International Research Snapshot
RESEARCH SNAPSHOT | Marjan Mckeough , Senior Librarian, ETIS (Education and Training Information Service) Centre for Learning & Innovation, DET
The ETIS intranet is available to TAFE NSW staff.
This eZine feature is brought to you by ETIS - the Department of Education and Training’s Education and Training Information Service. ETIS manages the NSW Vocational Education and Training Database linking in with the national vocational education database managed by NCVER. They are excellently placed and qualified to identify and share with us these key, recent reports and articles with particular relevance to VET teaching and learning. (Ed)
- Workplace Learning
- Recognition of Prior Learning
- Partnerships
- Workforce Development
- Professional Development Frameworks
Van Aalst, Hans, Changes in the labour market and the role of VET: from being good now to being excellent in the future, Keynote to the international congress of lifelong learning and vocational training 'Vocational Training, Flexibility and Adaptability for the changes in the labour market' San Sebastian, June 18-20, 2007. 12 p.
This keynote address explores strategies to deal with labour market changes, particularly labour shortages. The author also shares a number of criteria to ensure that innovation in VET is enduring and rigorous. A list of actions is included to suggest what VET may be able to do to support strategies.
Lowe, Graham, 21st century job quality: achieving what Canadians want,
Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN), Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Policy Research Networks, 2007. 92 p.
This report is the first comprehensive assessment of job quality in Canada in the 21st century. Basic job quality trends are assessed by using various Statistics Canada data sources to create a composite picture. Complementing this, statistical analysis of a nationally representative survey, Rethinking Work, offers new insights about job quality. The report discusses two questions: Has economic prosperity resulted in improvements in job quality? Can improvements in job quality contribute to sustainable economic prosperity and Canadians' overall quality of life?
The answer to the first question is a qualified no: economic prosperity has not brought commensurate gains to workers in terms of better job quality since the turn of the millennium. The answer to the second question is a qualified yes: job quality is a bridge between what matters to individual Canadians in terms of quality of work life and what contributes to sustainable economic prosperity.
Policy, learning and inclusion in the learning and skills sector, London, Institute of Education, University of London, 2007. 4 p.
Created in 2001, the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS) has received increased funding and demonstrated considerable achievements, but still faces major challenges. This project examined the impact of policy on learning and inclusion for three groups of disadvantaged learners: adult basic skills learners in the community; adults in the workplace; and Level 1 and 2 learners in further education colleges. The impact of five policy levers were studies: targets, funding, planning, inspection, and policy initiatives such as Skills for Life.
Felli, Leonardo and Harris, Christopher J., Firm-specific training, London: London School of Economics, 2006. 34 p.
This paper investigates the market provision of firm-specific training. It considers an informal model and a productivity-enhancement model. In the first model training results in a proportionate increase in productivity enhancement and employee evaluation, and training is underprovided by the market. In the second model training results in an increase in productivity enhancement but no change in employee evaluation, and training is overprovided by the market. Turnover is inefficiently low in both models.
Hegarty, Ann, SMART: skills management and relevant training: workplace basic education model for small and medium, Dublin: NALA, 2006. 92 p.
This is the evaluation report of the SMART (Skills Management and Relevant Training) initiative, aimed at developing a workplace basic education (WBE) model for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which was piloted in County Monaghan. There is a greater use of, and need for, numeracy and literacy skills in Ireland as the economy and society continues to change and adapt. These skills facilitate greater participation in society and contribute to quality and progression in the workplace. 17 recommendations are included.
Livingstone, D. W.; Myers, Douglas, 'I might be overqualified': personal perspectives and national survey findings on prior learning assessment and recognition in Canada, Journal of adult and continuing education, v. 13, no. 1, 2007. pp. 27-52
Interest in prior learning recognition among Canadian adults is estimated on the basis of a large-scale national survey and illustrated by an account of the development of a prior learning assessment centre and the individual experiences of participants. The survey finds widespread interest in PLAR, especially in the employed labour force, and large unmet demand for both adult education courses and Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR). There are significant demographic differences: younger adults are much more interested in PLAR regardless of their formal educational attainment, as are non-whites and recent immigrants. Those most involved in informal learning activities have the greatest interest in PLAR, most notably young high school dropouts. Policy implications of these findings and experiences for wider application of PLAR are considered.
Formative evaluation of the foreign credential recognition program: final report Canada: Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), 2007. xiv, 37 p
This report presents the results of the formative evaluation of the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP). The FCRP is a contribution program that works with public and private sector partners to develop pan-Canadian approaches, tools and processes for foreign credential assessment and recognition. Potential partners include sector councils, occupational and professional regulatory organizations, educational institutions, other governments within Canada, and employers. The program funds projects that involve research and analysis of problem areas, planning, process development, activation of standardized processes and systems, development and dissemination of information, partnership development and related implementation activities. The evaluation concludes that the FCRP is progressing well towards accomplishing its objectives and outcomes, especially for the three originally targeted occupations (engineers, physicians and nurses).
In work, better off: next steps to full employment. Norwich, U.K.: The Stationery Office, 2007. 84 p.
This UK Government Green Paper sets out proposals for reform to increase support for those who are most disadvantaged in the labour market. It proposes policies designed to facilitate full employment with plans to help the long-term unemployed to find work. At the centre of the proposal is a new 'jobs pledge', which will continue the work of Local Employment Partnerships and aims for major employers to offer a quarter of a million job opportunities to the long-term out-of-work. Other key proposals include: a new social contract with lone parents which expects an eventual move into the labour market in return for the necessary personalised support ; and a more personalised, flexible and responsive New Deal, delivering support which is right for the individual; and an integrated skills and employment agenda.
Labour Education Centre in partnership with the Centre for the Study of Education and Work, Integrating equity, addressing barriers: innovative learning practices by Unions, Ottawa, Ont.: Work and Learning Knowledge Centre (WLKC), 2007. 133 p.
This report provides an insight into some of the exciting education happening in Canada's labour movement. From workplace-based locals to large national programs, unions and their members are turning the vision of lifelong learning into reality. The Canadian Labour Congress and its affiliated unions are committed to expanding learning opportunities for workers, recognizing the need for particular efforts and initiatives to remove barriers. Well known are the barriers experienced by shift workers, part-time and precariously employed workers, workers who live in small or remote areas. Time and financial constraints are significant barriers for all workers. Formidable barriers confront the majority of workers in Canada: Aboriginal workers, workers of colour, women, workers with disabilities, youth, immigrant workers, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered workers, workers who lack formal education and who may face literacy challenges. Their specific needs and situations require differentiated approaches in seeking solutions. A framework of labour education and popular education permeates much that is profiled in the sketches, and is the framework governing the education program of the Canadian Labour Congress.
King, Madeleine, Workforce development: how much engagement do employers have with higher education?: a review of the evidence on employer demand, London: Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE), 2007. 28 p
This brief report attempts to review the quantitative evidence of private sector employer demand for higher-level workforce development and to establish the nature of what is wanted by employers from higher education. The focus was on the provision of higher-level workplace learning for employees, and the extent to which demand for this level of learning was being met by providers of higher education. The report aims to provide a view on the nature of employer demand and the ways in which this should be addressed.
Brown, Barbara Alice; Harte, Jacqui; Warnes, Anne-Marie, Developing the health care workforce: a comparison of two work-based learning models. Education + training, v. 49, no. 3, 2007. pp.193-200
The purpose of this paper is to share practice on how two approaches to work-based learning (WBL) are used to develop the knowledge and skills of health care staff with different levels of experience and educational attainment within the Department of Nursing and the Department of Allied Health Professions at a post-1992 university (UCLAN) and to enable two models of WBL to be differentiated, for the purposes of curriculum development. Implementing two different approaches to WBL can meet health and social care employers' workforce development needs and can support the learning of diverse groups of staff, both those entering the health and social care services and those who are experienced and professionally qualified.
Mwase, Gloria Cross; Scott, Geri, Good things from small packages: finding common ground for workforce development in Rhode Island, Boston, Mass.: Jobs for the Future, 2007. vi, 16 p.
The Rhode Island economy faces twin challenges: a worker gap among employers and a skills gap among workers. In combination, these are fueling a squeeze on workers and businesses. But several new initiatives have been launched by state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local and national foundations to upgrade the quality of services and to foster collaboration across state agencies involved in workforce development. With all of these efforts to improve the workforce system, the potential exists for lack of coordination in terms of goals, strategies, and projected outcomes. With that in mind, the United Way of Rhode Island's Building Adult and Neighborhood Independence Steering Committee conducted a listening process with policymakers, funders, employers, advocates, and nonprofit organizations to identify common ground and potential strategies to align resources and actions around a set of shared core values for a high-performing workforce development system in Rhode Island. Based on that process, Jobs for the Future prepared Good Things from Small Packages for the committee.
Professional Development Frameworks
Brand, Anthony, The long and winding road: professional development in further and higher education, Journal of further and higher education, v. 31, no. 1, February 2007. pp. 7-16
This article provides a narrative and commentary on the developments, over the last 20 years, of professional standards for lecturers in the lifelong learning and higher education sectors in the UK. The article examines these developments and seeks to demonstrate that a number of tensions and issues arise from the current structures and frameworks. Research data and evaluations associated with the effectiveness of professional development across the sectors are presented and discussed.