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One important field of higher education research is the relationship between higher education and the workplace (Teichler, 2005; 2007). As foreign language specialists working in higher education, we have noticed that these surveys cover a wide range of worthy topics, but often fail to tackle issues that are significant to us when planning our language curriculum, such as the relationship between foreign language use and the need for foreign languages at work today. This article discusses the most relevant findings of a comprehensive study carried out at the University of Helsinki language centre (Karjalainen and Lehtonen, 2005a) which looked into work-related foreign language needs of graduates from the University of Helsinki. The aim of this article is to provoke other language centres or similar institutions in other European universities to carry out research that is similar to ours so that the overall picture becomes clearer and to propose that graduate surveys focus even more on language and communication matters. Knowing the language and communication demands at the workplace helps universities plan their degree requirements and curriculum. This, in turn, facilitates the graduates’ adjustment to the demands.

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On April 2010, the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) convened a leadership dialogue workshop in response to a call from the Chair of the Zimbabwe University Vice-Chancellors' Association for regional support in rebuilding Zimbabwe's higher education sector. All Vice-Chancellors of higher education institutions in the region, or their representatives, were invited to participate in the workshop. The workshop examined a needs analysis of the higher education sector in Zimbabwe as a basis for developing a framework for collaboration with higher education institutions throughout the SADC region, in an effort to address some of the most urgent priorities identified. This publication documents the inputs into the dialogue process and the frame that guided the conversation at the workshop. The first paper reports the outcomes of a research project undertaken by SARUA in which the extent and perceived benefits of regional cooperation, the forms of collaboration in postgraduate studies that exist in the region and the constraints to regional collaboration, are examined. It explores and locates regional cooperation in the context of the process of internationalisation occurring in higher education. It also describes the practices elsewhere in the world and reports the research results. The paper concludes by making a series of proposals on the respective roles government, donors and higher education institutions can play in promoting collaboration in the region. The second paper served as an input at the dialogue meeting and reports the results of a needs analysis undertaken to identify the current needs and priorities of public universities in Zimbabwe. It notes the significant contribution that the higher education system in Zimbabwe has made to the region, and analyses the developments in the sector over the last decade. The paper reports on the findings of the analysis with specific reference to the needs in fields of teaching, learning, research and collaboration. In addition, the paper reports on a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening the higher education sector in the country, before it concludes with emerging insights gained through the needs-analysis process. The third contribution provides a reflection on the state of the higher education system from within Zimbabwe. It describes the decline of the higher education system, with a particular focus on the effects of the economic decline experienced in the country. The paper explores proposals for strengthening the system and concludes with a request to higher education institutions based specifically in South Africa. The final paper describes the unfolding of the dialogue process and its outcomes by locating it in the context of SARUA's efforts to build a regional higher education identity through dialogue and networking activities. It concludes by documenting the Cape Town Accord and Call to Action as the outcome of the dialogue process.

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The contents are: Co-operation in higher education and postgraduate programmes in the SADC region / Pam Watson; Rebuilding higher education in Zimbabwe: a needs analysis / Piyushi Kotecha and Helene Perold; Considerations from inside Zimbabwe regarding the rebuilding of its higher education system / Christopher Chetsanga; Leadership dialogue on rebuilding higher education in Zimbabwe: priorities and prospects / Mark Burke. Show less

The article presents the results of a survey to determine the interest in the graduate certificate programme in engineering education. The survey included queries regarding the need for training in general, preferred areas of training, preferences in the type of professional development programme, its duration, delivery method and other important related issues. The survey was sent to human resource representatives from industry and from academic institutions across the United States of America. There were 191 responses to the survey: 86 from industry and 105 from academic institutions. The results obtained clearly indicate the need and preferences related to the content area and pedagogical framework of the programme. The information is currently used in the preparation of the on-line graduate certificate programme in engineering education.

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Until 1972, Roseworthy Agricultural College had not admitted any female students. In 1986, 27% of the student population at the college were women, with a quarter of those in one course only, leaving 17.5% of women in all other courses. Not only is the number of women students low, but they tend to congregate towards the lower end of the award structure. This study, undertaken during 1987, investigated the reasons for the extremely low participation rate of South Australian rural women in courses at Roseworthy Agricultural College. Show less

Nordic universities are involved in a global competition against American and UK universities, whose main competitive advantage is their placement in English-speaking countries. The authors argue that Nordic universities need to do more to offset this advantage than merely offer English-Medium (EM) courses to foreign and domestic students. They also need to systematically address their students' need for advanced occupational English skills. To underpin this claim, the authors use data from three different needs analyses: (1) a large-scale survey of language use and needs in Norwegian government ministries; (2) a qualitative follow-up study based on interviews of state directorate staff; and (3) a follow-up survey of ministerial job advertisements. These show that while almost 89 per cent of ministerial staff use English at work on a regular basis, almost 80 per cent of the highly educated staff have no formal English courses beyond upper secondary school, and that this leads to communication problems. The job advertisement data show that this is because language skills are invariably required in combination with professional degrees that do not necessarily include language modules. It concludes by arguing the need to integrate language-learning goals into EM courses and to supplement these with occupational English and communication courses.

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This annual compilation of abstracts introduces the research and projects conducted by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET) in 2021. The abstracts are: (1) A research on directions and tasks of career experience for elementary and secondary schools to build career capital: focusing on career competency / Minwook Lee, Hea Jung Chang, YoHan Go, and Chanju Moon; (2) National hrd innovation in the non-face-to-face era / Seung-bo Kim, Ae-ri Han, Youngsup Choi, and Mi Jeong Eom; (3) A method of establishing vocational education governance according to education autonomy and expansion of lifelong learning / Young Jun Heo, Soojeong Lee, Sang Hun Lee, Jungmin Lee, and Dongjun Shin; (4) Developing and measuring innovation capability in specialized vocational high schools according to changes in the future society / Jongwoo Kim, Sook-Young Byun, Nam Hui Kim, and Su Jung Choi; (5) Measures for the substantiality of continuing vocational education in higher education institutions to respond to future environmental changes / Dong Sun Choi, Nam Hui Kim, Ji-Eun Ryu, Sang-Hun Lee, Eon Lim, Hyun Yong Ahn, and Junghoon Lim; (6) A study on the activation plan of non-face-to-face online career experiential learning / Heajung Chang, Suhyun Choi, Seung Rok Hwang, Dongchan Park, Myungryun Oh, and Bokyung Gye; (7) A research on human resources development policy for responding to changes in industrial structure and securing competitveness of SMEs: focusing on manufacturing / Kwang Pyo Hong, Me Rhan Kim, Mirang Kim, Sanggyun Moon, Yeoin Yoon, Ahn Kook Kim, Seong-jun, Jeon, Weon Ho Jeong, and Youngmin Kim; (8) Manufacturing crisis and local job creation plans: focusing on employment crisis regions / Ho Young Oh, Hui Jung Chu, Eunhye Lee, and Sungil Cho; (9) A study on the development of career education industry / Tong Park, Su Won Kim, Hyo Won Kwon, Jina Kye, and Kap Seon Hwang; (10) A study on how to encourage trade unions' engagement in training governance / Soorin Yoon, Kirak Ryu, Yumi Kim, and Kyuseong Hwang; (11) productivity in the Social Service Sector and Good Jobs Strategy / Jaewook Nahm, Sungik Cho, Myunghwan Yoo Youngbin Kim, and Taeyoung Yun; (12) A study on the revision of school career education goals and achievement standards / Sang Geun Han, Yun Kyeong Jeong, Jieun Jeong, and JoongSeok Ahn; (13) Improving disaster responsive system against pandemics in vocational education sectors: the Korean experience / Min-Kyoo Kim; (14) The relationship between personal resources of vocational high school students and entrance into the labor market / Jungmin Lee and Myunghwan Yoo; (15) The role and operation of TV WORKNET: focusing on the possibility of a redesign of a path for lifelong vocational competency development / Bomi Kim, Sookyoung Lee, Ran Chung, and Eun-Jung Ko; (16) A study on the establishment of a new development scheme for a lifelong learning society / Chang-Kyun Chae, Hyeonhyo Ahn, and Hongmo Sung; (17) Policy issues for a just transition towards carbon neutrality / Jaewook Nahm, Sungik Cho, and Christina Hiessl; (18) In the sge of AI, what kind of competencies will the workers in the future need? / Ga Woon Ban, Bomi Kim, Jaewook Nahm, Youngbin Kim, Kyetaik Oh, Hyeran Choi, and Eunsang Cho; (19) A study on the school career curriculum in preparation for the revision of the national curriculum / Yun Kyeong Jeong, Nashil Park, Nara Kim, Youn jin Lee, Yujin Heo, and Jonghun Kim; (20) A study on local government strategies for a regional learning ecosystems / Seung-bo Kim, Hangu Ryu, Minseok Kim, and Seong Lee; (21) The construction of data-based skill forecasting system (2021) / SungIk Cho, Ga Woon Ban, Bomi Kim, Ha Hwang, Nu-ri Jeon, Cheonsoo Park, and Ahn Kook Kim; (22) A research on Korean Occupational Index for Career and Employment Service (2021) / Jae-yeol Lee, Hea Joon Yoon, Jieun Jeong, Soohyun Choi, Ryu Ji Young, YoHan Go, and Minwook Lee; (23) A study on a paradigm shift regarding managing faculty of new industries in vocational education and training institutions in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2021) / Jong Wook Kim, Jae-Yeong Ahn, Jongho Jeon, Hui Jung Chui, Ae-ri Han, Kyunghee Kim, Hanseong Kim, and Jaehwa Jeong; and (24) An analysis of labor mobility and labor market performance of local university graduates / Woojin Ahn, Hui Jung Chu, and Wonyoung Baek.

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Purpose: This study aims to examine residents' perceptions of adult and continuing education (ACE) in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do and Incheon in South Korea, by conducting a needs assessment of university degree programs for adults. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses Borich's educational needs formula and Hershkowitz's criticality function on the data obtained from a survey of 1,500 residents of the three regions to determine their priorities for degree programs. Findings: The results show that the top priorities for degree programs in Seoul are computer information and communication and therapeutic health. In Gyeonggi-do, the top priorities are computer information and communication, language and literature and business and economics. In Incheon, participants prefer computer information and communication, agriculture, forestry and fisheries and therapeutic health, in that order.

Originality/value: This study examines Koreans' perceptions of ACE and conducts a needs assessment to determine their priorities for university degree programs in metropolitan areas in Korea. It provides practical information for policymakers and universities who design and implement ACE programs.

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Food service provision at universities worldwide has assumed greater importance in recent decades as students now have access to numerous learning options. Furthermore, it has been observed that the quality of food services is one of the components that influence personal satisfaction with campus life. It is within this context that this study sought to establish the skills and training needs of Zimbabwe's state-owned universities' foodservice employees. Multiple data sources such as document analysis, semi-structured interviews, a self-completed questionnaire survey and personal observations were utilised. One of the key themes emerging from the study is that most state-owned universities lagged behind in terms of viewing foodservice personnel as a strategic business asset. In this connection, training and education development plans for foodservice staff were limited among the state-owned universities. In addition, it was established that the majority of the food service employees had a profound desire for continuing education and training programmes. Furthermore, it appeared that the country's macroeconomic instability had adversely affected numerous aspects of food and beverage operations at the universities' canteens including the morale and reward packages of most of the employees. The study concludes that state-owned universities need to adopt a strategic human resources management perspective towards foodservice personnel in order to gain a sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly overcrowded market for university students. The study ends by indicating future research priorities.

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The Digital Literacy Project was launched in response to recognising that the use of technologies to enable dual campus collaborative teaching and learning required an improvement in the digital skills of staff. The project used a process of self-assessment and competency based training to address identified needs in workplace, educational and communication technology skills. On completion of the project, staff were surveyed and asked about their experiences of the self-assessment and training processes. Staff indicated that while the needs self-assessment process was cumbersome, time-consuming and sometimes confusing, the training received was beneficial, but needed to be timely, personally relevant and easily accessible. As a result of this research, it is recommended that the self-assessment process be consolidated and that the Institute consider mechanisms to measure the overall effectiveness of ongoing training initiatives with respect to training delivery, embedding of new skills and Institutional Return on Investment.

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