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This book is the sixth volume in a series resulting from the international networking of the research group VETYL (Vocational Education and Training/Yrkeskunnande och Larande) at the Department of Education, Stockholm University in Sweden. The book serves as an umbrella for the presentation of research that focuses on a variety of policy issues and dimensions of the partnership between education and the world of work. The selected and reviewed texts in this volume were intended for the 8th Stockholm International Conference of Research in Vocational Education and Training planned for May 2020, which did not take place due to the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 restrictions. The contributions deal with transitions in vocational education and training systems and depict the diversity of research in the field.

Edited excerpts from publication.

The contents are as follows: Section one, 'VET policies: national and regional perspectives', contains the chapters: The VET system in Lombardy (Italy): a first pedagogical outlook between history and future / Francesco Magni; Shifting currents: the influence of Brexit on VET policy discourse in four countries (Denmark, England, Finland and Scotland) as portrayed through the European semester cycle / Jane Pither; The shift to technical elite formation and residuality: a European perspective / Bill Esmond; Integration of refugees through access to their previous vocation: a literature review / Eva Eliasson, Ali Osman and Marianne Teras; Regional collaboration for integration and competence: the case of Swedish for immigrants with previous professional training (Sfx) / Petros Gougoulakis and Katarina Lagercrantz All; The potential value of social representations for comparative [technical vocational education and training] TVET research: a Mexican case study / Ute Clement, Paola Garcia Fuentes and Claudia Hunink; A VET leadership model / Ramlee Mustapha and Irdayanti Mat Nashir.

Section two, 'Collaboration and partnership with the world of work', contains the chapters: Different structures, different results?: continental and Nordic education structures compared / Lorenz Lassnigg; Integration and appropriation of professional content: current challenges of Cuban vocational technical education / Juan Alberto Mena Lorenzo, Jorge Luis Mena Lorenzo, Vilma Maria Perez Vinas and Pedro Luis Yturria Montenegro; Difficulties, challenges and problems in the ongoing process of dual VET implementation in Spain: a systematic review of the scientific literature / Luis Martinez-Izquierdo, Monica Torres and Miguel A. Pereyra; The importance of industrial collaborations in developing future Malaysian vocational training institutions / Haryanti Mohd Affandi, Mohd Firdaus Mustaffa Kamal, Nurul Eizzaty Sohimi, Norazlinda Mohamad, Roshahliza Mohd Ramli, Razali Hassan and Lazaro Moreno Herrera; Vocational education and training, the contested partner in innovation projects / Magdolna Benke. Show less

The 'More jobs, better jobs' partnership between Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), Leeds City Council and Leeds City Region looks at how poverty can be reduced through jobs and economic growth. This research records a number of indicators so the progress of the partnership can be measured. The study: brings together existing data on trends across key economic, employment and poverty indicators in the Leeds City Region; makes an impartial assessment of people's understanding of the economy, employment and poverty, and the plans that are in place to influence these areas; and looks at how Leeds City Region's economy is likely to develop over the next decade.

Abstract from publisher's website.

The report includes two appendices: Appendix two - local data analysis; Appendix three - local data scorecards. Show less

This report has been prepared jointly by BMG Research and CFE Research. It presents the findings from a study to develop a fuller understanding of reasons for regional variations in higher education participation in England. Participation in higher education in England has been steadily increasing since the 1990s. Participation amongst disadvantaged groups has grown in line with this overall increase and the gap between the most and least disadvantaged has narrowed. However, there are large differences in the participation rates of young people living in different parts of the country. Other research shows that prior educational attainment and ethnicity are important predictors of participation in higher education. When these are accounted for, many differences between areas are reduced. However, some areas have much higher or lower levels of participation than would be expected given pupil attainment and the local ethnic profile, suggesting other factors are also at play.

The aim of this study is, therefore, to explore the factors influencing participation in higher education particularly where these relate to or vary by locality, and the relative influence these have on the propensity of the young people living in the area to progress into higher education. The report: (1) summarises existing knowledge on participation rates in higher education and key determinants of participation; (2) identifies areas with high and low levels of participation or changes in participation, which cannot be explained by either prior educational attainment or the ethnic composition of an areas' population; (3) identifies factors at a local level which appear to drive higher education participation, including environmental or other 'uncontrollable' factors; and (4) identifies key influential actors and stakeholders and actions they can take to influence participation.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

International research on adult education systems reaches certain limitations when explaining differences between and within countries. Often, research within the multilevel system of adult education examines issues located at the macro-level, meaning policy and legal frameworks, and at the micro-level, dealing with impacts on learners. This article focuses on the meso-level of adult education in two sample countries, referring to providers and their educational offers of publicly financed basic and community education. Guided by the theoretical approaches of educational governance and neo-institutionalism, we identify governance regimes and organizational fields and analyze the impacts of legal and financial regulation on providers and their provision. Based on document review and expert interviews, relations at the national and regional levels are analyzed. We find a decentralized system supporting the regional provision of basic adult education in Spain and a mixture of national and regional regulations leading to regional provision based on learners' needs in England.

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

Clustering theory assumes that companies gravitate towards each other on the basis of locally and regionally specific resources and supply chain characteristics, which lead in turn to innovation and high-value economic development. In line with such thinking, UK government policy has devolved certain functions to regional development agencies such as the encouragement of linkages and systems to facilitate knowledge transfer and address skills needs within regional clusters. Within this broad context, the research reported here focused on the analysis and development of an action plan for the development of marine and maritime sector skills within the South West region, which led to the establishment of a new institutional framework of three sub-regional centres of excellence based on industry and training collaboration to provide demand-led vocational training. The overall issue here is how sector skills shortages can be tackled by strategic intervention at a regional level and collaboration between stakeholders at a sub-regional level.

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

Aura and Green Port Hull commissioned Energy and Utility Skills to undertake a comprehensive skills study of the UK's offshore wind industry and to provide a specific focus on that industry in the Humber region. The purpose of the study is to provide a deeper understanding of nature and extent of workforce supply and demand issues within the development, construction and operation of the UK's offshore wind energy sector through to 2032. The project pipeline developed specifically for this study highlights the growth potential of the industry. The pipeline contains details of 65 known/planned projects, all of which, if consented and constructed, could be built by 2032. Employment levels are expected to increase in all phases of the project lifecycle, but particularly in construction and installation, and operations and maintenance. Employment demand will be strongest for technicians and engineers, with an estimated additional requirement for 10,200 by 2032. This represents nearly half of new job creation and reflects the highly-skilled, technical nature of many of the tasks undertaken by the workforce. However, the study has found that there are several factors could have a significant impact on the job creation (in addition to the factors stated above which may impact on the deployment of the project pipeline), such as the workforce strategies employed by owner/operators, technological progress/innovation and the speed/direction of industry maturing and consolidation. The availability of new talent could be an issue given that the labour market is currently extremely tight (record high employment and low unemployment) and shows little sign of easing - a situation that could be further impacted upon by post-Brexit immigration policies. A number of recommendations are made to facilitate the supply of skilled labour to the industry in the future.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

The story of what has happened to jobs in the UK over the last five years is well known. The employment level and rate fell during the recession, but the employment level has recovered quickly (with a dip in 2010-11). The employment rate has been slower to improve, in part because the working age population has increased by two-thirds of a million. This report shifts the focus from the national picture to what has been happening in the English regions, using the Office for National Statistics' standard regions: the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West. It finds divergent trends and that in some areas of the UK labour market performance has been poorer than the headline regional statistics suggest.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

This analysis aims to address some of the contextual gaps in our understanding by examining the relationship between job-related training and wellbeing and how this relationship is impacted by gender, age and region of residence. We ask the following questions: Are adult learners gaining wellbeing benefits from job-related training? Are the wellbeing gains greater for some groups compared to others? Are the wellbeing gains from training the same for adult learners across the four nations of the UK?

Edited abstract from publisher's website. Show less

'Skills in England 2004', the fourth annual national skills assessment produced by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), provides a synthesis of the latest evidence that is available on the demand for, and supply of, skills in England. Its main aims and objectives are to identify current and future skills problems and deficiencies. It is presented in four volumes: volume one contains the key messages and provides an overview of the research findings in the other three volumes; volume two, the main research report, contains information on the demand for, and supply of, skills as well as mismatches between demand and supply; and volumes three and four provide evidence related to industrial sector, and regional and local trends respectively. This document is the index to the four volumes.

The four volumes are indexed from TD/TNC 82.395 to TD/TNC 82.398. Show less

‘Skills in England 2003’, the third annual national skills assessment produced by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), provides a synthesises of the latest evidence that is available on the demand for, and supply of, skills in England. It is presented in four volumes. This volume contains a set of regional and local profiles that summarises the economic and labour market context of the English economy. For each Regional Development Agency (RDA), and local Learning and Skills Council (LSC), a summary table is presented showing comparable information on demographic characteristics, economic indicators, sectoral structure, indicators of skill deficiencies, and unemployment rate.

Volumes one to three are indexed from TD/TNC 79.241 to TD/TNC 79.243. Show less