A recent International Labour Organisation (ILO) report noted that nearly half a billion people -- one in six of the world's working population -- did not have enough work, were looking for but unable to find work, or had given up looking for work. Women and youth were over-represented in this group. Since then, due to COVID-19, the numbers of…

Team teaching is advocated in education to offer students multiple explanations to complex concepts and to improve teacher development. However, team teaching is typically associated with high staff cost due to the increased amount of teachers involved. The authors argue that team teaching can be conducted in a cheap way by including novice…

This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest…

In Qualified Vocational Instruction, one-third of instructional time consists of advanced application of theory in the workplace. Evaluation of a Swedish pilot project suggests that it is successful, but possible future paths (integration, separation, continuation, or liquidation) depend on political choices about the public/private role. (SK)

After briefly summarizing major policy concerns and different perspectives on the relationship between training and work, this report discusses three main modes of vocational training: school-based training, apprenticeship, and training of employees. The goals and ideologies connected with these modes and the national systems that exemplify them…

About 50 percent of Sweden's adult population pursues studies in one form or another. A specifically Scandinavian form of adult education is the folk high school. The largest number of adult learners attend the study circles organized by the local branches of Sweden's educational associations. Formal adult education is offered by the local…

A review of vocational education trends in Western Europe and Japan covers the following: curriculum and program structure, alternatives, cooperative education, on-the-job training, enrollments, admission, curriculum content, skills other than strictly occupational, mechanisms for curriculum development, and efficiency of training. (MSE)

All young persons in Sweden have to complete 9 years of basic compulsory schooling. More than 95 percent opt for an additional 2 or 3 years of upper secondary school, after which they have free access to further education. The system of adult education is designed to bridge the gaps between generations and to provide opportunities for recurrent,…

A 1991 study tour to Germany, Denmark, and Sweden investigated youth education and training policies, systems, methods of financing, and programs. Concerns were integration of academic and practical skills training, assessment of student competencies for employment, expectations and outcomes of employment preparation for all youth, and system…

Policies of educational expansion are enhanced in most European countries. Little attention is, however, paid to skill utilisation at work, learning context and gender-related barriers at work. Oversupply and under-utilisation of skilled labour might create mismatch problems and frustration at the workplace. The aim of this article is to give an…

This paper summarizes a comparative study of the impact of market and technological changes on human resources in banks and insurance companies in five countries: France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. The research was organized around case studies of changes in 12 firms--9 banks and 3 insurance carriers. The paper discusses the…

Written mainly for a non-Swedish audience, this document has a twofold purpose: (1) to examine how and to what extent the further education and training of the labor force is both presently and prospectively dealt with in collective bargaining agreements and other workplace negotiation processes in the Swedish labor market; and (2) to examine the…

This study of the conditions of developmental on-the-job training and learning for operators in highly automated industries is written in Swedish but contains an English abstract and 18-page summary. The summary begins with the study objectives, which were to determine the following: (1) conditions of developmental on-the-job learning in highly…

A SURVEY WAS PRESENTED OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ON AGE CHANGES IN HUMAN CAPACITIES, ESPECIALLY IN LEARNING ABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY, AND DESCRIBED VARIOUS METHODS USED TO TRAIN WORKERS OVER 40. THE ROLE OF MEMORY, MOTIVATION, RIGIDITY, AND INTELLIGENCE IN DETERMINING THE LEARNING EFFICIENCY OF MATURE ADULTS WAS ASSESSED, ALSO DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY…

The literature on business involvement in education in Canada, the United States, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, the United Kingdom, and other European countries was reviewed. Special attention was paid to the following topics: workplace trends/changes; skill requirements/deficits; youth employment/unemployment; integration versus…