Search Results

This report documents the progress of a project designed to: (1) identify when and how workplace basic skills programs are effective in improving adults' measured language, literacy and numeracy skills; and (2) assess the effectiveness of workplace programs on productivity (for example, sickness and absence rates, job satisfaction) and other lifecourse variables (employment stability, earnings, promotion, enrolment in further educational programs, quality of life). The project focuses on initiatives to improve adults' literacy, numeracy and language skills through workplace-linked tuition. These may involve programs actually delivered in the place of work or that recruit through employers and/or unions. As this area is considered to be under-researched, a scoping and pilot study was undertaken between September 2002 and June 2003. This exercise was designed to: (1) provide a full review of the relevant literature; (2) develop a detailed methodology; (3) examine the availability of population data about provision and participants, and make consequent decisions about sampling frames and procedures; (4) establish contacts with and secure agreement from future participants in the main study; and (5) develop and pilot instruments for the main study. This report discusses the design and instruments that will be used for the expanded study, due for completion in 2008. Show less

The EU's largest economy, Germany, has managed to find an effective and unique combination of flexibility and rigidity in its labor market. Institutions that typically characterize rigid labor markets are effectively balanced by flexibility instruments. Important developments since 2000 include steadily decreasing unemployment rates (since 2005), increasing participation rates, and (since 2011) moderately increasing labor compensation. The German labor market has also been remarkably robust to the impacts of the Great Recession, thus providing a useful case study for other developed countries.

Published abstract. Show less

This submission to the Productivity Commission explores a range of possible economic and fiscal impacts arising from the ageing of the Victorian population. Containing three parts, part A of this submission summarises key issues discussed and provides projected demographic shifts in Victoria as background information. Part B uses a long-term economic model to explore and examine fiscal implications of population ageing for state governments. Part C concludes that improving productivity is likely to be the primary means by which state governments manage the emerging 'fiscal gap'. Boosting population and labour force participation is also important. Show less

This report defines the significant issues facing skills and employment in the UK, and sets out key recommendations on how to resolve them. The purpose of this statement is to set out long-term principles that underpin a shared ambition for growth through people. The publication draws on a vast array of robust, comprehensive intelligence on the UK labour market, and distils the action needed to resolve deep-rooted issues into five key priorities: (1) employers should lead on skills and government should enable them; (2) improving workplace productivity should be recognised as the key route to increasing pay and prosperity; (3) 'earning and learning' should be gold standard in vocational education; (4) education and employers should be better connected to prepare people for work; and (5) success should be measured by a wider set of outcomes not just educational attainment.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

This report was presented to the Working Party on the Information Economy (WPIE) in December 2004. It provides an overview of information and communications technology (ICT) skills and employment across OECD economies and analyses some of the impacts on economic performance. It describes a new approach to identifying the diffusion of ICTs in the economy. Two measures of ICT-skilled employment are developed. The first is a narrow measure that uses occupational data to identify ICT specialists (e.g. programmers, software developers but also cable layers). The second is a broad measure that includes those who intensively use ICTs to perform their work (both basic and advanced intensive users), as well as the specialists. These measures are calculated for the economy as a whole and also by sector. The report provides a brief review of earlier attempts to identify the presence of ICTs in the economy and describes a new measurement approach developed for the 2004 ‘OECD information technology outlook’, which attempts to capture the diffusion of ICTs throughout the economy based on the degree of their actual use. The industry rankings based on the share of ICT-skilled employment in total employment are then compared to the results of other studies that classify industrial sectors on the basis of ICT usage. Some preliminary results from the analysis relating the ICT skills measures to productivity measures are presented. The report has expanded the analysis of ICT-skilled employment from the 2004 ‘OECD information technology outlook’ and extended it to include Canada. The analysis revealed that the narrow measure of ICT specialists followed a similar pattern across countries (European Union (EU)15, US, Canada and Australia), but that the trends for broad measure of ICT-intensive users and specialists diverged. The share of broad ICTskilled employment is increasing in the EU15, but decreasing in the US, Canada and Australia. The broad ICT-skilled employment measure was also analysed at the sectoral level. Findings reveal that many business services sectors have a very large share of ICT-skilled employment (e.g. computer and related services, financial intermediation services, and research and development), as well as certain manufacturing sectors (such as manufacturing of office machinery and computers). Personal services tended to have a relatively low share. Most sectors were found to have increased their share of ICT-skilled employment somewhat, particularly those that already had a relatively large share. Show less

Training is of growing importance to companies or institutions seeking to gain an advantage among competitors. There is significant debate among professionals and scholars as to the effect that training has on both employee and organizational goals. The main purpose of this study was to determine the effects of training and development practices on employee's productivity in the public service, a case of the ministry of Interior and National Coordination Kakamega Central Sub County. The study was conducted in two divisions that make up Kakamega Central Sub-county that is Lurambi and municipality with five locations namely; South, Butsotso, Central, Butsotso East, Bukhungu and Shieywe location with a population of 250 employees. Out of 250 employees, the study targeted 20 per cent. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. The collected data was organized under different variables and the frequencies established. Percentages and tables were calculated to allow for the use of descriptive statistics. The results were then presented in the frequency tables. The second level of the data analysis involved inferential statistics where Karl Pearson's correlation was used to establish the relationship among the variables. The findings showed that some, (40 per cent) of the employees had training while majority (60 per cent) had not been given any training. The research also revealed that majority of the employees (70 per cent) did not know the criteria used to select employees for training. The study further established that overwhelming majority of the respondents (84 per cent) believed that training has positive effect on their performance. The study therefore recommends that the ministry reviews its training and development policy through evaluation of training for its effectiveness.

Published abstract. Show less

It has been suggested that traditional mass production methods are slowly giving way to new leaner and more flexible forms of production which offer higher quality and greater efficiency. The paper seeks to learn lessons from countries whose vocational education and training (VET) systems are ostensibly better suited to the delivery of high-quality, more customized goods and services by comparing matched samples of US and European production establishments in food processing (United States, Germany, Netherlands) and precision engineering (United States, Netherlands). After comparing the productivity levels, economies of scale, machinery utilization, workforce skills (qualifications and training) and employers skill-enhancement strategies, the authors find that average output per direct person-hour in the US metalworking industry to be about 25 per cent higher than in the Netherlands. In cookie manufacturing average labour productivity levels were estimated to be 11-18 per cent higher than in the German and Dutch industries even after adjusting for inter-country difference in the mix of product-qualities. Although in both sectors American plants have a much less qualified workforce than their European counterpart, the negative impact on US productivity of lower skill levels has been more than offset by the economies of scale associated with producing for the large and homogeneous US domestic market. The comparison shows that the German model neither can nor should be replicated in the US but the European experience suggests that it is possible to create institution- and employer-led training schemes that could provide American young people with a more solid foundation of skills to enter the labour market and be an assistance to employers seeking to adopt higher skill, more flexible strategies. The study also reveals some strengths of the American VET system relative to its European counterparts in preparing firms and their workers for an environment where specific skills become obsolete ever more quickly. Not only do US firms benefit from the relatively high proportion of young people who graduate from higher education, but they also gain from the American acceptance that education is an investment rather than an entitlement as it is often perceived in the state-run European systems.

Published abstract. Show less

The UK government acknowledges a persistent productivity gap between the UK and international competitors. Research suggests that skills are only one aspect of performance and that good management and the motivation and morale of individuals also play a key role. This report reviews the latest research evidence and investigates the ways that skills embed within a broader model of workforce capability to influence business performance. It considers why policy makers are concerned about skills and explores the evidence for the potential role of skills in raising the performance levels of individuals, companies, sectors and the broader economy. The implications for policy are considered and questions for further research are proposed. The authors propose a model of human capability within organisations reflecting both the development and deployment of capability from both an individual and organisational perspective. Skills are one key element of this model but need to be seen in context. Show less

The Indonesian Women's Business Association (IWAPI) to date boasts a membership of nearly 16,000 members spread over all 30 provinces engaging in various sectors, such as industry, service, education, trade, mining, and other sectors. Members of IWAPI mostly operate small enterprises; some of them own medium-scale enterprises and a few own large enterprises. This indicates that a majority of women entrepreneurs in Indonesia are engaged in the micro, small and medium scale enterprises. They serve as agents of change by contributing considerable economic activity and the creation of new job opportunities, and as such deserve proper recognition. Despite the significant role that women play in entrepreneurship and the fact that some women entrepreneurs have achieved considerable business success, a large number continue to face daunting challenges and barriers in operating their business. International Finance Corporation Program for Eastern Indonesia Small and Medium Enterprise Assistance (IFC-PENSA) recognizes the importance of assisting women to overcome obstacles and increase participation in economic activities in order to raise productivity.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This work was funded under the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations' (DEEWR's) Workforce Innovation Program which provides funding for innovative projects that address workforce skills needs. The intention of this project was to develop a contemporary view of skills utilisation from the company perspective and then to apply these learnings to a tool which could be used to help companies move to become high performing workplaces with high levels of skills utilisation. The project was conducted over a two year period from October 2009 to late 2011 and involved a research review, an employer skills utilisation survey, case studies, a pilot of high performance processes, and a final report. This report details the outcomes of the research review and the employer survey. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research was engaged to prepare the review and analysis of national and international research on skills utilisation and high performing workplaces to identify existing organisations' best practice. The survey was administered in late 2009 by the Australian Industry Group. It canvassed a number of issues relevant to skills utilisation: the extent to which companies keep track of workforce skills; company measures of skills utilisation levels; skills utilisation levels by occupation; and human resource management practices employed.

Excerpts from publication. Show less