Search Results for
"Vocational education"

This paper reports on research undertaken to understand the contribution of formal Technical vocational education and Training (hereafter TVET) to company-level growth and transformation in the automotive sector in South Africa. The findings of this article are part of a larger research project conducted in South Africa and five other developing countries, namely, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Laos, and Vietnam, to explore the contribution of TVET programs to inclusive industrial transformation and growth in the manufacturing sectors. It argues that formal TVET training does not drive workplace changes in technology, work organisation, and product change in the automotive sector. This paper challenges the current formal TVET provision policy in South Africa to recognise other forms of training provision, such as non-formal, and informal on-the-job training, in addition to company-level factors critical in shaping the skills system if we are to understand the extent to which skills enhance growth and transformation. © 2024 Centre for Researching education and Labour (REAL), University of the Witswatersrand. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

In this paper I consider the social role vocational education can play in decentring settler-colonialism. Through focused programming located in community settings, these educational offerings provide opportunities for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Connecting capitalism’s relationship to this school system, I contend that vocational education, with its vast scope of subject-matter areas, and deeply embedded connections to the intersectionality of race, class, and gender-oppressions, provide an under-examined opportunity to advance decolonising efforts within society. © 2024 The vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

A longitudinal study of enrichment across post-16 colleges in England and Wales illustrates the possibilities and limitations of colleges’ societal and cultural impact. Over a four-year study, these activities outside subject curricula, widely intended to compensate for the mobilisation of cultural capital by students in privileged settings, increased in salience whilst responding to post-pandemic crises; but differed across settings in their aims and organisation, including the agency afforded to staff and students. This paper explores these differences, in the context of a longstanding theorisation of colleges as sites of social reproduction interruptible only outside the technical sphere, whilst drawing on contemporary understandings of structure, agency and stratification. Whilst analysis of survey and case study data suggests broad association of general education spaces with agentic enrichment practices, alongside vocational enrichment overlapping technical curricula or generic ‘support’, we suggest that contestation over the aims and content of enrichment takes place in the context of a hierarchical terrain of post-16 institutions and broader societal and policy developments unfolding over time. We argue that authentic and socially just enrichment requires its extension to the interests and agency of students across educational pathways, in contradistinction to the currently deepening stratification of post-16 education in England. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This paper explores the contrast between the policy vision for public technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in South Africa, and governance and funding models that have shaped institutional forms and functioning over time. Policy aspires for TVET colleges to play a role in social inclusion and local economic development. The paper provides a historical tracing of shifting regulatory and funding models, a local manifestation of the global shift to market-based funding, pseudo-employer-led reforms and accreditation mechanisms introduced through new public management-style public sector reform. The result is complex policy levers with conflicting governance and institutional models, producing bifurcation and weakening institutions. Colleges have been renamed, restructured, given new governance models, and shaped by contradictory and shifting programme, curriculum and qualification policy. Today, they are public institutions required to contribute to public policy goals, but treated by funding mechanisms as providers competing for contracts with for-profit and private non-profit providers. Individualised capacity building and a governance system that has at its core the idea that vocational education should meet the short-term needs of employers have undermined institutional capacity and coherence, and ability to develop institutions that can actively engage with social and economic development and inclusion. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) has gained importance as an instrument for promoting the permeability of education and training systems. Despite the many advantages at the individual and social level, such as supporting lifelong learning processes, previous research indicates that RPL implementation encounters various barriers at different levels. This study aimed to investigate the facilitators of and barriers to RPL implementation for access to higher vocational and professional tertiary education in Switzerland from the perspective of RPL providers. National and organisational framework conditions as well as factors at the study programme level were considered. Data were collected via a nationwide online survey covering professional education institutions. The sample comprised 156 persons responsible for 191 study programmes at professional education institutions in the fields of engineering, economics, healthcare, and social care. A logistic regression analysis revealed that RPL implementation for access to a study programme was most likely in the following contexts: less regulated professional fields, high workforce shortage, and favourable organisational RPL policies. Furthermore, the results suggest that the attitudes towards RPL held by those responsible are decisive in designing effective interventions. © 2024 Swiss University for vocational education and Training. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Apprenticeship enrollment in Ghana is declining according to recent rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, despite its importance as an avenue for human capital development among young people. This trend is alarming, especially during an era of economic crises and constraints in technical and vocational education. The paper utilizes qualitative approaches involving interviews with key stakeholders such as master craftspeople and apprentices, apprenticeship experts, and secondary data to explore the reasons behind the decline in apprenticeships. The findings reveal that young people’s desire for quick financial gains and lack of interest in apprenticeships, along with structural factors, contribute to the decline. The paper concludes by offering a nuanced critique of the human capital theory’s application to the declining apprenticeship trends in Ghana, underscoring the need for a more comprehensive framework that incorporates social, cultural and environmental factors. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This research intends to present an integrated vocational school internship application that will improve vocational school internships through a user-cantered design approach and the use of technology. The application is also expected to help meet the demands of vocational students and industry market demands where students are expected to have practical experience in alignment with their academic and career interests. The research design of the study involves both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques such as interviews with key informants of the industry and self-developed questionnaires administered to students and educators. This approach helps the application provide information regarding the functionality to cater to the needs of all users; this includes information regarding the matching of job vacancies, feedback, and the progress made in the process. The study also focuses on the possibilities of utilizing recent technologies like artificial intelligence and data analysis to improve the strategies of internship delivery so that it becomes more responsive to individual student needs. Consequently, the study demonstrates that applying the user-centred design strategy with technology improvement increases students’ and employers’ satisfaction with the application besides improving the usability of the application. The application ensures better matching of the skills imparted in vocational schools with the workforce needs hence improving the competitiveness of the graduates. © 2025; Los autores.

Career development promotes the development of key life skills, allows students to discover opportunities, connects school to work, encourages collaboration, and is instrumental in preparing students for postsecondary success. Despite this, many elementary educators struggle to seamlessly integrate career development activities into curricula. This paper will explore how to strengthen students’ foundational career skills, offer suggestions and resources on how to seamlessly integrate career development into elementary curricula, and how to celebrate and share student learning as elementary students discover their personal, career, and/or educational aspirations. © The Author(s) 2024.

This paper reports on research investigating Australian employer-training provider partnerships through the examination of three features in-depth: the nature of partnerships, the perceived benefits for both parties and the attributes of successful partnerships. The research project used a mixed methods approach, with two online surveys, one of employers and the other of training providers, and a series of semi-structured interviews with employers and training providers who were in partnership with each other. Results from these sources showed variations in the nature of partnerships on several parameters, including the nature of the partnership, the coverage of training, and the training delivery. Variations also occurred by size (both of the training provider and of the employers) and between public and private training providers. Reported benefits included, for the employers, the opportunity to upskill employees, and the provision of flexible and customised training. For the training providers, benefits included the development of skills in their own staff, and the financial benefits from their partnerships. The latter were rarely great but helped to sustain their operations. The research extends previous work on the attributes of successful partnerships. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, and suggestions for further research are provided. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The evolving professional landscape necessitates educational innovation to prepare students for emerging challenges. This paper explores the integration of vocational education and Training (VET) and Higher education (HE) through double-degree programs, challenging the conventional perception of these pathways as independent. Recognising the transformative potential in synergising competencies from VET and HE, we advocate for enhancing students’ employability through collaborative curriculum design and shared learning objectives. Addressing limitations in the current VET-to-HE transition, we identify four criteria for successful double programs (i) coherent competency map, (ii) unified methodology, (iii) distinctive profile, (iv) own signalling. The paper concludes with a case study of an emerging dual VET/HE program in Navarra (Spain) built on the criteria outlined above. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.