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Contains findings of a study carried out to explore employers′ views about TVEI school‐leavers and the impact of TVEI on their employability and career progression, and assesses TVEI school‐leavers who moved into employment and training at the end of their time in compulsory education. A relatively small‐scale study, the results are not necessarily representative of TVEI as a whole though they are encouraging.

How to select suitable entrants for programmes emphasizing interpersonal and counselling skills is a question faced by many tertiary training institutions. Discusses special selection procedures used by the School of Social Science at the Queensland University of Technology, over a four‐year period, to identify suitable students for its undergraduate degree programme, the Bachelor of Social Science (Human Services) degree. The process differs for school‐leavers and non‐school‐leavers or mature entrants. For school‐leavers, expressed preference and academic merit are used as the basis for selection. For non‐school‐leavers, expressed preference, questionnaires, group processes and interviews are used. Discusses issues concerning the use of the different school‐leaver versus non‐school‐leaver procedures, including questions of discrimination, problems in administering the programmes and perceptions of the successes and failures in the processes to date.

Who are the young school‐leavers? In some senses they've been with us a long time. They're the boys and girls who have left school at the legally earliest point. And they're the ones for whom committees of enquiry and governments have successively seen one remedy. For the good of the child (and the economic and social well‐being of the country) governments have agreed to higher school‐leaving ages: the idea of 14 was accepted in 1918, of 15 in 1926, of 16 in 1944.

One child in ten needs special educational help, and two in every hundred are very backward and intellectually subnormal. For such children, the transition between school and work can be very traumatic. In this article M. A. Jerrold and R. Fox, headmaster and industrial training master respectively of Cliffdale Secondary School, Portsmouth, describe an ambitious project designed to help the ESN and educationally immature school leaver over the transition.

The purpose of this study is to discuss conditions in support of a Competent Self in the broader process of the school‐work transition, particularly regarding early school‐leavers.

A total of 233 early school‐leavers were followed in innovative and successful vocational training courses. Using a “quali‐quantitative” research model, longitudinal and multilevel, the comparison between contexts (previous/current school attended) and experiences (school failure/success) was adopted as the basic unit of analysis and considerable attention was given to the personal reflexivity stimulated by the transition undertaken.

The successful vocational training experience allowed the students to demonstrate commitment, competence and mastery motivation supported by the perception they were part of a project that was credible, shared and focused on a mutual investment in learning a job. The commitment and availability of the teachers and the testing of the “learning by doing” were the aspects that most strongly supported the construction of a Competent Self, in contrast with what the students perceived in the schools they had left.

The findings support the relevance of studying school‐failure by valorising the perceived quality of the school experience especially in relation to the teaching‐learning models adopted.

Emphasis was placed on the conditions that could contribute to coping with the school failure phenomenon (especially regarding vocational school paths).

The theoretical‐methodological measures adopted contributed to overcoming some ambiguities that characterised the research on school failure, questioning the supposed weakness of the early school‐leavers and highlighting school factors that contributed to students' engagement/disengagement, making the “school” (not only the students) “protective” or “at risk”.

Agricultural education and training (AET) institutions will play a strategic role in helping to prepare Africa’s rapidly growing youth populations for productive careers in agriculture and related agri-businesses. The purpose of this paper is to examine the magnitude of skills and youth employment needs emanating from high-population growth rates. It then explores how agricultural education institutions are responding to these challenges in four different countries at different levels of food system development: South Africa tier 1, Tanzania in tier 2 and Malawi and Uganda in tier 3.

Demographic and school enrollment data provide information on the magnitude of job market entrants at different levels of education while Living Standards Measurement Studies in the respective countries provide a snapshot of current skill requirements in different segments of the agri-food system. In order to evaluate AET responses, the authors have conducted country-level reviews of AET systems as well as in-depth assessments at key tertiary AET institutions in each of the four case study countries.

Growth rates in primary school enrollments are high in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, because of budgetary constraints, transition rates decline rapidly – about 40 percent from primary to secondary and 7 percent from secondary to tertiary. As a result, substantial numbers of primary and secondary school graduates seek jobs.

The case study countries are limited to four. Had more financial resources and time been available, researchers could have spread further afield and in so doing increasing the precision of the results.

Estimation of the number of primary and secondary school leavers seeking employment because of failure to proceed to the next level of education. Estimation of the level of education shares in the various components of the agri-food system.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and summarise the Australian research on the impact of vocational education and training (VET) on transitions to work for young people aged 15 to 24 years.

The methodology involved the compilation of statistics on VET participation by young people and a review of research on the topic of young people and the longer‐term impact of VET on transitions into work. Research included in the review was restricted to Australian research published during or after 2005.

The findings suggest that young people who participate in VET experience better employment outcomes compared to young people who do not participate in post‐school education and training. However, the smoothness of the transition into work varies for young people who participate in VET programs. Programs linked to the workplace provide the most rapid and successful transitions while other VET programs, such as certificate I and II courses, often require further study at a higher level in order for students to achieve their desired job. The paper also shows that school VET programs have a particularly positive effect on transitions into work for early school leavers.

The paper consolidates the knowledge on how VET assists young people's transitions into work. By focusing on longitudinal research, the paper enhances the understanding of the longer‐term impact of VET for young people.

A study on new office technology and the consequences for curriculum design are described. In a preparatory study, information was collected about trends in the field of office automation, the actual and the desired job profiles of office personnel and the existing curricula. The aim of these activities was to have an empirical base for designing the curriculum. As expected, several discrepancies existed between the information obtained and the desired conditions of the ideal situation, which made it necessary to evaluate the findings of the preparatory study. This was done by a curriculum conference, a new approach to design curricula in groups, which has the characteristics of a carefully prepared workshop. At this conference, the design of the curriculum was validated and confirmed. The design of the curriculum embraces module descriptors for several components of office automation. The curriculum conference was evaluated and appeared to be a promising method to design job‐related curricula.

The aim of this paper is to consider the role played by vocational education and training (VET) for young people in Australia.

The paper is based on an analysis and synthesis of the existing research and literature, including the author's own body of research in the field, regarding VET delivered in schools and in adult sector institutions.

This research presents evidence that VET in Schools (VETiS) constitutes an important and significant curriculum reform in upper secondary schooling, but that it is usually offered at the most basic qualification levels within the subject model paradigm of senior secondary certificates. Its heavy use by young people from disadvantaged backgrounds raises concerns regarding social selection and it suffers from problems of low esteem and variable quality, with its place often questioned within the traditional academic culture of secondary schooling. With respect to adult VET providers, the article argues that the role of TAFE across Australia for 15‐19 year‐olds is relatively limited, with questions raised regarding the quality of programs for younger clients, and that low SES students are more likely to enter post‐school VET destinations.

This article argues that an integrated approach to VET provision, both during and after school, is needed to create quality pathways for students of all backgrounds.

The article presents an integrated view of the role played by VET across different sectors for young people. It is designed to be of value to policy makers and practitioners seeking coordinated policy responses designed to offer curriculum, diversity, and strong pathways into further education and quality full‐time employment.

The transition from school to work is a crucial component in a young person’s transition to adulthood. Recently data have emerged from one of the very first projects on school to work transitions. This research was undertaken in the early 1960s by researchers at the University of Leicester, and led by Norbert Elias. Nearly 900 interview schedules from the project “Adjustment of Young Workers to Work Situations and Adult Roles” have been discovered, which provide a significant insight into the school to work transitions of the 1960s. This paper aims to present some of this data for the first time. In particular the discussion will focus on the respondents’ reflections on education, their expectations of paid employment and their perceptions of a “good job”. The paper concludes by reflecting on the value of using such historical data and considers its implications for current debates on transitions and the expectations of school leavers.