Search Results

The fellowship provided the opportunity to explore, assess and observe electrical apprenticeship training and explore new and innovative industrial electrical products within the international arena. The author visited vocational training institutions in Norway, Germany and Scotland to review and appraise the securing of high retention rates, flexible apprentice programs, post apprenticeship pathways and the benefits of enhanced collaboration with industry. This fellowship program has resulted in a number of recommendations being made for adoption to enhance the quality of electrical apprenticeships.

Edited excerpts from publication.

The International Specialised Skills Institute (ISSI) is an independent, national organisation that works with Australian governments, industry and education institutions to enable individuals to gain enhanced skills and experience in traditional trades, professions and leading-edge technologies. Fellows travel overseas and, upon their return, are required to pass on what they have learned through a detailed report, recommendations for improvements and delivering training activities. Show less

Apprenticeships are well suited to provide young people with an entry point into the labor market and to supply manufacturing enterprises with skilled workers. This report further investigates apprenticeship systems at a company level, focusing on the extent to which these practices deviate from the national apprenticeship frameworks and how companies are adapting to future skill needs. It builds on the analysis of national apprenticeship systems in the 2018 Eurofound report 'Adaptation of national apprenticeship systems to advanced manufacturing' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 134.160] and summarises the results of 14 case studies of good practice in the manufacturing sector in five EU Member States (Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland and Italy) and two countries outside Europe (Australia and the United States). Situated in different national and sector-specific environments, all case studies are characterised by the aim to adjust apprenticeship programmes and/or practices in response to challenges emerging from advanced manufacturing technologies and processes. The case studies examine a series of different issues, notably context, drivers for implementing change, impact and crucial factors for success.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website.

The case studies are as follows: Modernisation of dual apprenticeship training at ABB: Germany / Eckhard Voss; Innovative practices at Airbus Operations in Hamburg: Germany / Eckhard Voss; Talent Tracks for gifted industrial apprentices: Denmark / Soren Kristensen; Knowledge centres for robot technology and automation: Denmark / Soren Kristensen; Jules Verne Manufacturing Academy: France / Djamel Messaoudi and Nicolas Farvaque; Job and Qualification Campus in transport: France / Djamel Messaoudi and Nicolas Farvaque; 'New' apprenticeships in the light of technological change: Ireland / Jeff Bridgford; Modernisation of a designated craft apprenticeship: Ireland / Jeff Bridgford; Bosch Industry 4.0 Talent Program: Italy / Anna Teselli and Pier Paolo Angelini; Higher apprenticeship in advanced manufacturing: Italy / Anna Teselli and Pier Paolo Angelini; Siemens higher apprenticeship pilot programme: Australia / Phil Toner and Damian Oliver; Varley Group: modernising apprenticeships: Australia / Keiko Yasukawa, Phil Toner and Damian Oliver; Adjusting apprenticeship at Oberg Industries: United States / Robert I. Lerman; Mechatronics Apprenticeship Program of Festo Didactic: United States / Bryan D. Kamm and Robert I. Lerman. Show less

Cross-border regions display significant economic, political, and cultural cooperation and represent a central feature of Europe - not least as innovation labs for the European integration project. A key example is the trinational French-German-Swiss Upper Rhine region. Each of the respective bordering countries displays a specific mode of regulation in VET. How do actors govern vocational education and training (VET) in this dynamic industry cluster in which distinct national political-administrative units do not overlap with the functional needs of employers and (future) employees?

Relying on expert interviews and document analysis, this chapter offers a novel comparison of the respective subnational units within each cross-border region. The institutional study finds a key pattern through which skill formation is institutionalised within the cross-border context: the leveraging of complementarities between distinct educational institutions. In combining the specific strengths of different national skills regimes, VET stakeholders in cross-border regions are in a position to enlarge the scope and capacities of their skill regime far beyond national borders.

Published abstract. Show less

This article investigates a German initiative to fund a research programme on international development cooperation in vocational education and training (VET). It briefly describes the strands of the programme and critically reflects on them. It is considered important that this programme be initiated to stimulate research on international VET development cooperation because, while there are institutes for and programmes on VET research, research on VET is modest in volume compared with that of educational research on elementary or secondary education. The article also considers priority areas for VET research that are part of the programme and expands on these, using a number of VET research themes and topics.

An important conclusion is that in research on international VET development cooperation it is important to pursue a balanced approach by taking the practical, political, administrative and scientific factors into account. These factors all play a role at the national, regional and local levels. Too much pragmatism or too isolated a scientific specialisation should be avoided. Respectful cooperation between all the stakeholders is imperative, and is especially important in projects that combine researchers with a predominantly long-term perspective and teachers and managers with a mainly short-term outlook. Finally, I express the hope that more national governments would follow the example of Germany. Their doing so would definitely raise the profile of international VET research, which is absolutely needed.

Published abstract. Show less

The new training literature argues that imperfect labour markets (i.e. less competition) lead to an increasing productivity-wage wedge. We show that this relation does not hold for all institutional and market environments. We use representative establishment panel data for Germany and apply a control function approach for estimating the production function to correct for endogeneity in input factors. We show that the skill-productivity gradient responds stronger to increases in product market competition and labour market density than the skill-wage gradient. This leads to an increasing productivity-wage wedge in more competitive environments. Similarly, works councils have a stronger effect on the skill-productivity than on the skill-wage gradient while both gradients are similar in the presence of union wage bargaining. Our results call for a more nuanced interpretation of the exposition of the new training literature to understand company-sponsored training across institutional and market environments.

Published abstract. Show less

The Fachhochschule (FH) Brandenburg is a relatively young university for applied sciences and plays a role in supporting regional development. While it has three departments: engineering, informatics and media, and business and management, the FH Brandenburg specialises in informatics and business informatics and has special study programs in security management, medical informatics and energy efficiency. This report presents the findings of a review of current strategies and practices in entrepreneurship support provision at the FH Brandenburg. The report also presents a selection of international learning models with the aim of providing inspiration for new approaches at the FH Brandenburg. This report investigates the following questions: What are current strategies and practices in university entrepreneurship support? How accessible is entrepreneurship support for students and graduates? How well is the university entrepreneurship support integrated into the wider local entrepreneurship support system? This report presents achievements and challenges in light of the above questions and advances recommendations for future action. The assessment framework employed for the review is presented in the annex of this report.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

This report was compiled under the ILO's research project, Apprenticeship Development for Universal Lifelong Learning and Training (ADULT), funded by the Government of Flanders. The project aims to explore how apprenticeship systems are being modernised and transformed to promote and enable lifelong learning and decent work for youth, adults, and older workers (both employed and unemployed). This research paper explores the status of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that offer apprenticeship opportunities in various countries, the reasons for the low participation of enterprises with especial reference to developing and developed countries and the various factors which affect the participation of enterprises in apprenticeship. It also highlights the experiences and lessons learned from the initiatives taken by various countries in encouraging employers to participate in the apprenticeships.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

The 2018 World Congress was organized by TAFE Directors Australia with the support of the Victorian TAFE Association and students and faculty of Melbourne's TAFEs. The three-day World Congress was one of Australia's largest gatherings of education and skills leaders, with almost 140 speakers and 44 concurrent sessions, under the theme of Preparing for the Skills Future, Now. Speakers and presenters explored the changing nature of work with particular focus on the impact of advances in technologies and automation on [professional and technical education and training] PTET. The World Congress focussed on solutions to these challenges and provided an opportunity for international delegates to look at their own PTET systems from the outside and compare their readiness to that of other countries.

Excerpts from the WFCP website.

See the attached 'List of presentations' for the titles of the papers presented at this conference. Show less

There is a widespread perception among international experts of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) that companies usually do not 'invest' in entry-level vocational training. However, some deviant cases of companies' investment behaviour do exist. For example, German companies have been admired for their often lavish funding of training. The 'dual system' - perceived as the cause of German economic dynamism - became the blueprint for many international efforts, mostly governmental in nature, designed to emulate the German training 'system'. Unfortunately, due attention was not always paid to the conditions behind this 'success'. Both inside and outside Germany, there have been difficulties in understanding why German companies' 'investment' behaviour deviates so sharply from international patterns of financing training programmes. The majority of explanations have only cited 'cultural reasons'. Although this perception may not be wrong, cultural reasons do not provide the complete explanation. Cultural reasons rarely beat hard-nosed cost calculations, unless benefits of some kind accrue, not necessarily always in an easily measurable 'currency'. But, companies do not reject 'cash value' measures other than economic ones, especially if it is supposed to lead to an economic advantage. If we follow Polanyi's advice and understand the economy as 'embedded and enmeshed in institutions, economic and non-economic' (Polanyi, 2001, p. 36), it is essential to understand how German (and other) training is embedded in contexts. This chapter explores outstanding features of German apprenticeships in order to understand how they interact with their political, cultural, social, educational and economic environment. Hence, the objective is to understand German training amidst its wider environment, instead of analysing isolated training models or comparing such constructs.

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

Global developments including the transition to greener economies, the application of digital technologies in the world of work, and the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, amongst others, are changing the way we live and work. These developments are driving technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems to improve their capacity to identify the future skills demands and to expand access to skills development opportunities. As TVET adapts itself to the impacts of significant social, environmental, and economic disruptions, innovative practices emerge with the potential to rejuvenate the future of skills development. Schools, training centres and colleges have the potential to play a leading role to drive innovation in their local skills and innovation ecosystem.

This practical guide proposes a framework for TVET institutions to increase their capacities to drive innovation. The framework is developed on the basis of UNESCO-UNEVOC's Skills for Innovation Hubs (i-hubs) initiative, which included the participation of ten pilot TVET institutions from Africa, Asia and the Pacific and Europe. The practical guide provides a systematic, institution-wide, measurable and evidence-based methodology that enables TVET institutions to streamline innovation into their strategic planning, products and services, ecosystem engagement, and teaching and learning processes. By applying the UNEVOC Innovation Framework, TVET institutions can assess their preparedness to innovate, take actions to innovate learning processes and products and services, and develop concrete outputs for improvement. In doing so, institutions can inspire other entities in their local ecosystem to pursue the path of innovation.

Excerpts from publication. Show less