In this paper, we address the debate on local skills ecosystems and informal learning. We use the social ecosystem model as a tool to help us analyse the role played by various actors in learning and skills ecosystems and highlight the role of informal learning in vocational education and training. We draw on the case of craft pottery to discuss…

This article discusses the correlation between cascading subcontracting and employees' participation in continuing vocational training. Based on a capability approach, it uses the French quantitative linked employer-employee survey on training and career paths (DEFIS) to question to what degree inter-firm relations influence their employees'…

The pandemic has caused a major economic shift for businesses and workers. Countless companies have had to quickly upskill their workers, equipping them with the skills they need to pivot to digital or remote services. As a result, the importance of efficiently and effectively training and onboarding workers with the right skills for the job has…

While the nation is enjoying its longest economic expansion on record and its lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, anxiety persists about how American businesses and workers will be affected by future changes in the labor market. Speculation about the "future of work" is typically centered on how new or emerging technologies could…

Activation policies are widely adopted to encourage labour market participation of unemployed youth, and yet they are poorly understood and monitored with regard to the causal mechanisms unfolding through their implementation. Activation schemes are often based on the carrot-and-stick logic informed by microeconomic job search theory, but…

This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of Estonia's response to the European-level Recommendation on Youth Guarantee (YG). It provides the context explaining a range of policy interventions and conditions existing in Estonia before the adaptation to the YG. The chapter explores what opportunities the Estonian policy-makers saw in the YG to…

This chapter explores the United Kingdom's (UK) response to the Youth Guarantee (YG) in the two largest of its four constituent countries -- England and Scotland. The chapter examines the forms, systems and funding which underpin the YG and the conditions currently affecting young people socially, economically and geographically in England and…

Incorporation into the labour market is a key endeavour, of heightened importance in recent years due to high migration flows, for both immigrants and their recipient countries. Hence, activation and employability are major themes in both transnational and national policy discussions, which have generated various programmes and policy measures.…

The current study explored relations between principal self-efficacy for instructional leadership, work engagement, job satisfaction, and motivation to leave the work as a principal from the principal strengthening training perspective. Participants in the study were 125 principals in the junior school selected using a saturated sampling…

This chapter discusses the approach to Youth Guarantee (YG) in Spain in the context of high percentage of school dropout rates, high youth unemployment and a large number of people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Furthermore, it provides a detailed context of how the YG was implemented within the complex territorial governance…

A growing number of U.S. companies across a range of industries are designing apprenticeship programs to give workers access to on-the-job learning opportunities that allow them to transition into in-demand jobs and careers. This discussion paper provides a snapshot of the current state of apprenticeship in the United States based on interviews…

This paper discusses the scope of the employee's voice in lifelong education decisions, with a focus on qualified assembly-line workers and professional development schemes allowing their upward mobility out of the assembly line. Using a capability approach, it investigates voice as part of people's agency. Beyond examining the channels that allow…

Public data and accountability are key to an inclusive economic recovery. We need data on how different workers and businesses are faring in the recovery, so we can hold policymakers accountable to equitable outcomes for those most impacted. Disparities and inequities in skills training programs can only be eliminated if there is high-quality…

As countries work to "build back better" from COVID-19, the education sector has a once in a lifetime opportunity to build back differently. Unprecedented school disruptions have laid bare how existing inequalities within education systems, including those structured along the intersections of gender and poverty, are exacerbated in times…

Over two-thirds of all Illinois residents live in Chicago's metropolitan area. The third largest city in the United States and also the third most economically productive, the Windy City benefits from unrivalled industry diversity. Like any other city, however, Chicago faces the policy challenge of supporting well-paid employment opportunities for…