Search Results for
"Vocational education"

[No abstract available]

In order to provide high quality services in reproductive health, training of health professionals is essential. In Turkey, a project for in-service training of medical residents was conducted in 2003 under the aegis of the Human Resources Development Foundation, the Turkish Ministry of Health and UNFPA. The project included a needs assessment, training programme development and evaluation activities. A seven-day course was developed to train institutional trainers in both training skills and reproductive health information. Fourteen experienced master trainers conducted four courses for 67 institutional trainers from 37 hospital departments in four cities, who in turn conducted a three-day programme on reproductive health topics in their respective institutions, using interactive teaching methods. 163 residents from departments of obstetrics and gynaecology, family medicine, urology, public health and paediatrics participated. Over three-quarters of trainers and residents who participated in the programme approved of the content of the courses. A limited number of topics, e.g. sexual health and adolescent reproductive health, were thought to need more attention. Trainers cited improvements in doctor-patient communication and quality of outpatient and in-patient care, and initiation of counselling in their institutions. We conclude that this training programme, attended by trainers and participants from different disciplines and using interactive teaching methods, has been successful as an effective training model for medical residents. The establishment of an ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Health and other institutions involved in resident training in Turkey is needed to ensure the expansion of this programme to all residents in training. © 2004 Reproductive Health Matters. All rights reserved.

Since the expansion of the European Union on 1 May 2004 the interest in recruiting dentists from outside the UK has intensified. Additionally, the Department of Health's announcement in July about the modernisation of NHS dentistry included the promise to 'recruit 1000 extra NHS dentists by October 2005' and 'speed up the process for overseas dentists to register to work in the UK; adding to this interest. An overview of the different ways in which overseas dentists can be employed is provided below.

Individual dynamics of overeducation are analysed for vocationally trained workers using work history data from the German Life History Study (GLHS). The primary focus of interest is whether overeducation is a persistent or a temporary phenomenon for the affected workers. To analyse this question, we compare the career patterns of vocationally trained overeducated workers with those of their unskilled co-workers with respect to upward mobility to higher skilled jobs, horizontal mobility to subsequent unskilled jobs and downward mobility to unemployment. Our results from parametric hazard models suggest that for workers who have completed initial vocational training of intermediate or high quality, overeducation is not a persistent labour market status. These workers have significantly better career prospects than their unskilled co-workers. In contrast, the career chances of overeducated workers with low-quality initial vocational training and unskilled workers are similar. Thus, for the former, overeducation proves to be a long-run phenomenon.

[No abstract available]

This paper raises the question whether or not a social and economic dimension exists (community and social involvement, career service intervention/assistance, employer requirements, qualification building) within the Jobskills Training Programme in Northern Ireland. For many young school leavers it has undoubtedly assisted them in the transition from school to the world of work. In addition, many of the cohort study gained an accredited qualification for the first time. All of this, of course, has the aim of making them more employable within the labour market. However, with the local economy becoming stronger and skills shortages rising quickly we have to ask what real contribution does a training intervention like Jobskills really make. In order to determine the effectiveness and contribution to the local labour market, a comparison is made to the Danish vocational and education training model, which highlights significant fundamental differences. The paper concludes by demonstrating the key policy differences and thus presents a new vocational model for youth training in Northern Ireland. © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

The recent White Paper, The Future of Higher education, and the annual increase in the number of young people achieving passes at A-level (the final secondary-school examinations) have fuelled an ongoing debate on whether too many people are now entering higher education in the UK. At the centre of the ‘too many graduates’ argument is the issue of employability: is the nation producing enough graduates to meet the needs of the knowledge economy or is there an abundance of graduates in the workplace who do not need degrees to do their jobs? This article identifies key arguments in the increasing participation and employability debate. © 2004, © 2004 SAGE Publications.

The government's commitment to supporting skills and innovation must be safeguarded as a key priority for the forthcoming government spending review, according to EEF, the manufacturers' organization. Publishing its submission on behalf of 18 manufacturing organizations, EEF backed its call with survey evidence showing that UK manufacturers regard the skills available to them as continuing to constrain efforts to improve productivity. This compared with companies in France and Germany who rated the skills available as a positive factor in improving their productivity. In response, EEF has urged the government to remove the age cap on apprenticeships incrementally so that by 2008/9 all those people entering an Advanced Apprenticeship are fully funded. The EEF also wants to see and Increase in funding for careers information, advice and guidance to back the recent announcement on boosting apprenticeships and vocational education.

Conventional apprenticeships and older methods of professional training are not providing enough skilled workers - governments, companies and colleges are now using open and distance learning to fill these gaps. Published in association with the Commonwealth of Learning, this unique review provides detailed analysis of worldwide experiences of vocational training and distance education. It looks at recent policy and practice at different levels - from transnational programmes and national policies to institutional and programme models. Offering guidance on how distance education and new technologies are being used to support vocational education and training, this book will help senior institutional managers and policy makers to understand and appreciate: the role distance education can play in increasing skills levels in young people and the existing workforce the challenges in using educational technologies, and distance education to deliver vocational education and training how to devise effective policies to meet these challenges. © 2004 Louise Moran and Greville Rumble. All rights reserved.

Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) have been criticised in some quarters (in 2002, only 40 per cent of work-based learning (WBL) providers were deemed adequate). Things are improving but there is still much to be done. This paper addresses this issue. Support for Success, a Learning and Skills Development Agency quality improvement programme funded by the Learning and Skills Council, commissioned a small number of action research projects in 2002, with the aim of improving learner outcomes. Of those projects, 12 sought practical ways of promoting achievement and progression in WBL to respond to the government directive of securing progression and the attainment of targets in the WBL arena. The paper provides an overview of the issues associated with 14-19-year-old vocational education and training, before addressing aspects of retention and achievement in modern apprentice programmes. Drawing on 12 projects, different approaches to improving success in MAs are explored. © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited