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 Education and Training Information Service for the Department of Education and Training. ETIS manages the NSW Vocational Education and Training Database linking in with the national vocational education database managed by NCVER. They are effectively placed and qualified to identify and share with us these key recent reports and articles with particular relevance to VET teaching and learning. (Ed)
Work Skills [PDF 52 p]. Great Britain. Dept for Work and Pensions and Dept for Innovation, Universities & Skills, June 2008.
This paper sets out how the UK government is going to help people take control of their present and future skills needs and support employers to get the skilled workforce they need.
Entitlements to Level 3 training for young adults aged 19-25 will be extended to the workplace and to enable everyone to get the training they need and the jobs they want their own personal Skills Account will be offered.
The government is developing a new adult advancement and careers service which will provide people with broader advice about how to get on in work in a
way that fits in with their lives.
Welfare and skills services will be integrated so they can respond to the needs and ambitions of both employers and individual people. Welfare and skills services will be radically improved and much more responsibility will be devolved to local councils and communities.
New UK work skills body UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
The Commission aims to raise UK prosperity and opportunity by improving employment and skills.
Its ambition is to benefit employers, individuals and government by advising how improved employment and skills systems can help the UK become a world-class leader in productivity, in employment and in having a fair and inclusive society: all this in the context of a fast-changing global economy.
Because employers, whether in private business or the public sector, have prime responsibility for the achievement of greater productivity, the UKCES will strengthen the employer voice and provide greater employer influence over the employment and skills systems.
Having developed a view of what's needed, the UKCES will provide independent advice to the highest levels in the four UK governments to help achieve those improvements through strategic policy development, evidence-based analysis and the exchange of good practice.
Future skills needs in Europe : Key findings [PDF 6 p]. Pylea, Thessaloniki, Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2008.
This report gives a medium term forecast of Europe’s future skills needs covering the following sections: Sectoral change, Prospects for occupations and qualifications and Continuing dialogue towards a European skills forecasting system.
A new improvement body dedicated to the development of the further education and skills sector was officially named on Tuesday 10 June 2008 in the United Kingdom. The new organisation will be known as the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) dedicated to development.
Workplace Learning and Assessment
Life chances: supporting people to get on in the labour market [PDF 76 p]. Great Britain. Dept for Work and Pensions (DWP); Great Britain. Dept for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIUS), June 2008.
Skills Evolution Report 2008 - A vision: the future of workplace skills. Sheffield, United Kingdom, University for Industry, 2008.
UFI recently commissioned this future-gazing report which brought together world-renowned futurologists and scientists to predict the impact of emerging technologies on the way people learn, and the effect this will have on society and the workplace by 2020.
New OECD programme to test skills of adults in today's work environment. Paris, OECD, 2008.
OECD is launching a challenging new project to assess the knowledge and skills of adults.
The OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will assess the level and distribution of adult skills across countries, focusing on the cognitive and workplace skills needed for successful participation in today's work environment.
PIAAC will also gather data on participants' educational backgrounds and professional attainments, as well as their ability to use information and communications technology (ICT) and their general levels of literacy and numeracy.
Following development work over the next two years and a field trial planned for 2010, the first tests will take place in 2011.
Teaching, Learning and Assessment for Adults: Improving Foundation Skills. Paris, OECD, 2008.
This study looks specifically inside the programmes for adults with low skills in language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) learners, with a focus on formative assessment – referring to the frequent assessment of learner understanding and progress to identify needs and shape teaching and learning. Drawing upon evidence gathered in country reports, exemplary case studies and international literature reviews, it examines the impact and implementation of different teaching, learning and assessment practices for adult LLN learners; the way innovative programmes address the very diverse needs and goals of this population; and the policies that support or hinder effective practice.
The Skills-Productivity Nexus. Wellington, Department of Labour, 2008.
This report has been written as part of a joint Department of Labour/Industry Training Federation project aimed at improving the ability of Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) to assist workplaces to raise their productivity. The report sets out results of a literature scan exploring the links between skills, their application, and productivity, and also documents the experience of a number of manufacturing ITOs in expanding the breadth of their services beyond skills development.
14-19 education and skills Work related learning and enterprise. United Kingdom, DFES. With links to four related documents:
The Work-related Learning Guide - First edition
Quality Standard for Work Experience
National Standard for EBPOs
Final Report and Implementation Plan of the review of 14-19 Work-related learning
Young Adults Learning Partnership. Leicester, United Kingdom.
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (YALP) is a joint initiative between NIACE and The National Youth Agency. The Partnership was formed in 1997. It researches, develops, manages and disseminates effective approaches to learning and personal development with young adults (aged 16-25). YALP works within the areas of education, training and employment to support young adults in recognising their abilities as young workers, parents and citizens. It also works closely with practitioners in the field to assist them in sharing and developing effective and innovative practice, and to build capacity to create exciting and engaging learning opportunities for young adults.
Pursuing Excellence: the National Improvement Strategy for the further education system - One year on progress report [PDF 24 p]. London, Quality Improvement Agency and National Improvement Partnership Board, March 2008.
At the heart of the National Improvement Strategy is the drive for self-improvement where all colleges and providers are committed to achieving excellence and finding new and more effective ways of meeting customers’ needs. This report demonstrates the substantial progress that has been made since the publication of Pursuing Excellence: the National Improvement Strategy for the further education system a year ago. Already there is much to celebrate. However, there is still work to do if the ambition of building a world class further education system is to be realised.
Professional development frameworks
14-19 education and skills Professional Development. United Kingdom, DFES. With links to two related documents:
Excellence in Supporting Applied Learning and Training and Development Guidance: For Teachers of Diplomas