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Many people make the assumption that a repetitive job is automatically a boring one. This is not so. For many years, psychologists and other students of work behaviour have been pointing out that boredom is a subjective experience and refers to the individual's reaction to the environmental situation, whereas repetition or monotony is a characteristic of a task as perceived by an individual. Simply put, some repetitive or monotonous tasks are experienced as boring by some people. The aim of this article is to explore the sorts of repetitive tasks which lead to feelings of boredom, the effects of repetitive tasks on boredom and performance, and the methods that both workers and employers can use to reduce these effects.

Introduces the concept of non‐company‐based vocational training in Germany and assesses the impact of vocational training without work experience. Provides primary research results drawn from a representative survey of eastern German trainees in company and non‐company‐based training. Highlights the importance associated with real work experiences and critically examines the attempts by German labour market authorities to introduce apprenticeship training by providing a state‐funded alternative.

This paper sets out to evaluate the effect of search method employed (broadly defined here as formal or informal) on the probability that an individual will move out of unemployment into either employment or inactivity. We take advantage of the longitudinal element contained within the Labour Force Survey and link 794 individual records through five quarters. The sample contains all those who are unemployed in Spring 1996 and records their labour market status for the four quarters ending in Spring 1997. Given that this element of the LFS is only just beginning to be used, we attempt to evaluate its usefulness for the estimation of a discrete time‐competing risks model. We do find an effect of search method employed in the final specification and the sign on the coefficient rejects our belief that those using informal search methods may do so in order to signal their higher levels of productivity. Instead we are led to conclude that those using informal search methods may do so because of a lack of skills needed to use more formal channels.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of Education + Training is split into four sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Further education; Higher education; Managemetn education; Generald education and training.

It has been recognised that management training and development in SMEs is a relatively poorly researched area and that the influencing factors for SMEs are not well understood. This paper outlines a regional study of the interest in competence based management development amongst SMEs. This is compared with a study of the providers’ approach to management development provision for the SME market. It is apparent, from the study, that the value of Management NVQs remains unclear both to the provider and the SME recipient. Unless a means can be found to demonstrate value and benefits to both sides it is unlikely that take‐up will improve significantly within the SME community or that quality providers will continue to deliver to the sector. The paper highlights the major issues to be addressed for, and with, both parties if progress is to be made.

Outlines the development of the UK′s system of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), discussing the rationale for NVQs and considering some of the criticisms of these qualifications made by industrialists, economists and educators. Goes on to offer some new evidence on the early take‐up of NVQs showing that some trainees do not receive the award for which they are aiming. Although more people are becoming qualified, it seems that there is significant underrepresentation of particular groups, occupations and industries.

A series of studies over the last decade have indicated that considerable change has been taking place in the way in which organisations recruit their workers. In particular, several authors have pointed to the growing prominence of both internal labour market (ILM) recruitment and word‐of‐mouth recruitment. This conclusion is supported by studies that consider job seeking and job seekers, for example, studies by Granovetter, Leeand Martin and Roberts, as well as by studies of employers' recruitment practices. Although care must be exercised when comparing these studies, as has been discussed by Manwaring, together they provide a general view of the direction of change with regard to the management of labour recruitment. In particular, some of the studies indicate a growth in the use of the internal market and word‐of‐mouth recruitment, for example, Jenkins et al., while others, such as Wood and Manwaring, suggest that such channels are increasingly prominent, not as a result of increased usage, but because these channels have been maintained during the recession, while other forms of recruitment, such as the use of the job centre or press advertisements, have been ignored or minimised.

The aim of this paper is to re‐examine the unique political economy of Germany's dual apprenticeship training model and its underlying philosophy of corporatist governance. It responds to recent arguments suggesting that Germany's collectivist skill regime is under threat, increasingly giving way to the introduction of “segmentalism”.

The paper reviews the political roots of a training system, which is moulded and shaped by corporatist interventions and neocorporatist compromises. It applies “public choice” theory to different interest groups in Germany's training market. The focus is on the German apprenticeship system as a social and political institution. The paper is positioned in the tradition of inductive enquiry, which draws on an interpretive framework and is informed by reference to a cross‐section of the extant literature in several social science disciplines.

The German training system is the product of a wider post‐war consensus, yet continues to face social inequality concerns, which culminate in significant economic and societal costs. Despite modernisation attempts, the German apprenticeship is the outcome of a complicated political process, linked to its historical origins, which allows for a considerable degree of self‐interest alongside its corporatist roots and values. Amongst Germany's social partners, heterogeneous self‐interests and corporatism can co‐exist, thus identifying an alternative model to collectivism and segmentalism.

The paper rejects recent suggestions that the German system moves towards a model of “segmentalism”. Instead, it interprets the German system as an example for a specific socio‐political constellation where significant self‐interests and corporatist rules can co‐exist. Against this background, it demonstrates that continuing demands to copy the German apprenticeship model – if thought desirable – are unlikely to be successful unless this tangled web of political processes and interests is fully understood.

There have recently been considerable changes in the British Chamber of Commerce system, leading to the creation of a network of Approved Chambers and Chambers of Commerce, Training and Enterprise (CCTEs). However, the question of whether British Chambers of Commerce should move further towards the dominant Chamber model of mainland Europe, based on public law status, continues to be debated in academic and practitioner circles. This paper assesses the case for and against such a move, in order to contribute to the understanding of the likely impact of recent changes and possible future reforms to the British Chamber system. Various aspects of British, French and German Chambers are discussed, compared and contrasted in order to consider whether a move to public law status on the part of British Chambers would be in Britain’s best interests.