Search results

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the internationalisation of nearly all spheres of society and the process of European integration will be leading to the development of a European vocational education and training (VET) architecture.

The analysis of the “Copenhagen process” is based on the EU documents on the realisation of a European Qualifications Framework and a credit transfer system.

The result of the study shows that the strategy adopted by the European Union for the establishment of a European area of vocational education is confronted with a dilemma. The European Qualifications Framework is highly abstract since any reference to real educational programmes and qualifications and any concrete provision for the transition and for the transferability between educational levels and sectors (vocational and higher education, initial and continuing training) was avoided in order to adhere to the anti‐harmonisation clause. The result is an abstract, hierachically structured one‐dimensional qualifications framework that lacks any reference to existing VET systems and that contradicts all scientific insights from VET research and knowledge research.

The implications for VET policy are far‐reaching. A European area of vocational education can be established only on the basis of European open core occupations and an open VET architecture, which ensures that vocational education becomes an integral part of national educational systems. The qualification of employees for the intermediary sector can be realised only as a European project.

There are only a few contributions available that undertake a conceptual analysis and critique of the European Qualifications Framework.

An attempt is made to illustrate the multi‐faceted and multifarious nature of human resource development worldwide, following a definition of it and a description of how it operates in a number of countries throughout the world, including the US, the EEC countries, India, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The roles and functions of HRD practitioners are examined, and the competences required listed. A short history of the International Federation of Training and Development Organisations is offered and a list of conferences described.

This monograph is on developments and trends in vocational education and training in Europe. An overview is given of what is being planned in Western Europe. This is illustrated by a detailed description of the educational systems of a selection of EC and non‐EC countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland), followed by discussion of the current provision for vocational education and training within those systems and also in commerce and industry. Also provided are additional information on the work of CEDEFOP and of the European Commission, further reading, useful addresses and a glossary of some European language vocational education terms.

Tests the hypothesis that overeducation is contingent upon the differing human capital endowments of employees. The analyses are based on data from the German Life History Study (GLHS). Applies a trivariate probit model which takes into account the selective acquisition of school qualifications, and the selective choice of vocational training programs with varying levels of quality. The findings confirm that the type of school diploma obtained has a strong effect on the later risk of overeducation. Furthermore, in the case of the intermediate school diploma – the qualification typically held by those entering initial vocational training in Germany – the grade attained also proves to have a strong effect on the risk of overeducation. In line with the existing literature, this paper finds that the risk of overeducation decreases as traditional human capital endowments such as experience, tenure, and on‐the‐job‐training increase.

We analyze the relationship between initial vocational education and training (VET) and training policies by looking at the ways and extent to which different approaches foster the acquisition of general and transferable skills. The factors that particularly affect the investment in training and the investment in transferable skills are analyzed both from the point of view of the individual and the employer. We argue that with the reform of their national training systems, Spain and the United Kingdom have followed different routes in order to foster precisely an increase in the investment on transferable skills. Those pathways differ in the extent to which policy strategies have aimed at reducing either individual worker or firms’ constraints to receive or invest in transferable training, and in the extent to which the emphasis for certification focused on “demonstrated learning outcomes” as opposed to “particular learning processes or places.” The paper concludes with the presentation of some policy implications.

Previous articles discussed the changing role of central Governments in vocational education and training, and treated in depth the devolution of training responsibility to local authorities and the ways in which the local authorities are proactively responding to this challenge. There is, however, a major role for central Governments in linking vocational education and training policy with policies aimed at overall economic development and productivity and the stimulation of employment. Such policy issues and strategies are discussed in this final section.

Examines environmental protection as a training concept which is receiving increasing attention in all fields of the education system. Discusses systems employed in the German education system and suggests that all young people should be allowed to develop ethical standards as an orientation for their future lives. Proposes that environmental protection should become part of vocational training. Suggests that this is however a slow and labourious process and offers recommendations for the promotion of vocational environmental training.

Detailed education, employment and training histories have been constructed for a cohort of 440 male respondents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The employment histories show that most respondents without college degrees have experienced at least one occupational break since entering the labour force. The training histories show that most of those in employment in 1992 have had no formal training for their current occupations. An assessment of whether those who received training before or on entering the labour force have subsequently had more stable employment histories than those who have not shows that this is true of college‐level vocational education but not of high school vocational education or training received in vocational/technical institutes. These findings suggest that the comprehensive provision of entry‐level training for those not college‐bound, as advocated by those promoting vocational education in high schools, cannot be justified in terms of labour market outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the extent to which the quality of the jobs of low‐skilled young workers is affected by the structure of education and training systems in various European countries. It focuses on the differences between countries providing fairly general education (internal labour market (ILM) contexts) and countries offering more specific vocational education (occupational labour market (OLM) contexts).

Logistic regression analyses.

It is found that low‐skilled young workers are worse off in OLM countries than in ILM ones, with respect to employment in a permanent job, employment in a non‐elementary job and participation in continuing vocational training. However, in OLM countries low‐skilled young workers are less often involuntary part‐time employed than those in ILM countries. With regard to participation in continuing vocational training, the ILM‐OLM contrast is larger in manufacturing than in services; regarding employment in a permanent job the reverse is true.

It is shown that the labour market position of low‐skilled young workers is affected by the structure of education and training systems in various European countries. The upgrading of the skills demanded in the European “knowledge economies” will therefore have less severe consequences for low‐skilled young workers in ILM countries than in OLM countries, since the acquisition of occupationally specific skills is organized differently between the two institutional contexts.

Reports that although the results of the World Bank’s programme of policy research on vocational and technical education and training are available in published form, the process through which these publications are developed is known only to those directly involved. Asserts that the process of policy research is as important as the product. Reviews the policy study programme and research conducted or sponsored by the World Bank and other international agencies. Reviews the literature and addresses key policy areas with recent information.