Search Results for
"Vocational education"

Purpose – This study aims to examine how and to what extent vocational high schools (VHSs) in Indonesia have adapted to respond to opportunities emerging from the development of green, blue and digital economies. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-site case study was conducted across 13 VHSs that were purposively selected for their alignment with the 3 strategic economic sectors. Findings – It highlights the uneven readiness of VHS in Indonesia for the new economies. While most schools demonstrated strong potential and strategic positioning, their efforts to develop a skilled workforce in the three economic domains continue to face various obstacles. A primary challenge is limited partnership with industries, particularly those with substantial capacity, proximity and the ability to offer internships or absorb graduates. Research limitations/implications – The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing context-specific insights into how vocational education systems can adapt to the demands of emerging green, blue and digital economies. It also lays the groundwork for comparative studies across regions or countries. Practical implications – A coordinated, cross-sectoral government response is essential to align vocational education with the new economies. The study highlights the need for equitable funding, stronger industry-school linkages and targeted measures to reduce socio-economic and gender disparities through inclusive programs that advance equity and employability. Originality/value – This study offers a focused analysis of how VHSs engage with global economic transitions, revealing systemic challenges beyond the scope of school-level action. It provides critical insights that enrich current policy and educational discourse. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

Governments have been exploring ways to obtain better value from their procurement expenditures by attaching additional employment conditions to their contract tender documents. These require successful bidders to provide training and jobs for members of local communities or equity groups. In 2018, the British Columbia government created a public corporation, BC Infrastructure Benefits (BCIB) to employ the construction workforce on major public infrastructure projects, establishing an ambitious 25% apprenticeship target. It sought to expand the labour pool through recruiting, training and employing more women, Indigenous workers and people with disabilities. To obtain union support and enlist their members as onsite apprenticeship mentors, BCIB negotiated a community benefits agreement (CBA) covering its 10 infrastructure projects. BCIB also established a payroll-based data system to track progress and facilitate timely interventions to improve training outcomes. To address racism, sexism and homophobia in worksites, BCIB created a mandatory, two-day Respectful Onsite Initiative orientation programme. By December 2024, its workers had logged 7.5 million onsite construction hours, making BCIB the second largest provincial construction employer. Its apprenticeship and training outcomes exceed the rest of the industry, confirming that public procurement is a valuable tool for promoting vocational education and training (VET). © 2025 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

This paper investigates the effects of a vocational training program for people with disabilities in Western Uganda. Particular attention is given to assessing intermediate outcomes in participants that precede employment, such as employable skills, self-efficacy, self-esteem and disability identity. Using multiple linear regression with mediation analysis on data from a survey of vocational training program graduates in Western Uganda, we find that engagement in vocational training is positively associated with cognitive self-development, with disability identity playing a significant mediating role. Our findings underscore the importance of comprehensive vocational training programs that foster often-overlooked unobservable intermediate outcomes in people with disabilities. © 2025 Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the landscape of technical skills training worldwide. This narrative review sums up recent scholarly research to examine how AI is used into vocational and industrial training contexts, the opportunities it affords for personalized and adaptive learning, and the challenges it poses in practice. Our work outlines the state-of-the-art applications of AI aligned with 'Industry 4.0' needs, and narrates thematic areas including personalization, curriculum innovation, practical skills training, teacher competency development, administrative uses, and global perspectives. Findings reveal that AI technologies are enabling more flexible, inclusive, and industry-responsive vocational learning experiences, while also raising important issues around data privacy, bias, teacher readiness, and equity. The discussion provides a critical analysis of these developments and offers insights into policy implications and future research directions. We conclude that AI holds significant promise for enhancing vocational and industrial education, provided that stakeholders address implementation barriers and ethical concerns to harness AI's potential for improving workforce development and lifelong learning. © 2025 IEEE.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to assess the efforts of vocational providers in improving the public image of vocational education (VE) to attract better trainees to the system. Design/methodology/approach – The cross-sectional survey method was employed on 228 subjects (42 employers and 186 vocationally graduated employees) from polytechnic colleges (PTCs) in Addis Ababa city. The PTCs were purposefully selected, as they represent the highest level in the sub-sector of the country while samples were drawn with random sampling techniques. A questionnaire with five-point Likert scale items was used to collect data, while cross-tabulation, a chi-square test and an independent sample t-test were applied for the analysis. Findings – Although the VE providers practice pre-enrolment promotional activities without the use of career guidance and counselling services, the study found an inadequate involvement of VE council members, rather better used previous graduates to promote VE and resistance of the industries to implement cooperative training (CT) with no significant difference between employers and graduates. Originality/value – This study is the first cross-sectional survey to examine the views of vocational graduates and employers about the efforts of vocational providers to improve the public image of VE in Ethiopia. It also presents the means of addressing unemployment problems in Africa while maintaining the effectiveness of vocational providers by creating strong partnerships with industries. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

This paper explores lenses influencing FE teachers’ professional identity in the UK, using the network of enterprises (NoE). The tool is praised for capturing professional trajectories but criticised for its individual focus. The study examines five lenses (time, passion, professional influence, personal fulfilment, and remuneration), highlighting challenges and opportunities for FE teachers, including undervaluation, role multiplicity, and CPD. This paper applies step three of the NoE, ‘assessing the significance of involvement,’ to illuminate identity formation, foregrounding FE practice’s multiplicity of roles. FE spans vocational pathways, apprenticeships, A-levels, adult and prison education. Foregrounded in systemic pressures, policy shifts, and sector recognition, this research uses qualitative analysis of interviews with nine FE teachers. The study offers practical recommendations for using the NoE to support identity development. It contributes to current debates on workforce development by illustrating how identity underpins professional growth, CPD engagement, and sectoral innovation. © 2025 Association for Research in Post-Compulsory education.

Purpose – This study examines students' perceptions of gender equity initiatives in Bangladesh's tertiary education, with a focus on science, business and vocational or technical fields. Design/methodology/approach – This research employs an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, combining qualitative insights from open-ended surveys (n = 312) with a quantitative questionnaire (n = 427) to assess support for 13 student-proposed initiatives. Braun and Clarke (2006) guided the qualitative thematic analysis, which identified key concepts, while the quantitative analysis employed chi-square tests and Pearson's R correlations to uncover field-specific trends. Findings – Findings reveals a strong consensus for pedagogical reforms, such as instructor training (71.3% agreement) and inclusive classrooms (71.8%), with vocational students showing hesitance toward cultural initiatives (e.g., 38.5% for cultural events). High neutrality in areas such as mixed-gender sports (39.8%) indicates cultural barriers, highlighting the need for targeted awareness campaigns. Research limitations/implications – This study's limitations include urban sampling bias and potential cultural deference that may affect neutral responses, suggesting the need for broader geographic and cultural analysis in future research. Originality/value – This study offers evidence-based policy recommendations to foster inclusive academic environments, thereby contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) for gender equality. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

Purpose – Cooperation between learning locations is a central yet challenging aspect of vocational education and training (VET). This study explores how digital tools – used as digital boundary objects – can support boundary crossing between vocational schools, training companies and inter-company courses. It investigates the potential and limitations of these tools in two pharmaceutical training contexts in Switzerland. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on qualitative data from two case studies in the Swiss pharmaceutical industry. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, site observations and guided tours of training departments. Findings – The findings suggest that digital boundary objects play a crucial role in facilitating learning across institutional boundaries – especially when learning locations operate within a shared organisational framework. In such settings, common digital platforms enable seamless coordination, personalised learning support and ongoing communication between locations. Conversely, when learning locations are institutionally distinct, digital tools offer only limited support for boundary crossing. In these cases, learners are required to take the initiative in bridging the gap between disparate learning contexts. Originality/value – This study provides new insights into how cooperation between learning locations is structured in large Swiss companies and highlights the importance of organisational frameworks for successful digital integration. The findings indicate that while digital tools hold considerable promise, their effectiveness largely depends on shared goals and institutional alignment. Learners require support in navigating their role as boundary crossers – particularly when cooperation between locations is limited. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

Purpose – To investigate how VET teachers in post-compulsory education integrate digital technologies into teaching, collaboration and assessment and to identify strategies for addressing digital competence gaps using the DigCompEdu/SELFIE for TEACHERS framework. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study in a Spanish vocational education and Training (VET) centre. An online open-ended questionnaire collected accounts from 25 teachers representing five professional families. Grounded-theory coding in ATLAS.ti generated 105 initial codes (meaning units), which were then mapped to the DigCompEdu areas to identify themes and actionable areas for improvement. Findings – Teachers report a solid baseline of integration centred on the learning management systems, collaborative platforms and sector-specific software aligned with occupational standards. Assessment routines exist, but self- and peer-assessment are inconsistent without explicit scaffolding. VR/AI attract strong interest yet remain marginal in practice. Mapping to DigCompEdu shows strengths in Areas 1–3 and clear needs in Areas 4 and 6. Research limitations/implications – This single-centre study, grounded in teachers’ detailed accounts, offers in-depth insight rarely captured in VET research, enhancing transferability and providing a solid foundation for future multi-site and mixed-methods studies. Practical implications – Professional development aligned with DigCompEdu; stronger assessment literacy; investment in simulated/VR spaces and industry–centre partnerships for tool access and mentoring. Social implications – Strengthening teachers’ digital competence supports equitable access to future-relevant skills, enhancing employability and mobility through digital and green transitions. Originality/value – The study provides evidence grounded in teachers’ practice in post-compulsory VET, applying DigCompEdu in classroom settings and linking the results to policy and leadership actions. In doing so, it contributes to the Special Issue’s aim of foregrounding rigorous VET research and challenges its under-representation by placing teachers’ voices at the centre. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the continuing professional development (CPD) experiences of technical and vocational workers in the informal sector of Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – A phenomenological research design was adopted. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 technical and vocational workers who were conveniently and purposively recruited from the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings – Motivations, barriers and pathways explained the CPD experiences of technical and vocational workers. Technical and vocational workers in Ghana were found to engage in four categories of CPD pathways, which were largely formal and informal. Three distinct categories of motivations were identified, which related to self-determination and personal drive, skill acquisition and continuous learning and economic survival and business sustainability. Further analysis revealed five barriers, which were largely institutional and situational. Research limitations/implications – Research limitations include potential biases resulting from self-reported responses. Practical implications – Continuous learning for technical and vocational workers must be highly considered as a national priority. Professional associations should continue to mobilize and enhance the professional competence and practices of technical and vocational workers. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, almost no study has investigated the CPD experiences of technical and vocational workers from adult learning and self-determination perspectives. This study, therefore, contributes to the occupational competence and professional development literature in a developing country context. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited