Search Results for
"education"

This study presents a comparative analysis of secondary electronics education in the United Kingdom and Greece, focusing on pedagogical approaches, curriculum structure, practical training, and career pathways. The UK offers a well-established and integrated Design and Technology curriculum emphasizing theoretical knowledge, practical laboratory work, and industry-aligned apprenticeships, supported by advanced resources such as CAD/CAM and strong STEAM integration. Conversely, Greece's electronics education is less structured, with limited practical exposure, fewer resources, and constrained access to vocational programs, particularly outside urban centers. Economic and infrastructural challenges affect Greece's capacity to foster innovation and professional opportunities domestically, leading to a high emigration rate of electronics graduates. The UK's comprehensive framework better supports student development, professional recognition, and alignment with industry demands. The findings underline the importance of practical experience, resource availability, and structured vocational pathways in enhancing electronics education and subsequent career prospects. © 2025 IEEE.

RPA (Raising of Participation Age) legislation re-positioned all youth in England to participate in post-16 education and training, the ultimate aim to develop ‘human capital’, i.e. skills, abilities and knowledge (Foucault 2008). However, how does RPA play out in practice with previously NEET and so-called disengaged youth engaged on a Level 1 prevocational course? Empirical research was conducted at a large general further education (FE) college in South East England, named The Site with seven tutors and twenty six students from the 2013-14 and 2014-15 cohorts. Adopting a case study approach, multiple methods of data collection were used, including classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. Key findings problematize education and highlighted complications for marginalised youth that participated in the study. Far from being a straightforward experience for former NEET and disadvantaged youth to gain knowledge and skills whilst at college, conversely, these Level 1 pre-vocational students faced multiple barriers that challenged student efforts to access essential provision in an attempt to improve on previous academic failure. Research findings revealed ‘warehousing’ appeared to be the main purpose of education for these particular students in this study. Distinctly different to stereotypical ideas, these particular students wanted to learn. In a profound way, empirical research highlighted how stringent academic conditions were powerfully used to demarcate access and predetermined which types of youth were permitted on higher levels of study programmes and apprenticeship. This study adopts a social justice framework and therefore advocated for numerous structural and pedagogical changes. Amongst others, the recommendation was made for an overhaul in government and organisational policies on GCSE provision. This study also calls for a sharpened political focus, inviting academic and government debate for a critical re-think and revamp of re-engagement provision-so it is fit for purpose for disadvantaged students. © 2025 Cornish.

The chapter aims to analyse the apprenticeship system in Italy, which, compared to models in various legal systems, exhibits particularly noteworthy peculiarities. Methodologically, the research employs a benchmarking approach, comparing the Italian model with the typical European framework as defined by EU institutions. The findings suggest that the Italian apprenticeship model is truly unique. It emphasises the role of companies in the training of apprentices, placing significant responsibility on social partners and collective bargaining. Additionally, it does not mandate the compulsory involvement of a formal educational institution, presenting both advantages and disadvantages. Though focused on the Italian case, the chapter offers policy recommendations for European lawmakers on regulating training within employment contracts, highlighting the potential roles of employer associations and trade unions. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Lourdes Mella Méndez, Silvia Fernández Martínez and Bárbara Torres García; individual chapters, the contributors.

While much of this volume focuses on the legal arguments regarding the right to lifelong learning, this chapter draws on different perspectives to offer an alternative set of challenges for this debate. First, the author revisits a now quite elderly debate from the field of adult education about the strengths and limitations of the notion of lifelong learning and the important distinctions between the positions of key international actors in this debate: UNESCO, the EU and the OECD. Second, the chapter moves to the field of the right to education and where this stands in relation to debates about the right to post-school education. Here, the author draws on both his work for UNESCO on this issue and his engagement with the international NGO rights movement through an advisory role with the Right to education Initiative. Third, the chapter moves to current debates about inclusion and quality in vocational education and training. This section also raises questions regarding the applicability of European approaches in the Global South. © 2026 selection and editorial matter, Lourdes Mella Méndez, Silvia Fernández Martínez and Bárbara Torres García; individual chapters, the contributors.

For dual apprenticeship systems to be successful, firms must be willing to train apprentices, which in turn depends on the expected costs and benefits of training. In traditional apprenticeship countries, monitoring systems are supposed to ensure sufficiently high training quality and that firms do not exploit apprentices as 'cheap labor.' Moreover, standardized examinations at the end of the training ensure that skills are transferable to other employers. In equilibrium, a firm is willing to invest in apprenticeship training if the expected return on the training investment is sufficiently high, while individuals weigh the costs and benefits of apprenticeship training and other educational tracks. Due to technological progress, demographic change, and macroeconomic fluctuations, a firm's demand for and the supply of apprentices shift over time. This chapter discusses the dynamics of apprenticeship markets and the role of institutions, and why such knowledge is helpful to design effective and efficient policies. © Ellu Saar and Péter Róbert 2025.

This chapter discusses the situation of higher education with regard to the provision of general and academic skills, and argues that recent developments should be seen as motivation to continuously revisit questions on the transition from higher education to work. After a rapid expansion, the shape of the tertiary sector changed. It differentiated into branches that specialize in specific types of skills. Beyond that, even traditional institutions are often moving towards a more vocationally oriented curriculum. This takes place both through a shift towards more vocational study programs, but also through the implementation of labour-market-relevant content into the curriculum of classical arts and sciences. Yet, not much is known about how specific changes affect entry into the labour market and their consequences for the overall levels of inequality and intergenerational mobility. © Ellu Saar and Péter Róbert 2025.

Despite the rapid diffusion of technological innovations, there has been no convergence of national skill formation systems. This is due to the different influences from the employment system, which begins with vocational training and continues through different forms of lifelong learning within companies or between different employment relationships. Ultimately, national skill formation systems are unique due to the numerous institutional influences. By creating typologies, however, important structural features of the different linkages between vocational education and training (VET) and the employment system can be worked out while abstracting many details. The different typologies presented in detail all refer to VET at the transition from school to work; that is, only to entry into employment. However, the work organisation of the companies and the structure of the labour markets already play a major role here, which is then also formative in further working life. © Ellu Saar and Péter Róbert 2025.

Vocational education and training (VET) is regarded as the least homogeneous among educational fields. This chapter offers a thorough overview of recent sociological research on VET at the upper secondary level. Recognizing the dynamic and diverse nature of VET, the chapter highlights the importance of distinct national histories, institutions and trajectories that shape VET systems. Vocational education and training play a pivotal role in a country's adaptability to evolving labour market conditions, addressing both employer and nation-state skill needs, and providing a safety net against unemployment. As an alternative educational path, VET equips individuals with practical skills and facilitates a smooth transition into the workforce. The chapter also discusses the social functions and typologies of VET systems, delves into the aspects related to the political economy of VET, examines labour market integration, and explores both the short- and long-term outcomes of VET, along with future challenges in the field. © Ellu Saar and Péter Róbert 2025.

The Australian Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) ran a program of training for unionists from 1975 to 1996. For many participants, the TUTA courses were transformative, developing skills and knowledge. For some, it was their first positive educational experience, one that recognised their expertise and gave them confidence in their ability to learn. This highlights not just the success of TUTA but the limitations of formal education, which remains structured around pathways to university. TUTA addressed some of the deficiencies of the education system, offering participatory, practical adult education programs aimed at workers who ranged from early school leavers to university graduates. Based on interviews and archival research conducted as part of the Australian Research Council linkage project Trade Union Training: Reshaping the Australian Industrial Landscape, this chapter examines the type of education provided by TUTA and considers the implications today, in another period of economic and educational transformation. © Ellu Saar and Péter Róbert 2025.

It is commonly asserted that education is crucial for meeting the challenges concerning the futures of work. But education cannot overcome deficient economic policies causing declining job quality, mass unemployment and rising under-employment. Instead of pre-occupation with so-called 21st-century skills and micro-credentials, greater recognition needs to be given to what education does best. That is, helping people master bodies of conceptual knowledge as well as relationships between bodies of knowledge, nurturing learning dispositions and equipping people with skills and capacities that support disciplined creativity and adaptive capacity. These qualities enable people to handle the challenges of climate change, changing life courses, artificial intelligence and data-ification. education can also support new configurations of expertise made possible by new technologies. While education cannot solve most problems concerning the futures of work, there can be no solution to these problems without quality, enduring institutions supporting education and occupational coherence in the labour market. © Ellu Saar and Péter Róbert 2025.