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For the past 20 years, researchers worldwide have shared a consensus that tracking leads to failure in school. But educational systems continue to use this practice for many reasons. One argument used to support the practice is that students who enter the vocational track early in their careers tend to enter the labour market more quickly. Data show, however, that when these people are in their 40s, they become the most vulnerable to poverty, especially during periods of economic recession. In addition to moving towards more comprehensive educational systems as the best long-term way to improve the chances of all future adults, our research demonstrates that schools can play a key role in preventing and reversing the risk of unemployment and poverty of low educated youth. The INCLUD-ED project has analysed effective actions in eight European countries (Slovenia, United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Romania, Belgium, Finland, and Spain) that respond to the educational needs of those who have experienced tracking. These effective alternatives are vocational programmes that include an academic-type of curriculum and allow students to move to higher education, as well as adult education programmes in schools which meet families' training needs, improving their opportunities in the labour market.

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

Emerging technology is reshaping the world of work. Automation is revolutionizing business models, tools, tasks and delivery modes. Workers can already see the transformation happening, as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and other digital innovations are being used increasingly in the workplace. The likely effects of automation are mixed. On the one hand, some jobs are at risk of being fully or partially automated and/or replaced by robots and AI. On the other hand, these changes could increase efficiency and access to services. Employers and workers require the necessary digital and soft skills to take advantage of the new opportunities they are expected to face. However, almost half the population of the EU is considered as lacking basic digital skills and one-third of the European citizens reportedly have no or almost no digital skills at all. Approximately 40 per cent of employers are struggling to fill their job vacancies due largely to a lack of necessary skills, while 30 per cent of graduates are working in a job where the competences they acquired at university are not required. This skills gap could threaten the stability of the labour market as well as the ability of EU industry to innovate.

A number of academic studies already shed light on the potential changes in the labour force of the future. This article which presents the opinions of more than 15,000 workers across ten European countries, was designed to contribute to the overall debate by giving voice to the workers themselves and potentially bring them closer to policymakers. This paper provides insights on how the workers surveyed view the impact of new technologies on their work, how they perceive their own preparedness for automation and technological change, and which policy measures they expect from governments and others. Building on the analysis of workers' attitudes, the paper concludes with a number of suggestions for further consideration at policy level to address the skills gap and its challenges.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

The Romanian Journal of Economics is published twice a year. It focuses on all economic aspects affecting Romania and Europe, including policy, education and research. Show less

This booklet focuses on some of the main aspects of vocational education and training (VET) in Romania. It provides an outline of the structure and characteristics of the training system and the challenges it faces. The booklet includes a chart of the Romanian education and training system and some education and training figures. Show less

The [vocational education and training] VET efforts of large family business in Germany on the one hand, and the risk of the shortage of skilled workers for internationally active German businesses on the other, this paper looks at the involvement of German family businesses in vocational education and training in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). More specifically, it explores the potential and opportunities of initial and continuing vocational education and training in Central and Eastern European countries of major significance to the German economy, sets out the obstacles that exist and examines where action is needed. The study focuses on industrial and technical occupations, since a significant portion of German family businesses in CEE are industrial companies with a particular need for personnel in this field. The economic importance of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to Germany and German businesses can be seen, for example, from figures on trade intensity or the ranking of trading partners in foreign trade. Germany's imports from Poland (ranked 4th), for instance, today exceed those from Italy (5th) or France (6th). Our analysis includes seven countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Serbia. Between them, these countries are home to no fewer than 4,442 branches of German businesses, employing over 1.4 million people. This indicates the considerable potential for German businesses in the region. The potential, opportunities, obstacles and the need for action that we have identified in this study result from the particular local contexts in Central and Eastern European countries, contexts that differ considerably from country to country. While a high degree of similarity between the countries might initially be assumed, a closer examination reveals major national differences in the existing environments for vocational education and training. It was therefore necessary to begin by looking at each country's education and training system.

Published abstract.

The volume from which this paper is taken is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 153.651. Show less

This report looks at the change process in the preparation for work of young people and the need to retrain adults. Financial and technical assistance to support the reform efforts has been provided by the World Bank and the European Union (EU), as well as bilateral donors. The EU Phare program supports the former 'Eastern Bloc' countries and Macedonia in the process of economic transformation and strengthening democracy. The Tacis program supports the New Independent States and Mongolia to develop economic prosperity and political reform. The breadth, range and depth of the education and training reforms proposed or already started are extraordinarily large. Fundamental changes are required in the behaviour of the state, institutions, teachers and 'clients', including students, parents, employers and employees. In the past nine years the process of modernisation has been exceptionally rapid. However, the deeper, systemic reforms take time, possibly a whole generation. Show less

These 25 reports are a product of the VET in Europe project and review vocational education and training (VET) systems in Member States, Iceland and Norway. They are prepared and updated by ReferNet, according to a common structure provided by Cedefop. The reports are of value for understanding national VET systems, their characteristics, developments and priorities.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

This document presents the results of a survey that was conducted to examine the status of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in nine South-Eastern European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey). The survey looked at ICTs for teaching and learning; the specialised use of ICT-mediated learning in TVET; using ICT for program support in TVET; issues regarding the use of ICTs in TVET; the effectiveness of ICT-mediated learning; the integration of ICT-mediated learning in TVET; and international cooperation in using ICTs. Show less

The twelfth conference of the Journal of Vocational Education and Training (JVET) was held at Worcester College, Oxford from 7th-9th July 2017. The keynote addresses were: VET as a setting for creativity / Lene Tanggaard Pederson and VET, good jobs and the delivery dilemma / Chris Warhurst. Papers presented at the conference are listed below.

Day 1: Stakeholder perceptions of the translation of employability policy into university strategy / Roy Priest; Global strategies and local forms of VET in German multinational companies - a comparison across emerging economies / Matthias Pilz and Kristina Wiemann; Employers as individuals, employers as organisations: the continued influence of employer behaviours on policy success / Eleanor Andressen and Hayley Dalton; Professional biographical design competence and lifelong learning, as pedagogical challenges within global economic structural transformation / Thomas Vogel; Employability, progression and discourses of student welfare: a study of a Level 1 Skills to Succeed (S2S) course in an English Further Education (FE) College / Carlene Cornish; Post 30s and entrepreneurship: the discovery and pursuit of imagined positive careers in real life situations / Tony Leach; Higher education in colleges: why isn't there more of it? / Leesa Wheelahan; Seeking distinction and addressing inequalities: new times for college-based higher education in England / Ann-Marie Bathmaker; The paradox of higher vocational education: The teaching assistant game, the pursuit of capital and the self / Paul H. Smith; Connections between school and work in dual model Vocational Education and Training programmes - the Danish case / Arnt Louw and Noemi Katznelson; Asking different questions of national VET data: identifying a new factor contributing to apprenticeship non-completions / Don Zoellner; Recognition of foreign qualifications and skills in the Canadian labour market - results from PIAAC / Silvia Annen; Teacher knowledge and subject-specific pedagogy in technical and vocational education / Ronald Thompson and Pam Hanley; Improving pedagogy in vocational teaching / Kevin Orr, Ron Thompson, Pam Hanley and Jonathan Hepworth; Using a tablet computer as a primary learning tool in VET? Lessons learned from the Swiss banking apprenticeship / Stefan Kessler; Changing patterns of vocational knowledge in the health care sector: Findings from five European countries / Sandra Bohlinger, Marlene Buchner and Luisa Kresse; From accreditation of prior learning for empowerment to a proxy for training: the impact of the competence-based approach on apprenticeships for adults / Alison Fuller and Lorna Unwin; Comparative research on apprenticeships and global drivers in the production of academic knowledge: Challenges for non-Anglophone local fields of research / Anna Mazenod; Defining the pre-vocational curriculum: a case study in the design of BTEC Level 1 Introductory qualification / Hayley Dalton and Eleanor Andressen; A qualitative study of vocational students' experience of blended learning and student voice / Jan Normann; Rekindling student engagement - a story of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning in Victoria, Australia / Cornelia Debrincat; The study model at the dual university in Germany and its adaptation in China / Ye Zhang; The 'Foundation Period' of the German and Swiss apprenticeship systems: a comparative view of historical factors shaping the dual system / Philipp Gonon and Thomas Deissinger; Policy transfer of German TVET evaluation concepts to China: the example of peer review in TVET / Junmin Li; Learning situations of entrepreneurial decision-making in vocational teacher education / Brigitte Halbfas and Verena Liszt; Embedding knowledge creation into teaching in vocational and higher education / Chi-Hong Leung, Ivy Siok Ngoh Chen and Winslet Ting-Yan Chan; Transitions from VET to university: institutional challenges and changes from a neo-institutional perspective / Christian Schmidt; Beyond 'learning for earning' / Milosh Raykov and Alison Taylor; VET cultures in a European comparison - social practices as the constitutive element and tertium comparationis / Erika Gericke.

Day 2 morning: Value of vocational teachers' profession as perceived by teachers / Krista Loogma, Meidi Sirk and Meril Umarik; Transitions of second-career teachers: Positioning vocational knowledge and pedagogy / Bonnie Watt; Squeezing the middle - a study of teachers, trainers and staff working in the further education and training sector in Ireland under the backdrop of the Irish financial crisis / Justin Rami, Jane O'Kelly and Peter Tiernan; Vocational training of IT-professionals - reshaping professions for the future / Stephanie Conein and Henrik Schwarz; On-the-job trainers confronting the impact of changes in work / Roberta Besozzi; 'Knowledge and skills' as a key phrase in vocational education policy / Chris Corbel; The changing institutional context of VET - the emergence of a new labour-market segment / Christian Muller; Policy development regarding work-based learning programmes in tertiary education / Ute Hippach-Schneider and Verena Schneider; Employers' responses to the introduction of the apprenticeship levy: will it increase employer investments in human capital? / Lynn Gambin and Terence Hogarth; More like work or more like school? Insights into learning cultures from a study of skatepark users / Martin Johnson and Tim Oates; Craftwork and the 'hard problem' of the vocational-academic divide / Terry Hyland; School to work transition in England and Wales in the 1970s: official thoughts and plans revealed / Bill Bailey and Geoff Stanton; Vocational education and training of Romanian youth from rural areas: in between shortcomings and opportunities / Cristina Faludi; Beyond skills: a qualitative inquiry on Vocational Education and Training in Romania / Maria-Carmen Pantea.

Day 2 afternoon: Intercultural ethics in (VET) education / Tuija Itkonen; Developing a conceptual framework for understanding workplace knowledge: the case of RPL (APEL) / Colette Tennison and Linda Cooper; Work-based learning and the semi-professions - a suitable case for de-academisation? / Dina Kuhlee and Christopher Winch; Assessment for the changing nature of work: case studies from Singapore / Peter Rushbrook, Helen Bound, David Bound, Arthur Chia and Annie Karmel; Specifying the proficiency that a qualification needs to measure / Paul Newton; Evaluating comparability of computer and paper examinations: empirical findings and practical constraints / Zeeshan Rahman; Financial literacy of employees and entrepreneurs: a gap analysis based on the perspective of the European business and finance community / Julia Szoncsitz and Bettina Fuhrmann; Endless pathways - a comparison of professional education and training in Switzerland, Austria and Germany / Antje Barabasch; When training is producing or the paradoxes of being on-the-job trainer in Swiss dual VET / Nadia Lamamra, David Perrenoud and Roberta Besozzi; From teaching assistant (TA) to teacher: analysing increasingly complex career landscapes through life course research / Jane Wormald; 'I needed to get my confidence back', stepping back to climb further: trajectories of adult women learners on VET programmes in the UK FE sector / Rebecca Suart; Do a business: leveraging vocational education to enhance youth entrepreneurialism / Jonathan Sibley and Rebekah Dinwoodie; The hidden curriculum in vocational education and training: a socio material perspective on the influence of financial criteria / Asa Broberg and Camilla Gafvels; In the nick of time: the effect of a 'just in time' financial education intervention for Australian adults / Karina Harley and Bettina Fuhrmann; Can we rely on parents to teach financial literacy? / Bettina Fuhrmann; Vocational education and training - the bio-politics of teachers' labour / James Avis; Suffering and symbolic violence in social learning networks / Cheryl Reynolds; Nostalgia in vocational teachers' narratives as mechanism for resisting changes / Meril Umarik; Perceptions surrounding BTECs: an investigation based on social media data / Nadir Zanini and Aneesa Khan; Creating a skilled and productive workforce: New Zealand's industry training system / Nicky Murray; Encouraging completion in the VET sector - why trainees 'drop out' and what we can do about it / Anne Alkema; Is completing multiple VET qualifications worthwhile? / Gavin Moodie, Jinli Yang, Leesa Wheelahan, Ruth Childs, Christian Noumi, Jennifer Sipos-Smith and Laura Servage; Analysing the six dimensions of assessment for the changing nature of work in different spaces / Helen Bound; Formative assessment in apprenticeships in engineering / Maggie Gregson and Brian Todd; From architectural policymaking to organic change: revisiting the abolition of the colleges of education / Robin Simmons; Identifying leadership skills to manage the competitive environment of Australian vocational education training / Moira Kairys, George Messinis and Theo Papadopoulos; The status and development of polytechnics: a historical and comparative analysis / Qin Liu; Employability and apprentices: what can we learn? / Harriet Dismore; Employability skills: a comparative study of employers' expectations of school-leavers in Germany and Australia / Roger Harris, Lea Zenner, Matthias Pilz and Chris Zirkle; How can we measure the linkage of actors from the education and employment system in vocational education and training? / Thomas Bolli, Ursula Renold and Katherine Caves.

Day 3: Rethinking foreign language learning and vocational education and training (VET) within the context of global student migration: case studies of Indonesian learners of Japanese / Fatmawati Djafri; Vocational training aspirations and opportunities for Syrian refugee youth in a comparative context / Lesley Doyle, Georgios Karyotis and Dimitris Skleparis; Reconsidering the relevance of critical race theory in multicultural VET in Australia / Susan Webb and Miriam Faine; An analysis of institutional change in British Columbia's Apprenticeship System / Greg Matte; Governance of vocational education and training through the example of training standards development - a European comparison of stakeholders, processes and design / Kristina Alice Hensen-Reifgens and Marthe Geiben; Four logics of governance - governing vocational education and training / Nanna Friche and Vibeke Normann Andersen; From higher VET to higher education in VET: progress and prospects in Ontario / Qin Liu, Gavin Moodie, Leesa Wheelahan and Michael Skolnik; Facilitating the transition from campus to corporate? The development of work-ready engineering graduates through project-based learning / Ann Lahiff; Degree apprenticeships: higher technical or technical higher education? / Daniel Bishop and Jim Hordern; Professional teaching qualifications: motivational factors affecting success / Lorraine Syme-Smith; Issues concerning professional identities and mathematics in Further Education / Diane Dalby; Legitimate Peripheral Innovation: Can apprentices be part of innovation processes? / Dorothy Olsen; Skill mismatch and higher vocational education in emerging countries: The Chilean case / Maria Paola Sevilla and Mauricio Farias; Technical and vocational education and training in Saudi Arabia: the influence of family on the career decision making of young people / Hanaa Almoaibed; Mature students' constructions of 'employability' in Higher VET / Kate Lavender; Professional identity development in the modern workplace: the case of retail apprentices in Switzerland / Kerstin Duemmler, Alexandra Felder and Isabelle Caprani; Intersecting young apprentices and principals' social representations of vocational education and training in Portugal / Alexandra Doroftei, Sofia Marques Da Silva and Helena C. Araujo; Vocational education as a form of inclusion or social exclusion? The opinion of some institutionalized Portuguese youngsters / Dulce Martins and Carolina Carvalho; Aspirations, poverty and inequality: listening to the voices of South African college students / Simon Mcgrath and Lesley Powell; VET in the Nordic countries: a trade-off between social inclusion and social equality? / Christian Helms Jorgensen; Increasing Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTs) among students: the effect of infusion approach in engineering drawing subject / Norazlinda Mohd Darby and Abdullah M Rashid; The bathtub bus - Didactic consideration for developing creativity in VET / Antje Barabasch; Creativity and the curriculum: a glass half empty? / Prue Huddleston and Heidi Ashton; Young people's training and employment opportunities in the UK: Disentangling the evidence on skills shortages in the context of Brexit / Lesley Doyle; The shifting context of vocational education and training in Australia / Margaret Malloch; A skills eco-system perspective on the decline of furniture hubs in George, South Africa, and High Wycombe, Oxfordshire, UK / Andre Kraak; Law outside the vacuum - An ethnographic study of knowledge and epistemic practice within a University Law Clinic / Phil Drake; Engineering accreditation in Canada: the battleground for changes to the professional knowledge base / Mike Klassen; Knowledge, skills and moral order: a workplace turn in vocational education / Bill Esmond. Show less

This collection of individual country reports looks at working life during 2020 for 29 countries - the 27 EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom. The country reports summarise first evidence on the impact of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic on working life based on national research and survey results. The reports discuss the policy responses of governments and social partners in their efforts to cushion the socioeconomic effects and include a focus on policy areas that have been accelerated or disrupted due to the crisis. Finally, the reports explore the impact of the pandemic on industrial action, working time and wages.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website.

The reports are as follows: Austria: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Bernadette Allinger; Belgium: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Dries Van Herreweghe; Bulgaria: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Ekaterina Ribarova and Violeta Ivanova; Czechia: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Stepanka Lehmann and Sona Veverkova; Denmark: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Maria Hansen and Carsten Jorgensen; Estonia: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Ingel Kadarik, Merilen Laurimae and Mart Masso; Germany: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Sandra Vogel and Marc Breitenbroich; Greece: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Elena Kousta; Spain: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Oscar Molina; Croatia: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Predrag Bejakovic; Finland: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Amanda Kinnunen; France: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Frederic Turlan; Hungary: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Agnes Hars; Ireland: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Andy Prendergast; Italy: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Roberto Pedersini; Latvia: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Raita Karnite; Lithuania: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Inga Blaziene, Rasa Mieziene and Ramune Guobaite-Kirsliene; Poland: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Jan Czarzasty; Portugal: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Maria da Paz Campos Lima and Paula Carrilho; Romania: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Valentina Vasile, Cristina Boboc and Simona Ghita; Slovakia: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Ludovit Cziria, Rastislav Bednarik and Daniela Keselova; Slovenia: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Maja Breznik and Barbara Luzar; Sweden: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Anna-Karin Gustafsson and Amanda Kinnunen; UK: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Claire Evans; Luxembourg: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Gaetan de Lanchy; Malta: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Saviour Rizzo; Netherlands: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Amber van der Graaf; Norway: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Asmund Arup Seip; Cyprus: working life in the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 / Pavlos Kalosinatos. Show less