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A key feature of the Danish labour market is its so-called flexicurity, the coexistence of flexibility (low adjustment costs for both employers and employees) and security (owing to a developed social safety net with high coverage and high replacement ratios). This is often believed to have contributed to the resilience of the Danish labour market and especially to its ability to maintain a low and stable unemployment rate. The aim of this paper is to examine the performance of the flexicurity system and changes therein during the previous three decades, including the first years of the Great Recession. We carry out two types of analyses: at the levels of establishments and employees, respectively. First, we use linked employer-employee data for the private sector to examine how labour demand responds to output shocks by a study of firms' labour adjustment behaviour during economic upturns and downturns. Second, based on the same data set we examine how the flexicurity system protects workers from income losses associated with job losses due to plant closures or major lay-offs. In particular, we are interested in how the transformation of the flexicurity system since the mid-90s to increasingly emphasise activation and to reduce maximum unemployment benefit durations has changed employees' security in case of displacement. We document large worker flows that exhibit strong cyclical variation giving rise to volatile unemployment dynamics. External flexibility of firms has remained unchanged for almost three decades. While we find no clear traces of trend changes in employers' labour adjustment behaviour, we do find that income losses of displaced workers have declined over time, mainly due to their faster re-employment. Although it is still early days to conclude with certainty, there are so far no strong indications of the reemergence of unemployment hysteresis to the same extent as in previous recessions.

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On 8 April 2020 the Senate established the Select Committee on [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 and referred the following matters to it for inquiry and report on or before 30 June 2022: the Australian Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and any related matters.

The first interim report sets out the committee's initial findings with a focus on the government's preparedness for a pandemic, the speed and efficacy of its health response, the economic response packages prior to the 2020–21 Budget, as well as the issues emerging from the initial phase of the pandemic including the aged care crisis and the lack of national co-ordination, governance and transparency of decision making. The report is principally based on evidence provided to the committee via 37 public hearings, 505 written submissions and answers to questions on notice provided by government departments, agencies and other witnesses. The six recommendations include: the committee recommends that the Australian Government monitor the economic impact of reducing the Coronavirus Supplement and report back to the Senate with any data on the impact of the reductions; and that the Australian Government permanently raise the rate of JobSeeker at the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook or in the 2021-22 Budget.

The second and third interim reports inform the Senate about claims of public interest immunity received by the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 (committee) in the course of its examination of the Australian Government's (government) response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee resolved not to accept these claims on the grounds provided. The reports include the claims not accepted and the committee's recommendations.

The final report makes 19 recommendations for the Australian Government that include the government urgently review its pandemic planning to deliver immediate improvements including: a pandemic workforce strategy with an immediate focus on support and protection for health, aged care and other essential frontline staff; and take action to rebuild Australia's diminished sovereign manufacturing capability and develop strategies for emergency redirection of key manufacturing resources to pandemic preparedness and response. Chapter 4 of the report also discusses economic assistance and foreign students.

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This discussion paper outlines the challenges the 'skills sector' will need to tackle if it is to play an optimal role in supporting the UK economy and society, in a post-[Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 world. Thereafter it sets out a vision for a post-COVID 19 skills system and ten recommendations which we would like Government to consider, that if adopted, would help to ensure that individuals, employers and the country have the skills needed for economic recovery.

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On 9 December 2020, the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (the bill) was introduced into the House of Representatives by the Hon Christian Porter MP, Minister for Industrial Relations. On 10 December 2020, the Senate referred the provisions of the bill to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee (the committee) for inquiry and report by 12 March 2021. The bill would amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act) and related legislation to: introduce a statutory definition of casual employment; create a statutory pathway to ongoing employment by including a casual conversion entitlement in the National Employment Standards of the Fair Work Act; extend two temporary JobKeeper flexibilities in identified industries significantly impacted by the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic; introduce part-time flexibility provisions across identified modern awards; streamline the enterprise agreement making and approval process; prevent the transfer of industrial instruments where an employee transfers between associated entities at the employee's initiative; allow the extension of the nominal life of greenfield agreements made in relation to the construction of a major project; strengthen the Fair Work Act compliance and enforcement framework; and introduce measures to support the efficiency of Fair Work Commission processes.

Chapter 2 outlines the background to the bill, as well as its key provisions. Chapter 3 sets out the key issues raised by submitters and witnesses and sets out the committee view.

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This special issue of Prospects is entitled 'A global reset: COVID-19 and the future of education and learning'. Given the unprecedented closure of learning institutions as a results of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most pressing tasks facing educators is to ensure that students' learning is uninterrupted and that quality learning actually happens. It is proposed that the task is all the more urgent and complicated as education itself is already going through its own massive crisis, the global learning crisis, which is being amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The contributions to this issue address these key questions: Can this crisis be transformed into a renewing wave? Will it help bring about a better education system, a better society, and a better world?

Edited excerpts from editorial.

The contents are as follows: Reflections on COVID-19 and the future of education and learning [editorial] / Simona Popa (pages 1-6); A global reset of education / Ken Robinson (pages 7-9); COVID-19 causes unprecedented educational disruption: is there a road towards a new normal? / Hans d'Orville (pages 11-15); Contingent reflections on coronavirus and priorities for educational planning and development / Keith M. Lewin (pages 17-24); Learning and the pandemic: what's next? / Michael Fullan (pages 25-28); COVID-19 as a catalyst for educational change / Yong Zhao (pages 29-33); Nothing is new, but everything has changed: a viewpoint on the future school / Antonio Novoa and Yara Alvim (pages 35-41); Imagining what education can be post-COVID-19 / Robert F. Arnove (pages 43-46); Girls and women in the educational system: the curricular challenge / Nelly P. Stromquist (pages 47-50); SDG4 and the COVID-19 emergency: textbooks, tutoring, and teachers / Colette Chabbott and Margaret Sinclair (pages 51-57); Complexities of difference and their significance for managing equality in learning: lessons from the COVID-19 crisis / Crain Soudien (pages 59-67); COVID-19 and the opportunity to design a more mindful approach to learning / Conrad Hughes (pages 69-72); Pandemics, leadership, and social ethics / Miguel Angel Escotet (pages 73-76); Education as the path to a sustainable recovery from COVID-19 / Radhika Iyengar (pages 77-80); Collective impacts on a global education emergency: the power of network response / Kate Moriarty (pages 81-85); Education, the science of learning, and the COVID-19 crisis / Michael S. C. Thomas and Cathy Rogers (pages 87-90); Education and the COVID-19 pandemic / John Daniel (pages 91-96). Show less

The latest response in South Africa to social problems associated with youth not in education, training, or employment (the NEET youth) is the intention to roll out large-scale programs of workplace-based learning. The implicit purposes are to improve the employability of youth, to ease the transition from school or learning to work, and to enhance the educational value of learning through authentic, real-life workplace situations. In support of the above, a study aimed at developing a national policy framework for workplace-based learning was commissioned by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. Using an educational design research approach, the first phase of the study entailed content analysis of legislation and policies which provide the statutory basis for, and intend to give effect to, a workplace-based learning policy. Although the 'language' of workplace-based learning is highly congruent across all the policies, the hoped for 'outcomes' of such policies are very different from actual practice. Policies strongly focus on labor-absorbing activities, while education practices place emphasis on workplace-based activities for purposes of enhanced learning. Policy pronouncements may therefore place unfair pressure on the education and training system to solve the problems of the youth unemployment, a job-scarce environment and poverty. This contribution tracks the genesis of a national policy framework for workplace-based learning in South Africa. It results in a typology of divergent practices, with differing purposes, which may make it improbable (and perhaps inappropriate) to implement a single, homogenous approach to funding and implementation of workplace-based learning in the country.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 137.1084. Show less

This chapter is part of a book that aims to provide an accessible, practical and scholarly source of information about the international concern for the philosophy, theory, categories, and concepts of lifelong learning. In this chapter, the author examines the development of ‘learning regions’ in various parts of the world as a means for understanding how lifelong learning is enmeshed in the socioeconomic and political approaches of a region. The development of indicators in one learning region in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, is used to demonstrate how complex and contested lifelong learning is. It is also used to identify a range of paradoxes, which are at the heart of lifelong learning.

The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 98.562. Selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 98.563 to TD/TNC 98.569. Show less

This paper sheds some light on the relationship between education and labour market outcomes by providing a brief overview of the impact of economic changes on individuals with different levels of educational attainment to identify which groups have been most affected by the economic downturn and which have benefitted most from the recovery. The 2008-through-2011 data for Canada and its provinces and territories are from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS). Show less

This document follows the Agribusiness, Food and Fibre Industries Skills Report [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 149.307], which was produced collaboratively with the assistance of 12 Industry Reference Committees (IRCs). The Agribusiness, Food and Fibre Industries Skills Report documented the skills and issues that are common across those industries. This document is an attempt to identify how those common issues relate to the Aquaculture and Wild Catch Industry, and identify issues that are specific to these sectors.

Key findings include: (1) The value chain encompassing the Aquaculture and Wild Catch Industry has been meeting the needs of Australians through a time of rapid change and increasing challenges, both in number and complexity. This value chain is being as affected by biosecurity concerns as any industry in Australia; (2) There are many potential opportunities for growth, with a need for investment, workforce, skills and training to take advantage of these opportunities. The opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people to undertake roles at all levels and sectors from business leaders to industry entrants continue to grow; (3) The Seafood Industries Training Package is effectively addressing skills needs for all sectors, and the recent updating to incorporate digital skills throughout the Training Package is also delivering results. However, this has not been enough to improve access to training or to attract and retain workers for the sector.

The Aquaculture and Wild Catch IRC has identified key priorities in skills and training for the consideration of industry, including: support for engaging with employers to address registered training organisation (RTO) barriers to delivery of Seafood, Aquaculture and Wild Catch Fishing, potentially including the development of nationally consistent assessment and training materials, and participation in industry attraction and retention programs working with the National Careers Institute and relevant federal, state, territory and industry bodies; working with the National Skills Commission on accuracy of skills and jobs data in these sectors, including at a regional level, which provides a more accurate representation of skills and training needs than the equivalent at national or State/Territory level; playing a key role in an agribusiness, food and fibre industries research and planning project to identify and address skills gaps related to traceability, provenance and blockchain; and identifying digital skills needs utilising the Digital Workforce Capability and vocational education and training (VET) framework currently in development (along with other digital capability frameworks).

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Between 2008 and 2009, unemployment rates across OECD countries increased among people at all educational levels, but rose to especially troubling heights among people without an upper secondary education. In 2009, the average employment rate across OECD countries was much higher for individuals with a tertiary (i.e. higher) education - indicating a better match between the skills these people have and the skills the labour market required. Between 2008 and 2009, the earnings advantage for people with a tertiary education remained strong in OECD countries. In some countries, earnings inequality between people with a tertiary education and those without an upper secondary education widened even further.

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