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The Sectoral Employment Development Learning Project (SEDLP) was created in April 1997 to document and evaluate selected sectoral programs in quantitative and qualitative terms, and to disseminate the findings to interested policy makers and practitioners. A primary goal of the SEDLP was to address the question of whether sectoral approaches work. This publication examines data from a longitudinal survey of participants in six sectoral employment training programs, and documents what participants report one year after completing training, about their earnings, employment situation, and experiences with the programs. The findings of the project strongly indicate that only one year after completion of the training program, participation resulted in significant gains in the labour market, including higher annual earnings and earnings per hour, higher employment rates, increased hours of work, and improved job satisfaction and job quality. The contents are as follows: About this project; Executive summary; Outcomes for underemployed and unemployed (non-incumbent) workers; Personal earnings and income; Employment and experience in the job market; Job satisfaction and job quality; Participants’ training experience; Conclusion; Technical note: comparison of characteristics of Wave 2 respondents and Wave 1 respondents. Show less

While research consistently finds positive earnings returns to educational attainment, there is little evidence on postsecondary education's impact on other employment-related outcomes. Yet nonpecuniary returns to schooling are particularly important in the United States, where fringe benefits are typically tied to employment and there is a great degree of variation in job quality. Using longitudinal data following a nationally representative sample of young persons who enrolled in at least some college education, this paper examines nonpecuniary labor market outcomes associated with different levels of postsecondary educational attainment. Overall, the results indicate that increasing levels of postsecondary educational attainment positively predict a number of beneficial employment outcomes. This is particularly the case for fringe benefits. After controlling for participants' backgrounds and educational experiences, attainment positively predicts access to employer-provided health and dental insurance, retirement, and paid leave. Results concerning job satisfaction and flexibility are weaker and more complex.

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This report tells the story of a journey to talk with policymakers, politicians, and educators about teacher quality policies in six countries: Singapore, Germany, Finland, England, Canada and Australia. Some of these countries outperform New Zealand in measures of student achievement. Some fare worse, but are reforming to improve teacher quality. The goal of the field research was to think about which policies could be adapted for New Zealand's unique structural, political and cultural context to strengthen the teaching profession. This research found that the best education systems: recruit the best teachers; bridge the theory-practice nexus, teaching 'how to teach'; offer an aspirational career with renumeration tied to skills; develop teacher capacity 'laterally'; and value teaching as a profession.

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This research examines teacher autonomy and its importance for retention in England. Retaining more teachers is crucial for the education system when there are not enough teachers coming into the profession to meet the growing need from rising pupil numbers. The proportion of working-age teachers leaving the profession has risen from 5.8 per cent in 2011 to 8.3 per cent in 2018. Unmanageable workload and low job satisfaction are significant factors determining teachers' decision to stay in the profession or leave. Teachers' autonomy over their professional development goal-setting is particularly low, and is the most associated with higher job satisfaction. Increasing teachers' autonomy, particularly over their professional development goals, therefore has great potential for improving teacher job satisfaction and retention.

Key findings show: (1) teachers are 16 percentage points less likely than similar professionals to report having 'a lot' of influence over how they do their job; (2) 38 per cent of teachers say that they have 'a little' or 'no' influence over their professional development goals; (3) teacher autonomy is lower among early career teachers and higher among senior leaders; (4) teacher autonomy is strongly associated with improved job satisfaction and a greater intention to stay in teaching; and (5) increasing teachers' reported influence over their professional development (PD) goals from 'some' to 'a lot' is associated with a nine-percentage-point increase in intention to stay in teaching.

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The growing need for organizational flexibility has prompted increasing recourse to atypical work. Multiple jobholding and self-employment are atypical work forms that have particularly intrigued researchers. Using data compiled by Statistics Canada, [the authors] have identified factors that influence the probability of belonging to these two categories of atypical employment. Results suggest that the influence factors are not identical for the two non-standard job categories studied. Sector of activity, gender and the absence of promotion considerably affect the probability of joining the ranks of the self-employed, whereas professional category and frequency of movement significantly influence the probability of belonging to the multiple jobholder group. The populations engaging in these two forms of atypical work are not homogeneous.

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This chapter focuses on the development of a 'project environment' on the basis of two parallel European projects (Post-16 Strategies and INTEQUAL) and their respective multiplier-effect projects (SPES-NET and DUOQUAL) . The first section describes the parallel project histories and efforts to develop a collaborative project environment. The second section presents reflections on links and gaps between the projects' main themes and related topics (strategies for parity of esteem, dually oriented qualifications, integrated learning, forging links between educational establishments and work organisations). The final section discusses the development of project culture within the projects and lessons for the future development of European cooperation. Show less

The present paper investigates which organizational factors determine job satisfaction and turnover of young adults in the Netherlands. Factors included are organizational quality, relations with the supervisor and the co-workers, and socialization tactics. These variables are expected to affect job clarity (absence of ambiguity, and absence of role conflict) and experienced fit between the current job and interests, previous work experiences and vocational training. These, in turn, should affect job satisfaction. Turnover, as measured retrospectively after one year, should be influenced by job satisfaction.

The sample consists of 234 young people of 19.7 years old, having worked in their first full-time job for about six months. Using LISREL-analysis, [the authors] investigate the effects of the organizational variables, fit and clarity on satisfaction. The results indicate that [the authors'] hypotheses are generally tenable. However, the effect between organizational quality and job clarity is negative, and not, as expected, positive. Furthermore, [the authors] present a discrete-time event history-analysis investigating the effects of all aforementioned variables on the actual turnover behavior. The results indicate that turnover of young adults can only to a very small degree be explained by organizational factors, job satisfaction, fit and job clarity.

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This paper examines the relationship between changing occupations and workers' health and wellbeing. Using data from the fourth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), this study examines the implications of the knowledge economy on workers' wellbeing across the EU and in the UK. Specifically, [the authors] wanted to assess if the rising prevalence of stress at work is attributable to the growth of knowledge work and, if so, whether various indicators of job quality attenuated or aggravated workers' stress levels.

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The central argument of the paper is that labour market policy will fail if it does not take full account of the fact that 'macro' employment policy outcomes are largely determined in workplaces. The emerging focus of Canadian labour market and social policy on social inclusion through paid employment is broadly appropriate (with significant caveats), but positive outcomes for workers critically depend upon the existence of 'good jobs in good workplaces'. While there are many dimensions to 'good jobs,' the paper highlights pay and access to opportunities for the development of skills, capacities and capabilities.

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This chapter describes reforms undertaken in the Finnish educational system, and developmental projects on and reforms of vocational education and training (VET) in Finland, focusing particularly on how these have improved or consolidated the status of VET. The chapter will first look at initial VET (upper secondary level VET and post-16 VET) which has been vigorously developed in Finland since the 1970s. Then postsecondary VET will be looked at, and finally the relationship between VET and general education will be touched on because it has been a part of two major school reforms: upper secondary education reform 1982-1988; and youth education pilot projects 1992-2002.

The volume from which this chapter is taken may be found at TD/TNC 63.360, and the individual chapters may be found from TD/TNC 63.361 to TD/TNC 63.384. Show less