Article Gold Open Access 2014

Training floors and ‘training ceilings’: Metonyms for understanding training trends

FA
Felstead, Alan
 JN
Jewson, Nick D.
Journal of Vocational Education and Training
Journal · Vol. 66 · Issue 3 · pp. 296-310
Abstract

This article outlines a conceptual framework for mapping and understanding training trends. It uses the metonyms of floors and ceilings to distinguish between different types of training configurations. The argument is made that the ups and downs of employer reports of training activity are a crude basis on which to make judgements about the resilience or otherwise of training to the economic cycle. The article, therefore, suggests and demonstrates with qualitative evidence that using the metonyms of ‘floors and ceilings’ provides a more nuanced understanding of the multiple pathways that lead employers to increase, decrease or maintain training activity during an economic recession. © 2014 The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Training Recession Concepts Metonyms

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Author Affiliations
Cardiff University, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom
Funding & Acknowledgements
Economic and Social Research Council, ESRC
This article is based on research findings emerged from a LLAKES-affiliated research project entitled ‘Training in Recession: Historical, Comparative and Case Study Perspectives’ (RES-594-28-0001-01). It was funded by the ESRC/UKCES Strategic Partnership. The 2009 NESS was made available by the UKCES which also provided the contact details for the types of employers we wished to interview. As always, our co-researcher on the project, Francis Green, provided invaluable help and support in developing this article. We also thank the anonymous referees who provided detailed comment on an early version of the article.
References 10 References
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8 Impact of the 200809 Recession on the Extent, (2011)
9 Felstead, Alan, An analysis of the impact of the 2008-9 recession on the provision of training in the UK, Work, Employment and Society, 26, 6, pp. 968-986, (2012)
10 2009 Real Impact of the Early Stages of the Recession Visible in New Research, (2008)
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