Workforce development and career and technical education (CTE) have long provided reliable pathways to middle skill jobs and a gateway to the middle class. Given recent changes in middle skills jobs, the education landscape, and federal policy priorities, the role of CTE in the U.S. educational landscape is evolving more rapidly, encompassing a…

Postsecondary workforce development is one of the major innovations of the modern community college. In a workforce approach, curriculum is driven by the needs of local industry, course delivery systems are sufficiently flexible to meet the diverse needs of students and industry, and students experience a mixture of work-based and classroom…

In this article, innovative activity is considered in the light of broader conceptualisations of innovativeness and what it means to be innovative. Central to the definition of innovativeness used in the analysis is that the worker actively seeks new knowledge and uses it for work-related tasks. This is based on previous research emphasising…

The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, more ubiquitously known by the acronym "STEM," have received a substantial amount of attention in recent years. As part of a research study investigating the alignment (or lack thereof) between the goals and priorities of educators and employers, we found it difficult to…

Internationalisation and employability development are important themes for UK higher education (HE) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA). One aspect of many UK HE institutions' internationalisation strategies has been to increase the number and range of UK programmes delivered "offshore" as transnational education (TNE)--through…

Employability skills are central to gaining and keeping employment (e.g. whether paid or unpaid, as an employee or self employed) as well as career progression. The lack of such skills is regularly referred to as one reason for the United Kingdom's often cited long tail of underachievement. Employability skills are at the forefront of government…

The authors of this report analyzed the most recent data to illustrate the impact of literacy skills on both the micro- and macro-economic levels. The report explores whether there is a case to be made for direct links between literacy skill and income level. Data relating to the ability to get a job, job retention and promotion, risk of job loss,…

Purpose: Though the notion of competence is common terminology in European VET policy at national and supra-national level, understandings vary widely, both across countries and within. The particular conceptions of competence adopted in the EQF are themselves problematic and the framework allows for a variety of interpretations. The purpose of…

We explore training and development through the lenses of scholars and practitioners who have provided definitions and frameworks for exploring this area which is essential to human resource development (HRD). Thirty-five definitions of training and development are identified and analyzed. Themes from the analysis are explored, conclusions…

A brief history of how manpower policy has evolved and how it has interacted with education. (Editor)

Despite wide publicity and common usage, the concept of skills shortage has different meaning to different people depending on their perspective. Understanding the different concepts of skills shortages, their measurement and the causes of skill shortages is important if sound policies are to be developed in the areas of employment, education,…

This book provides an introduction to earnings capacity (EC), a measurement of human capital, and its application to a research study of potential earned annual income over a 25-year period. Focus is on qualitative aspects of EC such as race, age, gender and education and its utilization. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 reviews existing…

The generic skills needed for the new economy were identified through a review of research studies. First, the development of sets of key competencies/key skills in Great Britain, the United States, and Australia were examined. The U.S. model, which involves a broader, more flexible, and more holistic set of generic skills, was contrasted with the…

Terms and concepts currently in use in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction are defined and explained. They include: authentic or alternative assessment; computer-assisted language learning; critical literacy theory; family and intergenerational literacy; multiple intelligences and learning styles; practitioner inquiry, reflective…

This report presents innovative vocational training (VT) initiatives to improve integration of low-skilled workers into lifelong learning and the labor market. Chapter 1 describes study structure and methodology. Chapter 2 addresses the theoretical basis for observing innovations. It analyzes the definition and significance of innovation in system…