One of the main challenges in modern labour markets is to improve the mobility and employability of workers among workplaces, jobs and roles. This paper explores the factors that might influence people's beliefs about and attitudes towards the mechanisms for improving employability through training. We develop a research model and test it in…

Weak labor markets typically lead young workers to invest in skills. High unemployment during COVID diverged from prior downturns: enrollment at community colleges dropped by 9.5 percent between 2019 and 2020, with the drop larger among men. COVID disruptions generated supply-side impacts on courses of study requiring significant capital and…

For many years the co-operative education program at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in Boston has fallen short of supporters' hopes for it. The number of students it placed in paid jobs with local employers was often below that of co-op programs at other career vocational technical education (CVTE) schools and mostly focused on…

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected record-breaking growth in 2021, but it is premature to celebrate this rosy macroeconomic picture. In the same document, the CBO also made an alarming prediction: The U.S. labor market will not fully recover until 2024. Recent U.S. jobs reports reveal the depth of the pandemic-created…

Calls are intensifying for workforce reskilling and a re-engineering of education and training to meet the demands of the future. Current policy in England focuses on technical, digital and green economy skills, underpinned by strong literacy and numeracy and a knowledge-rich school curriculum. National Foundation for Educational Research's…

The COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 triggered a recession and deep changes in Washington's labor market. Widespread temporary business closures, followed by a slow-paced phased reopening, have caused soaring unemployment rates. Workers are looking to improve their employability in a rapidly shifting economic landscape by reskilling into…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertain economic conditions due to restrictions put in place to control the spread of the virus. These restrictions have significantly impacted the economic activities of businesses and industries, and in turn the demand for labour. As the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia continues, it is…

This paper, jointly prepared by Cedefop and the ETF, aims to inform the next steps in VET policy- making at EU level, including the Osnabruck declaration expected to be discussed by ministers in the autumn of 2020. It puts forward key challenges and opportunities for VET which have emerged from the intelligence, research and evidence collected…

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated that approximately 9% of current jobs within OECD member states are threatened with automation and digitalization--all significant successes and advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer science. With such global changes and forecasts, in the labor…

The recent health crisis -- and unprecedented, rapid job loss associated with it -- has illuminated how unprepared the United States is for helping workers who lose their jobs reskill to prepare for and successfully enter new employment. Policy responses to the current crisis -- while critical -- have fallen far short of addressing challenges…

This report explores the links between trade unions and workplace training, and the potential benefits of social partnership in the skills system. The UK is relatively unusual in having no formal role for trade unions in the training system. In most advanced economies, trade unions and employers work alongside government in shaping the skills…

This short description contributes to better understanding of vocational education and training (VET) in Portugal, by providing insight into its distinctive features and highlighting system developments and current challenges. VET in Portugal offers a wide range of programmes, flexible in type and duration. Promoting equal opportunities and…

Research conducted by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), Fab Foundation and FHI 360, in partnership with more than 150 national and international experts and leaders from 28 states, found that to prepare their future workforces, governors and state leaders must develop a comprehensive agenda made up of three…

All countries in the EU Neighbourhood and Central Asia have been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak to a greater or lesser extent, with overall lower infection numbers compared to some of the EU Member States, although issues of under-reporting may impact on the reliability of data. All countries, apart from Belarus and Turkmenistan, made similar…