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This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the government-incentivised i-Ready programme in alleviating youth unemployment in terms of the transition from education to the labour force market.

Focus group discussions are conducted to reveal the perceptions and experiences of the apprentices in the i-Ready programme. The SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis framework is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the i-Ready apprenticeship model in building a future-ready human capital.

The study found that the JobCentre agency utilises online recruitment technology and proactively promotes work-based training in the public and private sectors. However, the apprenticeship still needs to improve programme coordination and provide an inclusive regulatory framework. The study also discovered that internships could enhance in-demand skills training and establish apprentices as a crisis-recovery workforce.

The findings are based on a small-scale focus group study and represent the current state of the i-Ready programme. Future research integrating data from multiple stakeholders is recommended to provide a more thorough picture.

In terms of efficacy, the findings indicate that i-Ready has made significant contributions to local employment and, with certain modifications, is on the correct route to producing future-ready youth.

To date, there has been no research on the effectiveness of the national i-Ready programme system as a strategy that may help alleviate Brunei's youth unemployment crisis.

An education system can only be successful if it can develop future-ready learners who can continue to learn after graduation, take on their future lifework and thrive in the future society and environment. This article examines the economic, social and environmental trajectories of Singapore and proposes that it is important for future-ready learners to develop habits of practices that will support the skills, knowledge and values that are pertinent to these trajectories.

School leaders are responsible for creating environments and implementing practices that are conducive for fostering habits of practices that are crucial for future-ready outcomes. The authors discuss the inadequacies of traditional teaching and learning practices in supporting these habits and elucidate how newer paradigms such as constructivism, connectivism, coagency and communities of practice might be more useful in achieving this. The authors also present a case study of a school leadership preparation programme that aims to develop future-ready learners.

This paper provides insights into how newer paradigms of teaching and learning can be supportive for developing desirable habits of practices for future readiness.

This discussion piece introduces a fresh concept – habits of practices – that is relevant in preparing future-ready learners in Singapore.

The value of transverse skills, including human capabilities, has been acknowledged for a significant period of time by major organisations such as UNESCO and the World Economic Forum. This paper reports on the application of microcredentials linked to the Human Capability Framework in a major telecommunications organisation that has a vision to establish a baseline to develop the levels of capability for both individual employees and the entire workforce. In this case study, capability is evidenced through learning and applied performance specified in a microcredential that carries a credit-entry score into higher education qualifications. The value of the microcredentials lies not in recognising learning outcomes; rather, it lies in an individual's ability to validate their full potential, open sustainable employment opportunities and prepare for emergent new roles.

This commentary offers a case study of how a major Australian telecommunications organisation implemented microcredentials that are aligned to the Human Capability Framework Standards reference model.

The approach in this case study demonstrates how a company that confidently invests in non-traditional learning approaches that increase the value of human capital can tangibly grow the capacity of the workforce to deliver not only its strategy but also its cultural values.

The multi-award-winning model described in this case study is novel and clearly informs current research and thinking addressing this topic.

The disparity between employers’ expectations and the ability of graduates to meet them is an issue for employment. Industry 4.0, represented by technologies like big data and automation, permeate the construction industry, exacerbating the rift of changing expectations that future graduates must bridge. As sophisticated forms of technology emerge, the ways individuals work are also expected to change. Soft skills are needed to support, materialise, and enhance the workforce’s existing technical skills. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of Industry 4.0 on employability in the local construction industry from the viewpoint of employers and future graduates.

This study adopts mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, quantitative followed by qualitative. The questionnaire survey crosschecked the needs and expectations of employers in the local construction industry, regarding these nine soft skills and the extent to which students currently possess them, to determine whether students from the construction industry are Industry 4.0-ready. Qualitative interviews were also conducted with employers in the construction industry and PFM students to further understand the disparity between the survey results of the two parties.

Gap analyses and t-test results found six significant divides in nine soft skills – resilience, curiosity, adaptability, entrepreneurial thinking, pursuing convictions and vision – showing a significant difference between the mean expectations of employers and the soft skills capabilities of graduate students. Future graduate students thus lack the soft skills needed by Industry 4.0. The reasons for this significant difference and the barriers to improving soft skills are explored through interviews with employers and future graduates. Three parties – government, educational institutions and industry – were identified as crucial partners in change.

Little has been researched about the future strategies and mindsets required by the workforce to prepare for the changes brought by Industry 4.0. Likewise, the government’s and companies’ one-sided focus on promoting skill-upgrading leaves many to wonder about the soft skills needed to stay competitive. Hence, it is timely to examine the readiness of Singapore’s future graduates in the construction industry in adapting to Industry 4.0’s requirements in terms of soft skills.

The present paper highlights the increasing importance of remote learning amidst the closure of educational institutions in India in the wake of COVID-19. This paper not only discusses critical issues and challenges that remote learning system in the higher education sector in India has been encountering amidst this pandemic but also sheds light on ways to deal with them.

The paper makes use of secondary sources of data along with descriptive and comparative approaches to examine the issues, challenges and way forward for a transition from face-to-face teaching to remote learning in the case of India.

The paper suggests that greater use of this alternative mode of learning can be made for checking “human capital deficit,” preventing loss of future earnings (because of loss of education) and also for preparing a future-ready digital workforce to surf the Industry 4.0 wave. Besides, this can help to achieve the goal of “Education for all” and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). Among others, concerted policies for bridging skill gaps, forging partnerships and following equity-oriented policies for ensuring learning outcomes seem to be the way forward for a resilient education system.

As per our knowledge, no such study on the use of remote learning covering the higher education sector in India amidst COVID-19 has been done so far.

The world is witnessing the advent of a wide range of technologies like machine learning, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, robotics, additive manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality, cloud computing, Internet of Things and such others. Amidst this concoction of diverse technologies, the future of work is getting redefined. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to understand the future of work in the context of an emerging economy like India.

The authors undertook a qualitative research with a positivist approach. The authors undertook expert interviews with 26 respondents. The respondents were interviewed with a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire. The responses were content analyzed for themes. System dynamics was applied to explicate the phenomenon studied.

The authors found that the future of work has multiple facets. The authors found that in future, organizations would not only use automation for lower end routine manual jobs, but also for moderate knowledge-centric tasks. Future jobs would have significant data dependency, and employees would be expected to analyze and synthesize data for sense making. Another finding pointed out that in future, individuals would be constantly required for skills upgradation and thus learning would become a continuous lifelong process. In future, individuals would get short-term tasks rather than long-term secured jobs. Thus, job flexibility would be high as freelancing would be a dominant way of work. Organizations would reduce dedicated workspaces and would use co-working spaces to reduce office space investments. In future, jobs that are impregnated with novelty and creativity would remain. A finding of concern was that with the advent of automated technologies a larger portion of workforce would lose jobs and there could be widespread unemployment that might lead to social unrest. The provision of universal basic income has been advocated by some experts to handle social crisis.

This research is based on an organization centric view that is anchored in the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities. The research contributes to the conversation of human resource co-existence with automated technologies for organizations of tomorrow. Thus, this work specifically contributes to strategic human resource with technology capabilities in organizations.

These research findings would help organizational design and development practitioners to comprehend what kind of interventions would be required to be future ready to both accommodate technology and human resources. For policy makers, the results of this study would help them design policy interventions that could keep the nation’s workforce job ready in the age of automated technologies through investments in automated technology education.

India is bestowed with one of the largest English-speaking, technically qualified young workforce working at lower salary levels than their developed county counterparts. The advent of automated technologies ushers in challenges and opportunities for this young qualified workforce to step into future. This is the first study from India that deliberates on the “future of work” in India.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an experiential entrepreneurship work-integrated learning (EE WIL) model recognising that the development of an entrepreneurial mindset enables graduates to manage their careers in uncertain labour markets. The model shows how students develop relationships with their professional community, and not only a few employers.

The pedagogical underpinning of the conceptual model, attributes associated with the entrepreneurial mindset and relationships between the student, professional community and university are explained, and illustrated through a case study at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

The EE WIL model enables students to develop agency through structured engagement with a professional community, facilitating the development of bridging social capital. Bonding social capital can be developed through intense, sustained interaction between students and their professional community.

WIL curricula should be scaffolded and directed towards developing sustained interaction and information sharing, underpinned by professional community norms. This approach enables students to develop an aligned professional identity and emotional attachment to the professional community. The experiential development of an entrepreneurial mindset enables students to solve career challenges, by viewing these as opportunities. Professional communities and universities both share the responsibilities of preparing the future graduate workforce.

The conceptual model draws on effectual entrepreneurship pedagogy and contributes to the WIL literature, showing that an entrepreneurial mindset can be cultivated experientially through an intensive, emotional and authentic learning experience.

Introduction: Organisations all over the world are experiencing skill gaps. One of the key factors contributing to the shortage of competent workers is the inability to find candidates that fit the profile. Most of the time, the market does not offer what organisations require.

Purpose: This research focuses on skill shortages and labour market rigidity in the information technology (IT) sector. It discusses the impact of labour shortage and strategies to overcome these challenges.

Need of the Study: The study is required to reduce the skill shortage in the IT sector and inflexibility in the labour market.

Methodology: The data are collected from secondary sources, that is, books, journals and other internet sources.

Findings: The labour market volatility is impacted by several external factors leading to rigidity and talent shortages. Different forecasts within the IT industry, manufacturing, media and telecommunications indicate large-scale labour shortages. The growing influence of digitalisation further creates challenges for organisations during the hiring process as the identified skill gaps for IT professionals are also identified.

Practical Implications: Labour market rigidity affects the labour market. Shifts in labour supply and demand do not always impact wages. Methods are suggested on how to reduce the rigidity in the labour market and, in turn, decrease the skill gaps.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of inclusive tourism in a small-island tourism economy of the Caribbean. Dubbed the “One Happy Island” in the Caribbean, the operationalization and development of direct and indirect channels of inclusive tourism are studied and discussed to foster policy guidance and future studies.

Based on an in-depth case study of Aruba, the findings yield significant insights on the unfolding of inclusive tourism within the context of a maturing small-island tourism economy in Aruba. A mix of historical socioeconomic analysis in conjunction with community resident perspectives provides an expanded framing of small-island inclusive tourism development.

In mature, small-island tourism economies such as Aruba, social and ecological disparities are particularly evident and over an extended period have exceeded direct economic contribution. The case study reveals an Aruban community experiencing significant negative socioecological impacts and subsequent diminishing economic contribution and well-being. Concerns about environmental pollution and destruction, the loss of quality of life and income equality, in addition to over construction and crowding, indicate a growing animosity toward tourism and further tourism growth.

Based on previous studies, this study provides an extended framing of small-island inclusive tourism, which opens opportunities for further testing and validation across other small-island tourism economies. It provides a conceptual critique of classical tourism growth maxims in small-island developing states.

The paper provides rich historical insights using an in-depth case study approach that extends the concept and evolution of inclusive tourism in mature, small-island tourism destinations, especially in the Caribbean, thus providing a contemporary framing of inclusive tourism.

Employment exchanges have been playing a significant role in the worldwide labor market for more than a hundred years now. In India, since 1946, millions of aspiring Indian youths have registered themselves with the government-run employment exchanges to find a job. About four million job seekers got registered at 1,000 employment exchanges in India, it is important to analyze the placement statistics of these exchanges. In recent years, new methods of job search have evolved. This study examines whether employment exchanges are effective in the changed scenario?

Using state-level employment exchange data for the period 2010–2011 to 2019–2020, this study analyzes the determinants of job placement at employment exchanges in India. A critical analysis of the functioning of employment exchanges along with recommendations to improve the job search ecosystem in India is also presented in the study.

This study found that increased share of service sector in the state economy negatively impacts placement at employment exchanges.

The absence of focus on the service sector requires policy intervention if Indian employment exchanges are to remain relavant.

The government administration should rethink that ignoring service sector employment potential is unaffordable for an emerging economy and employment exchanges should be aligned accordingly.

About 30 million people are unemployed in India. If employment exchanges are transformed, it can have far-reaching socio-economic advantages.

This study is the first sub-country level study on the institution of employment exchanges. This study comprehensively maps the landscape of career services in India. Empirically establishing the impact of sectoral structure of economy on efficacy of employment exchanges, and makes the case for policy intervention that is needed to keep the employment exchanges relevant in India.