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The Increased Flexibilities for 14-16 year olds Programme (IFP) was introduced in the UK in 2002 to ‘create enhanced vocational and work-related learning opportunities for 14-16 year olds of all abilities who can benefit most’. Partnerships between schools and external providers were formed during the first year of IFP to achieve this goal. Each partnership involved a ‘lead partner’, generally a further education (FE) college, with funding provided through Local Learning and Skills Councils (LLSCs). In the same year, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) to undertake a national evaluation of IFP to: (1) assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of its implementation; (2) identify delivery models and aspects of implementation that are most successful; (3) evaluate the extent to which IFP has realised its objectives; and (4) assess the impact of vocational qualifications and new work-related learning opportunities on the skills, knowledge, attitudes, attendance, attainment and post-16 progression of participants. As the first cohort of participants are continuing their qualifications at the end of the first year of implementation, the findings focus particularly on the strategic and operational implementation of IFP, including managing the program within the school, working in partnership, equality of access to IFP courses, and delivery of IFP. Some issues to arise include transporting students to their location of study, additional time for IFP coordinators to maintain contact with partner organisations, funding, and the identification of students to participate in IFP. Although students were only part way through their first year of IFP, the evaluation revealed positive outcomes from gaining access to a wider and more appropriate curriculum. Show less

In this paper research into areas of equity and vocational education and training (VET) conducted by the author is briefly described. This research has been nationally focused and quantitative in nature, using statistical methodologies to interrogate the unit record level data of large data bases. The studies have been concerned with the mechanisms that exacerbate and entrench inequality and thereby limit access to and outcomes from VET. The author briefly describes outcomes oriented research, looking at what outcomes should be measured, demographic factors that influence success in VET modules and employment outcomes after VET. Priorities for future research are offered.

The volume of collected papers from the workshop is indexed at TD/TNC 66.421; individual papers may be found from TD/TNC 66.422 to TD/TNC 66.433. Show less

The aim of this article is to analyse the latest implementations and issues raised in Turkish non-formal education from a historical perspective in Turkey. The high population rate and lack of adequate educational opportunities for adults and migration from rural areas to urban areas caused many educational, social and cultural problems in non-formal education. For solving all the problems, Turkey followed the latest developments in the world about the aims and functions of non-formal adult education and organised several different adult education programs in terms of integration to international bodies such as European Union and so forth. These programs aim to reach a wide range of people from rural and urban settings, the employees, employers, farmers, students, tradesmen, housewives, artisans and many others. The most important educational characteristic of this audience is that they are not regular students. The organisation way of non-formal education differ from other developed countries in essence. In social terms, the non-formal education for adults does not only provide professional and technical training; but also provides the learners with basic literacy and helps continue their educational life, contributes to preservation and improvement of national and cultural values, creates an awareness of citizenship and democratic thinking in Turkey.

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Increasingly, the importance of education and training to farm families has been recognised and has resulted in greater emphasis in government policy on education and training to redress the relatively low levels of formal educational attainment of Australian farmers. Internet delivery offers opportunities for rural and remote primary producers to access education and training services for themselves and for their families. This report examines education and training, in terms of formal award courses, as one of the major potential applications of the Internet with particular applicability for farmers. It investigates the capacity of the Internet to deliver education and training services, the current state of Internet provision, and policy issues for the future. The report highlights the low percentage of farmers with Internet access but argues for policy action to ensure equitable access given the potential role that Internet delivery of education and training could play in achieving rural policy goals. Funding reforms to allow the development and implementation of Internet-based delivery mechanisms are also advocated. Show less

This paper argues that prior learning assessment is an effective tool for minimising duplication in training and education. It is also an excellent resource for adult learners in assessing and resourcing their learning needs. Three basic approaches used in the USA to award credit for prior learning are detailed. It is suggested that portfolio development and review is the most appropriate of the three techniques. Issues complicating the process of prior learning assessment are highlighted. In conclusion prior learning assessment is presented as an effective means of accessing learning opportunities for those denied access to further education. As it facilitates the upgrading of employee skills on a needs basis it is also seen as cost effective for industry. Regional programs for the recognition and accreditation for prior learning are recommended for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries to meet their growing need for an up-to-date and highly skilled workforce.

The volume of collected papers can be found at TD/TNC 51.112. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 57.123 to TD/TNC 57.145. Show less

Background - In the German dual system of vocational education and training, the question arises of whether and how enterprises react to demographic changes by adjusting their supply of training places. Methods - [The authors] conduct a time series on Western German data from 1970 to 2011 and construct a panel data set from 1977 to 2011 based on data of the West German states ('Bundeslander') to estimate the influence of demographic changes over time. Results - [The authors] can show that demographic factors strongly influenced the Federal Republic prior to 1990. After the reunification, a positive influence of demographic factors is still observed but only for young people with higher levels of education; in large part, factors related to economic growth and the job market dominate. Conclusions - [The authors'] findings suggest that, compared to prior times, policy makers nowadays only have limited abilities to influence the number of training places offered by companies through appeals to community spirit. Instead, strategies of gaining additional training places should be geared towards the economic interests of enterprises.

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In response to recent shifts in the age composition of the workforce, researchers and employers have started to raise questions about possible relationships between age and employees' experiences at work. Until recently, much of the focus has been placed on older workers' transitions into retirement. There is evidence that the labour force participation patterns of older adults are shifting, resulting in the postponement of full-time retirement and in the re-configuration of retirement years that may include at least some periods of employment. Shifts in the age composition of the workforce have focused attention on the extent to which employees of different ages might experience employment in different ways. This chapter presents selected findings from the Age and Generations Study conducted by the Sloan Center on Aging and Work to illustrate the importance of carefully constructing groups of employees by age when analysing data about the employment experiences of today's workers.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is at the top of the policy agenda in the fields of education, training, and/or work in almost all countries across the world. The rationale and possible procedures have been well described. This contribution attempts to shed light on the impact of career guidance when integrated into the RPL process. Career guidance covers a range of activities that enable individuals to identify their capacities, competencies, and interests in order to make meaningful decisions both in the fields of education and occupation. It is deemed necessary for applicants to be successful in their recognition of prior learning process and for successful applicants to best exploit their newly acquired qualification in the labor market.

This contribution proposes a model for career guidance to be organized in an efficient and effective manner. It introduces a gradient in the intensity with which career guidance is integrated into the recognition of prior learning at different stages of the pre-assessment and assessment process.

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Since the revolution of 1959 Cuba massively expanded and, in many respects, transformed its education system. While the strategy under Fidel Castro initially differed from other Less Developed Countries (LDCs) in its emphasis on mass education and technical training, with time the island has been inflicted with the same ‘diploma disease’ as so many other LDCs. The country has come to be over-educated, relative to the employment opportunities available. Over-education has become a political as well as fiscal problem following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Soviet aid and trade in turn. Faced with the problem, the government is attempting to de-school the younger generation. However, families are resisting the downward mobility implicit in the education restructuring.

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This research, though conducted on a small sample of students at the University of Tasmania, has wider relevance for the policies and practices of other universities with regard to the recruitment and retention of mature aged students, especially from regions of rural and/or socio-economic disadvantage. Throughout the conduct of the four year study, three of those years spent tracking the academic progress of the students sampled, the main thrust of the research shifted from recruitment and selection to retention and support, in the light of the quantitative and qualitative data being analysed. This multi-phase, multi-dimensional study provides many layers of data to produce a holistic view of what it means to be a mature aged student recruited into a professional faculty of the university.

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