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This chapter discusses the changing and emerging characteristics of work, work practice and work requirements, and their consequences for vocational education. Changing patterns in work and working life are proposed as comprising: (1) the kind of work available; (ii) how individuals participate in work; (iii) what constitutes competence within that work; and (iv) those participating in work. The consequences for vocational education are systemic in terms of the kinds of occupations that need to be developed, variations in and complexity of work requirements, shifts in employer/employee relations, and the demographic shifts in those who will need to be supported by vocational education. The chapter examines these patterns of change to work and working life, and discusses policy and curriculum practice associated with each. Overall, it argues that the changes to work make it more demanding, and the frequency of change in work and how work is carried out demands careful, comprehensive and targeted preparation and on-going development. Moreover, with broader participation in the work force and longer working lives, the arrangement for this preparation and on-going development will need to be targeted, differentiated and sustained.

Published introduction.

The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 100.51. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 100.52 to TD/TNC 100.244. Show less

In recent years, the UK government has invested heavily in developing a computer infrastructure for e-learning in the post-16 educational sector. Electronic learning (e-learning) is defined as learning with the assistance of information and communications technology (ICT) tools. However, only a small percentage of this e-learning expenditure has been allocated to content and skill development and, in order to realise the potential of e-learning in the post-16 sector, this area must be developed. The Post 16 E-Learning Strategy Task Force was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to consider how to improve the UK’s e-learning strategy. This report contains the Task Force’s four key recommendations that provide a strategy for enabling all learners to have the opportunity to use e-learning. The recommendations are: (1) that by 2010 all citizens should have access to ICT as a basic skill as an entitlement, including a component of e-learning; (2) that the government expand the concept of Curriculum Online for Schools into post-16 learning, i.e. College Online, to provide access to high quality and relevant learning content; (3) that the quality, relevance and accessibility of learning materials available to employers and government financial incentives to take up work-based learning be supported and developed; and (4) that funding be provided to develop a national tutor mentoring network to act as a flexible and responsive support system for those working with e-learners. Show less

The 2005 National Employers Skills Survey (NESS) was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in partnership with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). It provides up-to-date information on the incidence, extent and nature of skills problems faced by employers and explores employers' activities and expenditure in relation to training. Over 74,500 employers were interviewed and comparisons are made with results from employer surveys dating back to 2001. This document is the main report from the survey. It is presented in seven sections: following the executive summary and introduction, section three explores the recruitment problems facing employers and their causes, focusing on the incidence, number, distribution and density of vacancies caused at least partly by a lack of skills, experience or qualifications among those applying; section four examines skills gaps within the workforce and their main causes; section five investigates the recruitment of 16-to-24-year-olds over the past 12 months and explores employers' perceptions of the work-readiness of these recruits and which skills, if any, are found to be lacking; section six focuses on training and workforce development, and explores the extent, nature and volume of training and workforce development activity; and the final section examines employer expenditure on training. Findings include: there has been little change since 2004 in the proportion of employers experiencing difficulty filling vacancies; the proportion of employers affected by skills gaps has once again decreased over the past 12 months, as it has every year since 2001; 21% of employers have recruited a young person into their first job direct from education in the past 12 months; 65% of employers have provided training in the previous 12 months, with the vast majority providing some off-the-job training; and total employer training expenditure over the previous 12 months was UKP 33.3 billion.

A related report containing the key findings is indexed at TD/TNC 86.444. Show less

This review aimed to systematically collect and synthesise empirical evidence related to interventions that focus on promoting employment for offenders in the UK. The review identifies gaps in knowledge and points to the priority areas for further review and future research. The key question addressed by the review is what evidence is there about the types and levels of intervention that work best to promote employment for offenders? This is separated into three sub-questions. What interventions promote employment in offender populations? What are the implementation issues for interventions aiming to promote offenders’ employment? To what degree are programs targeted according to assessment of needs? The process yielded 53 studies for in-depth review. A systematic map of the studies was produced with the majority coming from the US. Just over half of the studies specified names of programs and the majority of these were vocational programs. The review found that: good quality studies of seven intervention programs revealed that in six of these programs, offenders in the treatment group were significantly more likely to be employed at least six months after completion than those in comparison groups; generally, the programs examined by the studies provided a good range of skills relevant to the realities of the workplace; and prison work and vocational training were identified as being effective in promoting employment. Show less

A complex set of relational factors shape adult students' transition to higher education. Through accounts provided by adult vocational education students, a set of related interdependencies between what the university and other forms of support (e.g. family, friends) afforded these students and their agency, capacities and engagement were identified as shaping their transition to higher education. Bases for these students' engagement in their studies were found in their intentions and previous experiences that together shaped how they construed what is afforded by the university and other sources of support. Consequently, beyond what universities provide to support these transitions, considerations for promoting successful student transition into higher education necessarily require accounting for students' experiences, access to different kinds of support outside the university and their previous experiences. Therefore, rather than proposing general prescriptions about what universities need to do to promote successful transitions, [these] complex factors likely [play] out in quite person-particular ways. All of this reinforces the view that successful transitions to higher education are quite individual processes, and not just wholly dependent upon what educational institutions provide, and those affordances need to be [informed] by and aligned with different kinds of student needs.

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

This eighth edition of ‘Education and training statistics for the United Kingdom’ uses over 50 tables to provide an integrated overview of statistics on education and training in the UK. It covers: expenditure; schools; post-compulsory education and training; qualifications and destinations; population; and international comparisons. Key facts reported under ‘Post-compulsory education and training’ include: in 2001/02, 72% of 16 year olds and 58% of 17 year olds were in post-compulsory education either at school or in full-time further education; there were 47,300 new starts on Advanced Modern Apprenticeship schemes (AMAs) in England in 2002/3; the average number of learners on AMAs in 2002/3 was 108,300, representing almost two-fifths of the average year for the total number of learners on work-based learning for young people; people with high levels of qualifications were much more likely than those with low or no qualifications to have received job-related training; the economically inactive tend to receive job-related training of a longer duration than that received by employees; and a further education college or university is the most common location for off-the-job training. Show less

In the overview chapter of this section, the author discusses the teaching profession as it relates to the provision of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). TVET teaching covers a broad spectrum. In some countries, TVET is firmly based in the development of skills for specific occupations. This requires teachers with specialist trade skills. In other countries, TVET may be intermingled with other types of general education. In many Asian countries, vocational education is part of the secondary school curriculum and is taught by teachers with little or no experience outside the school system. The roles undertaken by TVET professionals are varied and so will be their initial teacher education and their continuing professional development. The author also mentions the low standing in which TVET teachers are often held, partly due to the low standing in which TVET itself is held. The chapter concludes with an overview of the other chapters in this section.

The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 100.51. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 100.52 to TD/TNC 100.244. Show less

This study, based on Cohorts 9 and 10 of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS), addresses a number of questions, including: (1) How many students work part-time in Years 12 and 13, and how many hours do they spend in jobs and on their studies? (2) What factors increase the probability of students taking part-time jobs? (3) What kinds of jobs do they do, and how much do they earn? and (4) What impact does part-time employment have on examination results? The extent of part-time employment amongst young people in full time education, both at age 16/17 and age 17/18, is described. Patterns of part-time employment amongst students in different types of courses, as well as the factors that increased theprobability of part-time employment from perspectives of gender, Year 11 results, ethnicity, home background and region, are looked at and a statistical model is fitted to disentangle the impact of these variables. The labour market for students aged 16/17 is analysed, providing information on occupational and industrial structure and wage levels and comparing the student labour market with that of 16/17 year olds who were not in full-time education. Further statistical models that explore the impact of part-time employment on examination results and/or vocational qualifications in Years 12 and 13 are presented. The final section highlights the main findings from the analyses and discusses their relevance to educational policy. Show less

This chapter proposes workplace learning in terms of participatory practices. Learning through work is interdependent between the individuals' participation and workplace affordances. Rather than being informal, workplace activities, opportunities and support for learning are directed towards its continuity and in ways often inherently pedagogical. Individuals, likewise, engage and learn in workplaces as directed by their personal goals and directions. Core tensions in this relationship are between these two sets of continuities. A critique of the current discourse on workplace learning is used as a basis to propose an alternative view of workplace learning environments as participatory practices.

Published summary reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 82.297. Selected chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 82.298 to TD/TNC 82.311. Show less

This report forms part of the extensive evaluation of the adult basic skills Pathfinder Extension program which was launched by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in September 2001. Stage 2 of the evaluation focused on providing impact estimates and descriptive analyses of learner characteristics, their attitudes and their course experiences. It also introduces outcome measures such as employment outcomes, job changes and new course enrolment. There is a comparison of key characteristics between Pathfinder Extension participants and a comparison group of learners on traditional adult basic skills courses. Estimates of the impacts of Pathfinder activities compared to traditional provisions are given.

There are three accompanying reports on the evaluation of the Pathfinder Extension program: the report of Stage 1 of the evaluation is indexed at TD/TNC 75.222; an overview of the evaluation is indexed at TD/TNC 75.221; and the final report of the evaluation is indexed at TD/TNC 75.224. Show less