In Austria, binding training objectives are defined for the company-based part of dual training (approximately 70-80 per cent of total training time), but there are scarcely any normative specifications on how these are to be achieved and there is no systematic quality assurance of the practice. The conditions under which vocational training…

While the literature in skill formation systems has paid considerable attention to inter-variation between types of national skill formation systems and intra-variation among individual types as in the case of collective skill formation systems, less is known about the role of the European Union in establishing a European model of skill formation.…

This article considers the intersection between two major themes in university policy: the improvement of participation by rural and regional communities and the dimension of graduate employability. It argues that work-integrated learning has the potential to address both themes, but that the development of an apprenticeship model for prestige…

"Research Messages 2021" highlights the diverse range of research activities undertaken over the past year by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). In 2021, research was shaped both by the VET (vocational education and training) reform agenda, and issues emerging from the pandemic. The 2021 national VET research…

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) is expected to be designed for creating learning outcomes which meet the needs for skills and competences in the labour market. Hence, identifying current and upcoming skill requirements and ensuring that these requirements are incorporated into education has long been the subject of academic and…

Purpose: Apprenticeships are now usually seen as a model of education focused on occupational preparation, albeit manifested in different ways across nation states. However, throughout human history, the majority of occupational preparation has been premised upon apprenticeship as a mode of learning. That is, a preparation arising mainly through…

This article discusses the development of vocational competence through economic vocational educational training (VET) from a theoretical and psychometric perspective. Most assessment and competence models tend to adopt a state perspective toward assessments of competence and carve out different structures of competence for diverse vocational…

Work-based learning (WBL) is a key example of the integration of academic and occupational training that is central to career and technical education (CTE) and through which students have the ability to gain high-wage, high-skilled occupational experience while pursuing postsecondary credentials (Bragg, Dresser, & Smith, 2012; Chernus &…

Human capital theory was developed to study how individual agents make rational choices or how they invest in human capital to maximize their welfare. One of the leading founders of this perspective, Becker, argues that schooling, on-the-job training, medical care, migration and searching for information about prices and incomes are different…

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…

Austria, Germany and Switzerland are renowned for their extensive systems of collective vocational skill formation, which, however, have developed largely in separation from higher education. This divide has become increasingly contested as a result of a variety of socioeconomic factors that have led to an increasing demand for higher level…

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…

Registered Apprenticeship has long been known in the United States as a great training option for workers looking to learn a new skill and become an expert-level crafts person in their trade. Be it traditional industries or those that are only now becoming better known, the apprenticeship model has long been part of the training strategies…

"Research Messages 2013" provides a summary of the research published in 2015 by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The research published in 2015 covered a wide variety of the themes, reflecting the relevance of the VET sector to the Australian economy and its increasingly important role in the higher…

A strong VET system is increasingly seen as essential to overcoming the current economic crisis in Europe. VET is seen as a powerful tool to assist in balancing labour market inefficiencies, increasing youth employment possibilities, and reducing skills mismatch. Its inherent flexibility and closeness to the labour market place VET in a good…