The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government's plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning, including a new Skills Measure that looks at the employment and other outcomes that learners achieve. Will this give colleges and providers greater freedom to deliver for learners, or…

Although Critical Thinking (CT) has been a desirable aim expressed both by higher education institutions and labour market professionals, studies on what CT means and what it looks like in the workplace are scarce. The current study intends to tackle this gap by sharing findings about the importance of CT and its practical manifestation in…

Advanced manufacturing is growing and thriving in the United States. Companies are in great need of reliable employees who can communicate well, effectively make decisions, and are interested in long-term careers with opportunity for advancement. Employers have identified a need for a more robust talent pipeline to narrow America's skills gap--a…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer a comparison of how human expertise is perceived by human resource development (HRD) scholars across several Western European countries and in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative, exploratory approach using electronic mail was used for this study. In total, 36 leading HRD scholars from…

Eleven working papers are provided from a meeting to enable national training research and development organizations to present their current and future research and development priorities and exchange information and experience on projects of mutual concern. They cover a wide range of subjects in 11 of the 12 European Community Member States, but…

This report profiles the systems, structures, and procedures for the assessment of competencies and awarding of qualifications in the vocational education and training sectors in Ireland. An introduction briefly describes the Irish education and vocational training system. Chapter 1 profiles the main awarding bodies in Ireland in second-level,…

This monograph describes the various approaches to vocational training in Ireland. The report was compiled from existing statistics, various studies, and interviews with representatives of all the organizations, colleges, companies, and institutes involved in vocational training. Section 1 provides background information on political structures,…

A study explored questions on changing skill requirements of small firms in the services sector that are internationalizing their activities. These seven European Union (EU) member states were involved: Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The services sector accounted for a significant part of the EU…

Ireland's program of specific skills training (SST) Objective 1 courses, which are designed to train/retrain the labor force required for implementation of Ireland's Industry and Services Operational Programme, was evaluated by analyzing program expenditure reports and participant profiles, surveying a random sample of 101 employers, and visiting…

A study examined European Social Fund (ESF)-funded middle-level technician (MLT) and higher technical and business skills (HTBS) courses at Irish technical colleges. Data were obtained from the following: review of relevant literature; review of all program-monitoring documents submitted by Ireland's Department of Education since 1990; interviews…

A 2-day regional seminar was held to raise awareness of the problem of youth unemployment in Southeastern Europe and assist countries in the region to develop their own framework of action and concrete projects. The following were among the topics discussed: ways policymakers can help young people find valid employment opportunities within…