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Research on the characteristics of Generation Z in the United Kingdom is sparse and thus this generation is largely unknown. However, it is likely that the characteristics of Generation Z in the United Kingdom largely represent a continuation of the trends in attitudes and expectations seen over Generations X and Y. This is a group that has grown up to have high expectations of employment, including a desire for interesting and meaningful work, regular feedback, employee voice and participation, work–life balance and the development of marketable skills. As this cohort of the population was born into an environment with Web 2.0 technology and social media, they are also constantly connected. However, in the past two years, this group has continued its development against the backdrop of political and economic uncertainty due to the United Kingdom’s forthcoming exit from the European Union. More research is needed in order to establish the impact of these events on the younger generation’s attitudes, and those of subsequent age cohorts.

In this chapter, we highlight the much-lauded Igba-Boi apprenticeship scheme that underpins the Igbo Traditional Business School. We explore the operational modalities of the scheme and its philosophical roots in the Igbo ontology. Acknowledging the effect of colonialism on the current trajectory of African ways of being, we compare the Igba-Boi scheme to the prototypical German apprenticeship system to highlight areas of potential improvement around levels of education, gender inclusivity and trade specificity. Based on this comparative evaluation, we recommend changes to the Igba-Boi model that will strengthen its utility for the educational needs of the formal and informal sectors of the Nigerian, and by extension, African economy.

The Igbos are renowned for their success in business. This chapter traced the pre-colonial and post-colonial innovations among the Igbos to highlight salient factors that could be responsible for their outstanding success in recent times. In the pre-colonial era, the Igbos made their livelihood through vocations such as blacksmithing, traditional medicine, farming, pot moulding, hunting, food preservation, and textiles, especially in cloth weaving. The post-colonial period which witnessed the Nigerian civil war, led to a disruption of their entire business structure. However, through the principles of apprenticeship and hard work, ingredients of success in the pre-colonial years, the Igbos were able to rebuild their business structure and became renowned for their success. They retained some of their pre-colonial crafts such as cloth weaving of which the Akwete fabric is a good example and has gained both national and international prominence in recent times. The chapter presented the case of the Akwete Weaving Centre of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI), established to promote cultural heritage and enhance the entrepreneurial skills of students in the craft through modern apprenticeship. The chapter made recommendations on ways to enhance the Akwete Weaving industry and effectively harness its potentials.

Over the years, there have been calls for the integration of the Igbo Traditional Business School (I-TBS) into the contemporary entrepreneurship space, especially in Africa, to scale up entrepreneurial activities. The I-TBS model has demonstrated prominence in influencing entrepreneurial culture, skills transfer, start-up support mechanisms, enterprise success and sustainability; however, its reliability and replicability are often questioned. Among a myriad of issues, lack of comprehensive documentation that isolates the merits as well as demerits, is a concern. An understanding of I-TBS’ validity, reliability, replicability and compatibility are others. As a result, it has been difficult to accord the model the needed recognition. This desktop review chapter, is an effort to contribute to the improvement of the model, synthesise its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with specific reference to the Igba-Boi entrepreneurship scheme. The Atlas-ti v8 software was used in the synthesis. Based on the review, attributes such as togetherness and solidarity in business, free transfer of skills, upholding entrepreneurial culture which are passed from generation to generation and building family/social ties were key strengths of the model. The weaknesses come in the form of lack of regulations to monitor irregularities, inappropriate contractual method and the abuse of mentees. Openings for interested individual to access training, assurance for start-up capital and partnership/collaboration options were key opportunities. False accusations of mentees, breaching settlement agreement, unfair dismissal of mentee, and lack of solid ground for justice, are the major threats. It is expected that these findings will form the basis for further research and policy actions to improve the model.

The current environment of misinformation is causing expensive and negative consequences for society. Fake news is affecting democracy and its foundations, as well as newspapers and media companies that aim to combat this “pandemic.” In order to effectively provide accurate information, these companies are in need of a workforce with specific attitudes, skills, and knowledge (ASK). However, several studies show that students either do not have those ASK or have poorly developed them, indicating the need for better media literacy skills. Given that such skills are often not taught in school, nor is there a way for students to efficiently obtain them and tangibly show them to future employers, we propose a model ¹ that enhances the way students learn and how we measure such learning. Journalism students – enrolled in liberal arts, general studies, and humanities – have the potential to be upskilled and become the new critical thinking and fact-checking force needed to neutralize misinformation and foster a healthy society. Our model applies learning science and behavioral research on feedback and intrinsic motivation to foster students' ASK through a digital apprenticeship model that uses structured activities together with mentorship and feedback. Students participate in the creation of digital products for the journalism and news media industry. This prepares them for the types of tasks they will be required to perform in the job market. The digital apprenticeship matches students with the proper mentor, peer, and professional network. Students' work is compared against professional news media production to generate feedback, improve quality, and track progress. During the digital apprenticeship, students receive the ASK-SkillsCredit, a digital badge, which serves as a “nutritional” fact label that displays how students created the media content, the level of efficacy of the apprenticeship, and the standard of journalism quality of the piece. Lastly, we propose to enhance existing learning management systems to capture and promote a learner's profile data and expose aligned opportunities in news media outlets.

Since 2013 northern Iraq, especially Kurdistan regional province, has seen a constant influx of refugees and internally displaced people (IDP) from Syria, Mosul and the mountains of Sinjar. Number of refugee camps has grown over the years. Over 2.2 million displaced Iraqis are living in private dwellings in host communities, over 700,000 with host families, and nearly 1.5 million in rented accommodation, and mostly in 47 camps across the region. The province is facing additional pressure on public services, including health, education, and infrastructure causing hardship for both communities and individuals, who must cope with uncertain economic and social conditions while striving to improve the situation and provide for their families. The magnitude of the problem has compelled countries and provinces shielding the IDPs to collaborate with wider range of partners in a growing recognition of the imperative and immediate need, both humanitarian and self-development. The authors of this chapter have highlighted certain case studies with whom they have been directly connected to. The effort was to use push factors and work toward capacity building of the IDPs and thereby work toward a self-reliant and self-sufficient livelihood.

This chapter aims to further integrate the results on the contextualised set of competencies. Specifically, this chapter will explain relevant pedagogical strategies such as seminars, expert-led workshops, experimentation, case studies, etc. to be used to develop these competencies. In addition to relating each strategy to a specific bundle of competencies, the chapter will conclude with contextualised pedagogical approaches that can be used to increase the relatedness and effectiveness of EE in developing countries.