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The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital contribution and value of migrant workers to our societies and economies. Yet their jobs have often been labelled as 'low-skilled', their work has been undervalued and their rights have been denied. As a result, many have risked their lives on the COVID-19 frontline while lacking the basic social protections enjoyed by other workers. Many national and local governments have relaxed migration regulations and created new incentives for migrant workers in essential services, demonstrating that migration policies - regardless of today's increasingly polarised debates - can and do change when necessary. This matters for the post-pandemic recovery, given that countries will continue to rely on migrant workers of all skills levels. The following policy recommendations emerge from our research: (1) Enhance routes to regularisation, in recognition of migrants' vital contribution to essential services; (2) Expand legal migration pathways, ensuring safe working conditions for all, to support post-COVID-19 global recovery, tackle shortages in essential workforces and fill skills gaps; (3) Ensure that migrants, whatever their status, have access to key basic services and social protection; and (4) Detach immigration policies from inflexible 'low' and 'high' skills classifications. Workers of all skills levels will be essential in the long path to recovery.

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When enterprises decide to employ apprentices and trainees they do so as alternatives to other forms of labour, such as already-skilled workers or unskilled workers who will not be offered contracts of training. In their decisions, particularly in the increasingly tight Australian labour market, they will consider specific labour shortages which may be at the entry level or may be at more senior levels, and they think about whether apprenticeships and traineeships may help to meet those shortages either immediately or in the future. This paper uses a number of case studies carried out as part of an international research project to examine this decision-making process and the reasons that employers give for placing their trust in the New Apprentice system to attract and develop the right sort of worker to meet their current or projected shortages.

Published abstract.

Available papers from the 9th Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) Conference are indexed from TD/TNC 86.226 to TD/TNC 86.262. Show less

Every year a great share in German school graduates does not succeed in obtaining a place in the so called 'dual system' of vocational education. Recent and future demographic data indicate a huge decline in labour force potential within the next decades. Adolescents with a weak school performance will need to be integrated into the labour market more successfully than today. Thus, prevocational literacy becomes an indicator for the quality of an education system. In 2006 the Federal Agency of Employment presented a catalogue of criteria that allows an assessment of prevocational literacy of the individual. The diagnosis, however, is to be challenged for its measurement methodology. The diagnostic instrument will need to be refined. However, strategies of ecologically integrated teaching and learning will have to be at the core of the solution.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this paper is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 100.484. Show less

The identification of shortages in the labour market and the respective supply needs by third country nationals is registered by region and in particular by regional unity and employment specialization. According to the National Strategy for the Integration of Third Country Nationals emphasis should be given to the integration of migrants already in the country, due to the economic crisis. It becomes evident through the joint ministerial decisions that in 2014 positions for which third country nationals were requested amounted to 9521 in total. The majority of these refer to the primary sector, namely workers in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and livestock. As estimated in this study, the establishment of a specialized monitoring mechanism is advisable in order to review the effects of migration policy on employment in conjunction with shortages in the Greek labour market. Its outcome would allow for coherent conclusions regarding the need - or the absence - of foreign manpower in the Greek labour market. While shortages in the Greek labor market are registered, there is currently no policy tool or monitoring mechanism to assess the effects of migration policy on employment and the migration issues that arise.

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The impact of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic has, in general, been considerably more severe on entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) than on larger organizations. This fact is critical to note since SMEs are the backbone of the Canadian economy, employing almost 90 per cent of all Canadians who work in the private sector. SMEs faced significant challenges even before the pandemic. Skills gaps and labour shortages have long been a feature of the Canadian economy and they remain a top concern for SMEs. The purpose of this report is twofold: First, it reviews existing research on SMEs' and entrepreneurs' skills, upskilling and training needs, and proposes options for better supporting them as they strive to recover from the pandemic and prepare for what comes next. In particular, this review highlights barriers and challenges faced by entrepreneurs who are members of equity-seeking groups, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, this report presents preliminary results from a survey on skills and competencies (a survey that is still in the field as of June 2021) and from a set of focus groups conducted as part of the same project.

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Data and anecdotal evidence suggest that Japan is suffering from labor shortages, which are large in an international perspective, have a negative impact on potential growth, and reduce the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal stimulus. This paper focuses on policy options to ease Japan's labor shortages. In particular, we focus on possible measures to increase reliance on foreign labor. Other policy recommendations to deal with shortages include policies aimed at increasing female labor participation, encouraging wage growth, increasing investment, as well as training and other active labor market policies.

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The [American Association of Community Colleges] AACC competencies were initially developed to help provide guidance in developing community college leaders because of predictions of a leadership crisis in the two year college sector. Since their creation, the competencies have been used to direct topics in leadership development programs and to guide future leaders about what skills are critical to master. Yet scant research exists on the use of the competencies on practice or on analysis of the competencies within the changing higher education climate.

Chapters include: Historic overview of the AACC competencies / Nan Ottenritter (pp. 7-17); Future Leaders Institute: rising leaders and the AACC competencies / Desna L. Wallin (pp. 19–28); A holistic perspective of leadership competencies / Pamela L. Eddy (pp. 29-39); The AACC competencies in action / Chris Duree and Larry Ebbers (pp. 41-52); Competencies in the heartland / Brent Cejda (pp. 53-61); Doing the right thing: ethical leadership and decision making / Regina L. Garza Mitchell (pp. 63-72); Reading the competencies through a feminist lens / Kristin Bailey Wilson and Elizabeth Cox-Brand (pp. 73-83); Reflections from the field: voices of experience / Delores E. McNair and Daniel J. Phelan (pp. 85-95); Next steps: looking to the future / George R. Boggs (pp. 97-107); Leaders, leveraging, and abundance: competencies for the future / Richard L. Alfred (pp. 109–120).

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The objective of the study tour to Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Austria, America and Australia was to look at ways of recruiting, retaining and succession planning to meet the every changing and demanding labour requirements of the horticulture and agriculture sector in the UK.

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[This report] analyzes the growing need for qualified nurses. The study projects that the economy will create 1.6 million job openings for nurses through 2020. Yet, there will not be enough nurses to fill those openings. [The authors] project the nursing workforce will be facing a shortfall of roughly 200,000 nursing professionals by 2020. One of the reasons for the growing demand is due to changing demographics; older nurses are retiring in large numbers, creating thousands of job openings. Another factor is the Affordable Care Act, which expands health insurance coverage to millions of job openings. In addition, nursing schools lack the faculty, facilities, and training sites to match the growing demand.

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The Jobs and Skills Summit (the Summit) will bring together Australians, including unions, employers, civil society, and government, to discuss our shared economic challenges and propose both immediate and long-term solutions. The goal of the Summit is to find common ground on how Australia can build a bigger, better trained and more productive workforce; boost real wages and living standards; and create more opportunities for more Australians.

The Summit will cover five broad themes: (1) Maintaining full employment and growing productivity; (2) Boosting job security and wages; (3) Lifting participation and reducing barriers to employment; (4) Delivering a high-quality labour force through skills, training and migration; and (5) Maximising opportunities in the industries of the future. Throughout the Summit there will be a strong overarching focus on women's experiences of the labour market and ensuring women have equal opportunities and equal pay.

This Issues Paper outlines the labour market challenges associated with these five themes. It is intended to provide Summit participants and the broader community with a common understanding of these issues so that we can begin working towards solutions to our shared economic challenges and ensure the labour market delivers good outcomes for all. The Summit is the first stage in the process. Ideas raised at the Summit may also be explored further through the White Paper on Employment (the White Paper), which will map a comprehensive blueprint for Australia's future labour market.

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