that human capital is an important factor in economic growth, but its impact on growth depends on the demand for education and skills on the labor market. Demand for human capital is largely determined by the institutional environment that governs the basic conditions for economic activity. The author expresses ten doubts…

As a result of changing employer needs, shifts in the labour supply, and demographic forces, there could be increasingly significant mismatches between worker skills and job requirements by 2030, which could raise structural unemployment levels and slow economic growth. These gaps would include shortages of high-skill workers in advanced economies…

This article uses the concept of bounded agency to interpret the findings of a study that explored the training and job-seeking activities of a group of older adults. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used to obtain personal and nuanced accounts of their experiences. A series of semi-structured interviews was conducted with eight adults…

This study examines whether a series of unemployment insurance benefit reforms that took place over a 20-year period in the Netherlands had a gendered effect on the duration of unemployment and labor market outcomes. Using longitudinal data from the Dutch Labor Supply Panel (OSA) over the period 1980-2000, and adopting a quasi-experimental design,…