Purpose: Nigeria has one of the highest graduate unemployment rates in Africa, and there is no comprehensive policy framework to address it. Evidence shows that integrating craftsmanship into higher education academic programmes can enhance graduate employability. Therefore, there is a need to integrate it into the built environment programmes at…

Purpose: This paper explores the implications for higher education of the rapid development in technology used by the manufacturing sector. Higher education programmes change or new courses are introduced in attempts to match labour market demands. However, the pace of change in the manufacturing industry challenges the authors to reconceive how…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to provide an in-depth analysis of the labor market for apprentice training in the US construction industry. Also, the paper analyzes the learning process of apprentices and discusses the role of apprenticeships as a pathway to higher education. Design/methodology/approach: The interdisciplinary approach of…

Purpose: The industrial training component in a university's curricula adds tremendous value to a degree programme by enhancing the employable skills of graduates. The purpose of this paper is to assess the perception of organisations that have trained construction students from the Department of Building Technology of the Kwame Nkrumah University…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the situated understandings that higher education students can offer on their employability, and to make sense of "employability" in industry and career context-specific ways. The paper further seeks to explore potential critical reflections on emerging professional practice and future…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the evaluation results of a training initiative, undertaken in Palestine, that targeted fresh graduates in information and communication technology ICT disciplines. It describes the implementation and results of a practical training model where industry and academia cooperate jointly to develop,…

Purpose: Although considerable attention in the extant literature has been devoted to knowledge acquisition and transfer within firms, there is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of outside sources of knowledge for technology-based small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the majority of empirical studies in this area focus on…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore significant historical changes, legislation and policy in the UK and USA from the 1960s to present day relating to university-industry relationships. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a review of papers, reports and policy documents from the UK and USA drawing comparisons of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of benefit to learning through developing strong links between universities and industry, and to suggest a methodology for building bridges between university and industry that provides a full learning experience for students. Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach which…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe the work of Staffordshire University in engaging with local employers and local further education colleges in the development of a Foundation Degree in Applied Technology. Design/methodology/approach: Following an outline of current government policy in employer engagement, the paper identifies--from the…

China's recent economic success resulted, to a great extent, from the release of the entrepreneurial potential inherent in its business sectors. Yet, entrepreneurship education as a whole remains a relatively new concept and practice, in particular in the higher education sector. This explorative article reviews the recent developments in…