Search Results

This paper reports on combining generic reference points that can be distilled from literature with the analysis of 18 face-to-face interviews with relevant stakeholders as input for designing a sustainability course within a (higher education) hotel management curriculum. The train of thought presented here shows that by using this input as design parameters for a curriculum, education could serve as a crucial catalyst and change agent for a societal transition towards sustainable development. It shows that this is also true and relevant, maybe even especially, for the hospitality industry. Subsequently, it is explained that for the specific hotel management education addressed in this paper to fulfil this role, the sustainability course incorporated in its curriculum needs to combine various components and approaches. It needs to provide students with an ethical framework that helps them develop a reflective attitude towards their own and others' actions and decisions. This framework needs to focus on generic values and norms, but also on envisioning practical social, ecological and economic consequences. Therefore, it also needs to help students acquire the knowledge and develop the skills required to envision and discuss these consequences, also with involved stakeholders, and (jointly) devise context-dependent solutions.

Published abstract. Show less

This environmental scan aims to give readers a clear understanding of the key factors currently shaping and impacting on agrifood workforce development and how well the training system, its products and services, and industry itself are responding.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

In South Africa, the biodiversity sector, and particularly the marine and coastal branch of the sector, lacks the relevant skills for effective implementation of environmental policy. The research presented here responds to this challenge by exploring the up-skilling opportunities and practices available to marine professionals and how they learn in, through and for the workplace. Specifically, this paper focusses on the use of socio-materialism in the very particular context of marine and coastal research, and how learning by professionals can be interpreted through the concepts surrounding materialism and socio-ecological systems. By understanding and investigating the learning that occurs, one can cautiously evaluate what learning is most valuable to the professionals and how transforming practices can lead to a better, more sustainable future. In this South African case study the author considers this sustainable future as one that involves the oceans and coastal environments of the country.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

This compilation volume includes the 37 subject guides that appeared on the VOCEDplus website up until May 2015. The subjects covered are: Academic workforce development; Apprenticeships; Assessment in VET; Business / education collaboration; Career guidance; Completions; Cross sectoral education; Disability; E-learning; Educational leadership; Employability skills; Graduate employability; Green jobs and skills; Higher education governance; Indigenous education; International education; Lifelong learning; Literacy and numeracy; Migration; Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs); Occupational health and safety; Older workers; Pathways; Qualifications frameworks; Recognition of prior learning (RPL); Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce; Skills mismatch; Social inclusion; Social mobility; Socioeconomic background; Student mobility; Sustainability; VET in Schools; Vocational rehabilitation; Wellbeing; Work life balance; Youth transitions. Show less

This report explores the potential employment and economic impacts of an EU transition to a low-carbon economy by 2030 - on the EU, and on other regions of the world. It analyses the impacts across sectors and occupations, with a particular focus on manufacturing. The report highlights that the impact of such a transition is positive for the EU as a whole, although with considerable variation between sectors. The positive impact on employment is largely due to the investment required to achieve this transition, along with the impact of lower spending on imported fossil fuels. The consequent shift in production has implications for labour market demand. The analysis is carried out using the E3ME macro-econometric model, which provides information on sectoral impacts, together with the Warwick Labour Market Extension model for occupational analysis. Further analysis of the employment developments in Europe is undertaken using Eurofound's European Jobs Monitor.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

The theme of this year's workshop was 'Beyond new normal, towards the transition: TVET for resilience'. We are at an inflection point of new transitions, such as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, climate change, and the 4th Industrial Revolution. We call it the 'Great Transition'. To respond to the Great Transition, building a diversified international cooperation network and developing the power of individuals and society is essential. The workshop enabled attendees to discuss vocational education and training innovation, solutions to the mismatch between the labor market and individual capability, measures to revitalize lifelong education, and green technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to develop the ability to respond flexibly to the age of the Great Transition.

This report includes the following papers: (1) Recent trends in the development of vocational education and training in the context of sustainable development and scenarios for cooperation among the members of the UNEVOC Network: with special attention to the involvement of the business sector / Harry Stolte; (2) The institutional changes on digital reform for the quality TVET / Wu Jianxiao, Kangchunxiao and Huang Chunlin; (3) The use of innovative technologies in TVET / Paryono Paryono and Hartini Mashod; (4) Can skills framework bridge TVET to frontier competencies? / Anderson Tan and Goh Hin Lan; and (5) Linkage of school education and TVET sector using vocational classroom / Rangsan Thepmondhri.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

Understandings of 'literacy' broadened after the United Nations Development Decade of the 1960s. The corresponding research into the benefits of literacy also widened its focus beyond economic growth. The effects of adult literacy and its correlates appeared diffuse with the rise of New Literacy Studies, and the scholarship on consequences seemed less essential to advocates following the rise of a human rights perspective on education. In 2016 the agenda for literacy research has returned - but at a higher level - to concern over its benefits. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have reintegrated literacy research within an agenda to understand the channels through which literacy skills might effect change.

This article briefly reviews progress in adult literacy, touches on existing perspectives on literacy, and then illustrates four recent sources of information useful in the revitalised agenda offered by the SDGs. Data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Values Survey (WVS), and the World Bank's Skills Toward Employment and Productivity (STEP) study are now available to researchers wishing to link educational change with attitudinal and behavioural change. Another important resource are the emerging data on mobile learning. By integrating literacy into the SDGs, literacy researchers can reveal the channels through which literacy can contribute to social welfare and transformation.

Published abstract. Show less

The Green Technology or clean technology is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic devices to monitor, model and conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement. Although it has been adopted as an important component for Sustainable Development, it has not been sufficiently tackled to this date. This literature review study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis and gives an insight into existing green skills frameworks to transform skills development for sustainable development. Moreover, to make this comparative analysis more in-depth, a matrix on existing green frameworks in chronological order is presented. It presents the main conceptual models on greening Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to support green technology industry requirements with the support of the TVET sector. Despite this, the key characteristics of the existing frameworks also discussed and stated. Furthermore, the proposed matrix encourages TVET stakeholders and green industries to work together to produce skilled workers in green sectors. In addition to this, another matrix on the empirical research on Green Skills/Technology is depicted which provides several evidences on the workplace skills most relevant in the transition toward environmentally sustainable economies. These empirical research articles fulfill the demand of the training providers, green sector organizations, industry associations and unions etc. The purpose of the matrixes is to compare the existing work done by the different researchers on green skills.

Published abstract. Show less

The 'Dairy Business for Future Climates' (DBfFC) research project was developed with an understanding that the Australian dairy industry is facing a particular combination of challenges - a challenge set that is similar to the dairy industry in New Zealand. Sargeant and Paine (2015) describe the New Zealand dairy industry as pursuing increased agricultural productivity in the context of: climate change and predicted greater seasonal variability; pressure from local and international communities relating to environmental stewardship, animal welfare, health and safety and employment regulations; and substantial price volatility from global commodity markets. Competition for natural resources in the Australian context is also likely to increase, particularly with regards to scarcer water resources in a generally hotter and drier climate and farming land competing with other land use pressures such as urbanisation. Responding to such challenges need to include identifying and integrating the right management changes in farm systems for each unique farming situation while anticipating capability gaps at the industry and farm scale so that agricultural services can adapt their provision of supports according to these new challenges (Sargeant and Paine, 2015). The DBFC research project set out to explore how different dairy farm systems in the dairy regions of Gippsland, South Australia and Tasmania may perform under predicted climate changes out to 2040. A participatory and transdisciplinary approach was adopted combining integrated modelling (biophysical and economic), social research and farmer knowledge to identify dairy farm management responses and innovations that maintain dairy business profitability while building operational resilience for business optimization under more variable and changed climatic conditions.

Transitioning and operating dairy businesses into the future in the context of climate change and dynamic market forces will rely on the skills and knowledge of managers and operators, as well as their broader social networks. For example, the existing social networks of dairy business managers (e.g. peer-based producer groups), their professional relationships with high quality agricultural service providers (e.g. agronomist consultants, input suppliers, financiers, employment agencies, solicitors, vets, insurance agents), and good access to community services and connections with industry related organisations (e.g. Regional Development Programs - Dairy Australia, local governments, public and private research organisations) will all be important in sustaining and enhancing the adaptive capacity of dairy businesses. Engaging with peers, professional services and industry-based organisations will assist dairy business managers in accessing resources, participating in opportunities for learning and mentoring and finding new ways to manage risk in a supportive, networked environment. At a more strategic level, the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the dairy industry will continue to need to be under-pinned by national, state and regional policies that support the range of skills development and support services needs of a diverse farmer population.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

This paper quantifies changes in employment and the demand for skills in the European Union following the implementation of Fit for 55 policies. Between 2019 and 2030, the economy is projected to grow by 1.3 per cent in the Fit for 55 scenario (3 per cent in a Baseline scenario without the Fit for 55 policies). Employment growth is projected to be lower in the Fit for 55 than the baseline scenario. Employment in the Fit for 55 scenario is projected to decrease by 3 per cent for blue collar and farm workers (2 per cent in the baseline) and increase by 4-5 per cent for other occupations (5-6 per cent in the baseline). The most demanded skills following the implementation of Fit for 55 will be those related to inter-personal communication and the use of digital technologies, whereas the demand for skills related to the use of traditional tools and technologies is projected to decline. Anticipating changes in employment and the demand for skills as well as the socio-demographic profile of those most affected can facilitate the design of upskilling and reskilling efforts and promote the reallocation of workers across sectors and occupations.

Published abstract. Show less