Search Results for
"Vocational education"

vocational education and training (VET) and industrial relations systems are inherently linked. The Federal Government aims to increase the number of workers with VET qualifications but it is unclear how this policy is being supported through the industrial relations framework, in particular by the new system of modern awards. Research into training outcomes has shown that job-related factors are linked to completion rates among apprentices and trainees. An analysis of a cross-section of relevant modern awards reveals that award modernisation has had a small negative impact on the wage arrangements for apprenticeships. Modern awards continue to provide no recognition for some categories of workers who have undertaken VET qualifications through traineeships.

This paper seeks to examine the growth and development of tourism education within Great Britain, with specific reference to the situation in England and Wales. This is a subject that has received relatively scant attention since the publication of a number of seminal papers produced in the mid to late 1990's and early C20th. The paper reviews how tourism education has developed from relatively humble origins to that of a subject taught in a wide variety of education institutions. It examines what programmes seek to achieve in terms of knowledge skills development and preparing students to meet the labour needs of the tourism industry. It also reflects on where tourism education is going in terms of courses, course philosophy, levels of study, subject content and teaching and learning strategies.A number of key themes or issues will be highlighted all central to the thinking of the curriculum planner. These include an analysis of curriculum models, the importance of developing academic vocational and key transferable skills and the need to add value and increase employability. The paper concludes by examining the future of tourism education in an increasingly mature educational market. Here the development of the new 14-19 diplomas in travel and tourism and employer-led foundation degrees are discussed and the implications for curriculum development in higher education broached. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

The basic aim of this paper is to investigate the impact that educational level of individuals and participation in training programmes (apprenticeship, intra-firm training, continuing vocational training, popular training) have on their job prospects in the Greek regions of Northern Aegean and Crete, both highly attractive tourist destinations, during the implementation of the first Community Support Framework - CSF (1989-1993). We try to see whether the educational level itself and participation in training programmes increased the chances of finding a job. More specifically, we research what are the social and demographic characteristics that increase the chances of someone in the examined population finding a job, how those chances change (if they do) after the introduction of training courses and, also, whether University graduates, in contrast to most of the rest of the EU member states, face greater difficulties in finding a job than non-University graduates, as a series of studies or aggregate statistics for Greece conclude. We use individual anonymised records (micro-data) of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for both employed and unemployed in both regions at NUTS 2 level.

AIM: To characterize a vocational training doctor's population that chooses General Practice and Family Medicine as career, in Portugal, trying to identify a profile; to know the proportion of the trainees that choose this specialty as a first-line option, for their professional future; to analyze the relationship between that choice and the sociodemographic and professional characteristics of the General Practice and Family Medicine trainees. Type of Study: Observational and cross-sectional study, with an analytic component. Population: Doctors who entered the vocational training program for General Practice and Family Medicine in Portugal, during the year of 2005 (N = 228). Methods: Postal questionnaire survey of all doctors that began vocational training during the year of 2005. Descriptive statistics were calculated and we use the χ 2 and T test to analyze the relationship between the variables (α = 0,05). Results: The overall response was 47,81% (n = 109). The profile found is mostly feminine (76, 15%), average age = 30, 2 years (DP = 6,28), Portuguese nationality (79,82%), graduate less than five years (Mo = 2002), and with a professional work average in medicine = 3,0 years (DP = 3,87). Most of trainees has no experience, working in undiferentiated Primary Care settings (87,04%). The specialty was chosen as a firstline option by 78,90% of the trainees, regardless of their profile. Conclusion: The high proportion of trainees choosing this specialty, as a first-line option, is a relevant result in this study. Identifying the specialty internship Doctor's profile, through a representative population, gives us an important evidence for future investigations, in a moment of a primary care reform in Portugal. © 2010 CELOM.

Recent developments in competence-based education have motivated institutions of vocational education and training (VET) to improve the links or connectivity between learning in school and learning in the workplace, which has been a problem for decades. In previous research, a theoretical framework describing the underlying aspects of competence-based education was developed. In this study, three aspects of this framework were used to analyse connectivity between learning in school and learning in the workplace. These aspects were: i) authenticity, ii) selfresponsibility, and iii) the role of the teacher as expert and coach. Three stakeholder groups (i. e., students, teachers, and workplace training supervisors) involved in secondary VET programs in the field of life sciences in the Netherlands were questioned on these aspects. Based on their interviews, it is concluded that these aspects provide information about the process of connectivity. Because stakeholder groups hold different conceptions of workplace learning and often do not communicate adequately about mutual responsibilities, the implementation of these aspects of competence-based education has not significantly improved the connectivity situation. Nevertheless, these aspects of competence-based education can guide stakeholder groups in making clearer agreements about mutual responsibilities, which may improve connectivity in the future. © 2009 The Author(s).

This paper explores the effects on social inequality in Germany of ongoing changes to the employment system and, thus, vocational education. Results based on an examination of the literature indicate that students from increasingly middle-class backgrounds with higher levels of general, rather than vocational, educational attainment are winning the competition for ever-fewer apprenticeships. Progress for women in education is accompanied by relative declines in men's performance on high school exit examinations and does not translate into success in the employment system. Employers are abandoning the corporate-state organization of vocational education. The paper concludes that school degrees are increasingly important for later career opportunities. As a result, the educational system is increasingly stratified, contributing to social inequality in Germany. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

This study developed a theoretical model of the school-to-work transition and evaluated the effects of a transition support program designed to prepare compulsory school graduates to enter the Swiss dual vocational education and training system. A 13-session program was designed to improve teenagers' views toward the world of work and enable them to sharpen their interpersonal skills. The intervention's effects were assessed through interviews with participants at the program's completion and 1 year later and with participants' teachers. Findings showed that participants improved their readiness to face the world of work. Implications for future research and programs are discussed. © 2010 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

Objectives The aim of the study was to assess and improve first-year student pharmacists' satisfaction and learning experience in a Student-Run Free Medical Clinic Project (SFMCP) providing medical care to an underserved population. Methods Two consecutive classes of first-year student pharmacists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences participated in an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) at the UCSD SFMCP. This IPPE involved two inter-professional evening free clinics which provide medical care to an underserved population and opportunities for healthcare professional training and service. Year 1 students completed a self-assessment survey instrument and year 2 students completed the survey instrument plus a new competency checklist tool. Average scores from the self-assessment survey instrument were compared between years 1 and 2. Key findings Initial survey results showed that students felt the SFMCP was worthwhile; however, they did not experience enough involvement in the patient assistance programme or non-pharmacy-related clinic activities. After the competency checklist tool implementation, overall student pharmacist satisfaction of the SFMCP IPPE remained high (88%), participation in identified weak areas improved and students agreed that the tool helped focus their clinic experience. Conclusions Areas of improvement were identified with the survey instrument and the competency checklist tool increased achievement of learning objectives. Overall, student pharmacists felt the SFMCP IPPE was a good learning experience. Practising pharmacists can employ these or similar tools in specific practice settings, to evaluate and help ensure that student pharmacists or interns are achieving applicable learning objectives. © 2010 Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

On the basis of an in-depth study of the Swiss vocational education and Training (VET) system-an extreme case among collectivist regimes-the employers' constellation and the elites of the public education administration affect patterns of institutional change. If large firms are the dominant actors and collaborate with elites in the public education administration, institutional change follows a transformative pattern. If small and medium firms are in a strong position and have the power to influence public elites according to their interests, self-preserving institutional change results. With reference to causal mechanism of institutional change in VET systems, developments in the international political economy and Europe are important intervening factors in patterns of institutional change.

The paper draws upon empirical material from a two year qualitative research project. The paper briefly outlines the key research questions, research design and data collection strategies. The following sections draw on observational, interview and journal data from the learning sites and the teachers and students who work and learn in them are used to show how college-based learning (CBL) is also work-based learning (WBL). We argue that to differentiate between CBL and WBL in this particular case is unhelpful and three separate contexts are identified to show where learning typically occurs for students of animal care. The discussion draws upon Lave and Wenger's 'communities of practice' and Fuller and Unwin's notion of 'expansive learning environments' to illustrate the ways in which full time students of animal care undertake valuable real work (albeit mostly unwaged) on farms, in stables and in reptile houses. Characteristics of communities of practice, namely, recognition of distributed expertise, inclusive language and interactions, ways of communicating about animals and nurturing teacher-student and student-student relations are identified. We differentiate situated learning for vocational students and more fully acknowledge the work-based learning which actually occurs in college. The consensual, inclusive language identified in the two departments is briefly explored with examples of anthropomorphism used to illustrate the indexical way staff and students talk about animals. 'Communities of practice' is a useful metaphor for thinking about the particular learning cultures of the animal care departments. Both departments are characterised by an ethic of care and staff go to great lengths to 'look after the whole student'. What unites the students and their teachers is a real passion for animals. This is a prerequisite for winning a place on an Animal Care course. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.