Vocational Education And Training Courses Research Articles

Impact of COVID-19 on Labor Market Participation: A Case Study of Jammu City, India

Labor market participation has increased attention due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis has significantly affected various aspects of society, including labor market participation, resulting in widespread job losses, disruptions in education, shifts in industry demands, skill gaps, and increased unemployment, both on a global scale and within Jammu City. This paper aims to analyze the labor market participation of youth during the pandemic and its impact on education, employment, and socio-economic outcomes. The study uses both primary and secondary sources, such as labor force surveys, reports, and research papers, covering problems worldwide, India and the specific context of Jammu city. The study covers the pre- and post-pandemic labor market participation of survey respondents examining the types of job losses, vocational education and training (VET) courses, work-from-home opportunities, and the challenges faced by individuals in securing employment during the pandemic. The central focus of the study lies in exploring the labor market participation of the respondents. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected youth labor market participation in Jammu City, and impacted education, employment, and socio-economic outcomes? Major findings have been discussed in this paper, The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread job losses, disruptions in education and significantly impacted youth labor market participation in Jammu City, VET courses emerged as crucial avenues for skill development and adapting to the changing labor market demands during the pandemic. Work-from-home opportunities became prevalent, but access to such opportunities varied among different demographic groups, aggravating existing inequalities. Challenges in securing employment during the pandemic included limited job opportunities, skill gaps, and barriers to accessing education and training. Policy recommendations for addressing the impact of the pandemic on youth labor market participation and socio-economic conditions in Jammu City include enhancing skill development programs, promoting inclusive job creation initiatives, and ensuring equitable access to education and training opportunities. These measures aim to mitigate difficulties in labor market participation and socio-economic challenges, emphasizing the importance of skill enhancement, inclusive job creation, and accessible education and training within the city.

TVET SI: Evaluating Boundary Crossing Social Learning in Vocational Education and Training: A value creation approach

This article focuses on the development and application of an evaluation model and approach for evaluating boundary crossing social learning in a Vocational Education and Training (VET) learning network in South Africa, with an emphasis on a Training of Trainers (ToT) course that helped to catalyse and strengthen this learning network via two iterations of the course over an eight-year period. The article shares how we adapted the value creation framework (VCF) of Wenger, Traynor and De Laat (2011; Wenger & Wenger-Traynor, 2020) in the evaluation of a VET Training of Trainers (ToT) programme and learning network that focussed on the uptake and circulation of rainwater harvesting and conservation (RWH&C) knowledge in a particular formal and informal VET context in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, where smallholder farmers were struggling to find water for producing food. The evaluated ToT course was catalytic in establishing a boundary crossing social learning network approach in a VET context that linked formal and informal VET (Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2016; Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2022; Pesanayi, 2019); hence we found it important to develop adequate tools for its evaluation. The focus of this article is to share how we developed an evaluation approach to this work. We share insights on the indicators developed for diff erent types of value created, and also insights gained into the use of this evaluation approach in a boundary crossing VET social learning project that took a ToT course as focus. In short, evaluation findings show that the boundary crossing ToT course off ers strong immediate, potential and applied value that can lead to realised and reframed value, especially if supported by ongoing learning network activities that follow the initial engagement in the boundary crossing ToT course. Th is leads, over time, to transformative value which is important in achieving the overall objective of such social learning, namely making knowledge more co-engaging, accessible and useful in the context where improved food security via better use of rainwater harvesting and conservation amongst smallholder farmers and household food producers is a necessary form of sustainable development. Orientation value, and enabling value were found to be vital for the emergence of other kinds of value. The evaluation model also allows for the lifting out of strategic value which points to wider uptake potential. All this creates the possibility for indicator development that can help inform iterative development of boundary crossing VET courses used to stimulate the co-construction of learning networks and ongoing social learning for sustainable development.
 Keywords: Vocational Education and Training, evaluation, social learning, value creation framework

TVET SI: Evaluating Boundary Crossing Social Learning in Vocational Education and Training: A value creation approach

This article focuses on the development and application of an evaluation model and approach for evaluating boundary crossing social learning in a Vocational Education and Training (VET) learning network in South Africa, with an emphasis on a Training of Trainers (ToT) course that helped to catalyse and strengthen this learning network via two iterations of the course over an eight-year period. The article shares how we adapted the value creation framework (VCF) of Wenger, Traynor and De Laat (2011; Wenger & Wenger-Traynor, 2020) in the evaluation of a VET Training of Trainers (ToT) programme and learning network that focussed on the uptake and circulation of rainwater harvesting and conservation (RWH&C) knowledge in a particular formal and informal VET context in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, where smallholder farmers were struggling to find water for producing food. The evaluated ToT course was catalytic in establishing a boundary crossing social learning network approach in a VET context that linked formal and informal VET (Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2016; Lotz-Sisitka et al., 2022; Pesanayi, 2019); hence we found it important to develop adequate tools for its evaluation. The focus of this article is to share how we developed an evaluation approach to this work. We share insights on the indicators developed for diff erent types of value created, and also insights gained into the use of this evaluation approach in a boundary crossing VET social learning project that took a ToT course as focus. In short, evaluation findings show that the boundary crossing ToT course off ers strong immediate, potential and applied value that can lead to realised and reframed value, especially if supported by ongoing learning network activities that follow the initial engagement in the boundary crossing ToT course. Th is leads, over time, to transformative value which is important in achieving the overall objective of such social learning, namely making knowledge more co-engaging, accessible and useful in the context where improved food security via better use of rainwater harvesting and conservation amongst smallholder farmers and household food producers is a necessary form of sustainable development. Orientation value, and enabling value were found to be vital for the emergence of other kinds of value. The evaluation model also allows for the lifting out of strategic value which points to wider uptake potential. All this creates the possibility for indicator development that can help inform iterative development of boundary crossing VET courses used to stimulate the co-construction of learning networks and ongoing social learning for sustainable development.
 Keywords: Vocational Education and Training, evaluation, social learning, value creation framework

Stability and change in vocational interest profiles and interest congruence over the course of vocational education and training

The current study is concerned with the stability of and changes in vocational interest profiles and interest congruence in vocational education and training (VET). Specifically, we examined (1) the stability of vocational interest profiles, (2) the existence of occupational socialization effects that manifest themselves as increases in person-environment (P-E) congruence, and (3) the question of whether or not changes in P-E congruence are psychologically relevant because they are related to trainees’ attitudes towards their VET course. We used data from a three-wave longitudinal sample comprising N = 2611 trainees from five different VET courses in Germany. Through the use of meta-analytical aggregation techniques, we were able to analyze interindividual differences in intraindividual interest stability and P-E congruence and to relate these differences to trainees’ satisfaction with VET. On average, interest profiles turned out to be highly stable over the entire course of VET. However, we found substantial interindividual and intergroup differences in interest stability. Average P-E congruence increased slightly in two groups, providing only little evidence for the presumed socialization effects. Nevertheless, interindividual differences in P-E congruence and changes in P-E congruence were psychologically relevant because they were linked to trainees’ satisfaction with their VET course and changes therein.

Involvement of Orang Asli Youth in Vocational Education and Training in Malaysia: Aspirations and Outcomes

Skilled human capital is highly important in economic development. This career aspiration is to create a skilled workforce in a country. A lack of Orang Asli involvement in vocational fields is worrisome for many parties, especially the government. Thus, this study aims to explore the participation and involvement of Orang Asli youths in Vocational Education and Training (VET). Qualitative research methods were used in this study to provide in-depth knowledge of the involvement of Orang Asli youths in VET. Ten Orang Asli youths from various ethnics groups, aged 17¬–18, were selected as study participants. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews and document analysis. From the analysed data, themes were pointed out and a triangulation technique was performed to determine the validity. The findings showed that awareness about VET among the Orang Asli youth is satisfactory. This paper also will discuss the involvement of Orang Asli youth in VET courses nationally and the unemployment among the Orang Asli youth because of their lack of skills and training required by employers. This paper also presents conclusions and recommendations to improve the participation of Orang Asli youth, especially in employment prospects and to enhance their socio-economic status among the communities for a brighter future.

Play meets early childhood teacher education

Recent policy changes connect play in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings explicitly to learning, and to later school-learning outcomes, calling on early childhood (EC) educators to incorporate intentional teaching into their practice. Given these recent policy changes, the purpose of this propositional article is to raise awareness and promote discussion about the current place of play in initial early childhood teacher education programs in Australian universities and the vocational education and training (VET) sector. The article initiates dialogue by contributing a rhizomatically-informed analytical snapshot of publicly available information from course outlines and subject guides in EC initial teacher education (ITE) in 20 Australian universities and the VET sector. This rhizomatically-informed analytical snapshot showed that the word ‘play’ was absent or occurred at relatively low frequency in course and subject descriptive material. The least frequent occurrence was in materials from ITE degree-level courses. While the snapshot does not delve into the full course and subject content (and makes no claims to do so), the rhizomatic methodological approach used leads us to ask whether ‘play’ is being overlooked in the delivery of ITE and VET courses for ECE. Recent quality ratings of ECEC services in Australia support the idea that for beginning and experienced educators, the knowledge base may be less robust than assumed when it comes to combining intentional teaching with play-based learning and the achievement of child outcomes. At the very least, we propose that this warrants further investigation.

The Power of Self-Interest: Effects of Education and Training Entitlements in Later-Life

Education and training among the working-age population has become an increasingly important policy issue as working lives have lengthened and the pace of technological change has quickened. This paper describes the effects of a reform that replaced a supply-driven model, in which government selected the number and providers of publicly subsidised Vocational Education and Training (VET), with a demand-driven approach that broadened access to adult training and gave working-age individuals greater freedom of VET course choice. Difference-in-differences analysis reveals that the large-scale reform, which was introduced in the Australian state of Victoria from 2009, substantively increased participation in VET among the population aged 25-54, and corresponded with an improved match between VET courses taken and objective ex ante measures of labour market demand. Indeed, the scheme was so popular that it resulted in a budget over-run by 2012 of $400 million (AUD, on a total budget of $1.3 billion).

The Gaps in the Vocational Education and Training Curricula to Address Aeronautical Industry Needs

Aeronautic Industry has a critical responsibility in facilitating European economic growth and social inclusion providing revenues to otherwise isolated regions and allowing people to enlarge their horizons. According to the EU, currently aeronautics and air transport are key drivers of European cohesion and competitiveness, representing 220 billions of Euros and providing 4,5 million of jobs in Europe, a figure that should double by 2020. Future developments in the sector, together with greater intra-European mobility of workers and population aging brings a greater need for new skills in the work force together with an urgency for a larger number of professionals. Therefore, to achieve the desirable sustained growth the EU needs to invest in high quality VET (Vocational Education and Training) in order to be able to supply the AI (Aeronautic Industry) with qualified workers. VET stands for education and training which aims to equip people with knowledge, know-how, skills and/or competences required in particular occupations or more broadly on the labour market. This paper presents the initial results of an "initiative" supported by the European Commission called AIRVET. Its main objective is to design, develop, evaluate and disseminate adapted/new AI curricula and VET courses in the specific fields of Maintenance and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). The methodology followed included an analysis of a desk study, questionnaires completed by over five hundred people, focus group meetings held in four countries and individual interviews performed in the six partner countries. The project triangulates the results to establish clear areas that would benefit from the development of vocational training. Three subject areas were identified to be explored in terms of developing/adapting training curricula and developing multimedia training materials: maintenance, ground operations and human factors.

Australian VET Sector – A Critical Evaluation

The Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) system is a comprehensive, national framework designed to provide quality outcomes for learners and meet the needs of potential employers. The interdependent checks and balances provide mechanisms for validating quality and relevance. Regular national surveys demonstrate that both students and employers are satisfied with their experience of the VET sector. However, whilst positive feedback is necessary it is not of itself sufficient. In effect it is a false benchmark. To provide best practices in teaching and learning necessitates lecturers having the appropriate skills and underpinning knowledge something that the mandatory Certificate IVE in Training and Assessment does not provide. A more valid benchmark is an objective analysis of the quality using a learning taxonomy such as SOLO. This preliminary analysis of a range of VET courses unequivocally found that course material was well below best practices expectations. However further work is needed.

Labour market outcome for formal vocational education and training in India: Safety net and beyond

This paper explores the safety net aspect of the labour market incentive for vocational education and training (VET) in the Indian context. Using two rounds of National Sample Survey data this paper explores the wage, unemployment, and status of employment of the individuals who participate in the labour market after completing VET. It is observed that there is a significant positive return of VET to the wages, and a significant number of individuals participate in salaried work. However, unemployment from VET is quite high, particularly for the individuals who have done VET courses which correspond to lower levels of general education. Institutional factors which may impact this labour market outcome are also explored for the Indian context.

Fully Integrating Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Courses: A Flexible New Way?

The tracking of students in upper-secondary school is often criticised for narrowing the career prospects of student in the vocational education and training (VET) track, which in many countries leads to the stigmatisation of VET courses. To tackle this problem, Australia blurred the lines between the two tracks by introducing VET courses that count to both a national VET qualification and university entry. In this study, we estimate the impacts of taking these courses on academic achievement and university entry using administrative data, propensity score matching and a decomposition method developed especially. We find that among those who intend to go to university, taking a VET course is associated with 5 percent lower academic achievement, due mainly to relatively weak achievement in VET, and an 8 percentage point lower chance of receiving a university offer. These findings tell a cautionary tale on the merits of integrating VET and academic courses.

Student voice in ‘skills for sustainability’: A missing component from the demand side of Australian Vocational Education and Training

The implementation of the Green Skills Agreement ratified by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2010 provides the national policy context for this analysis of skills for sustainability. Data from three different but complementary studies provide powerful insight into the attitudes and perceptions of young people who are studying, or are recent graduates of, Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs. We argue that the voices of the young people who participate as students are largely absent from analysis and policy-making, despite policy rhetoric about a demand driven Australian tertiary education sector responsive to consumer (student) interest and need. The combination of these three studies contributes to an improved understanding of what these young adults think and are learning with regard to skills for sustainability in their VET courses and in their workplaces. Most notably, these VET students reported that increasingly changes around skills for sustainability are being implemented into both their work roles and their courses of study.

Making It Real: The Benefits of Workplace Learning in Upper-Secondary VET Courses

In OECD countries, ‘real world’ upper-secondary vocational education and training (VET) programs are used to engage less academically oriented youth in learning, while helping to prepare them for post-school work and/or further training. In general terms, VET programs with high employer involvement, such as apprenticeship schemes, are considered to be superior to classroom-based VET programs that are typically found in many English-speaking countries. In this study, we examine outcomes from a potential ‘third way’: classroom-based VET with a short-term structured workplace learning component. Using propensity score matching and PISA data linked to information from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth, we find this model is associated with higher school completion rates and better employment transitions.

Returns to education: accounting for enrolment and completion effects

This paper contributes to the literature by separately analysing the course enrolment and completion effects of vocational education and training (VET) as well as higher education. Moreover, we investigate the persistence of these wage effects over time while controlling for two potential selection biases. We take advantage of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth, which contains comprehensive information about completed and uncompleted courses and subsequent labour market outcomes. We find evidence of positive enrolment and completion effects for VET and university courses with important differences by type of course.

Satellite Lessons: Vocational Education and Training for Isolated Communities

At the Western Institute of Technical and Further Education (WITAFE) in New South Wales (NSW), vocational education and training (VET) courses are being delivered to students in isolated homesteads and remote Aboriginal communities by Interactive Distance eLearning (IDL). IDL provides satellite-supported two-way broadband voice, one-way video and Internet access for school-age and adult distance education. Adults commonly access VET courses offered by WITAFE using the equipment provided to their children who are students of a ‘School of the Air’ or through community facilities in remote Aboriginal communities.By providing lessons via satellite to isolated students TAFENSW is helping to counter long-standing inequities in distance and rural education by decreasing the digital divide and assisting with rural renewal. Through a case study, this paper examines the influence of the provision of IDL and Internet access for adult students in isolated homesteads in NSW and also the benefits and challenges of teaching and learning with IDL.

The Development of Vocational Education and Training in a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education

This article outlines the incorporation of vocational education and training (VET) courses into a senior secondary certificate of education, the New South Wales Higher School Certificate, in the largest state of Australia. VET courses were introduced in 2000 to broaden the offerings available in post-compulsory schooling and to cater better for the vocational needs of students not primarily focused on university study. This article reviews the progressive implementation of dual recognition of VET courses in the HSC, and the growth in participation through statistical and interview data. It argues that a major reform to curriculum and reporting of the HSC has led to a more integrated approach. To ensure parity of esteem, the opportunity to have the outcomes from VET courses count towards university entrance has been an important policy objective, but it remains unclear whether (a) structures, processes and embedded cultural practices allow students to take full advantage of this option, and (b) whether a VET option is as unproblematic as intended.

Pathways from rural schools: does school VET make a difference?

This paper reports findings from a survey of former students from six Australian rural school clusters. It compares the experiences and outcomes of students who had participated in a school vocational education and training (VET) program with those who had not. School VET courses intended to provide a pathway to local employment appear to be successful in retaining students who otherwise may have left school before completing Year 12, and in assisting their transition from school to work. Tor all school VET students, the work placement component of the program aids the transition to local jobs and apprenticeships, and increases youth retention in the community. As the findings indicate that school VET students are predisposed to live in a rural area at some time during their working life, the paper concludes that VET programs in rural areas have special potential to develop skills and pathways for the future workforce of rural Australia.

Flexible delivery in the Australian vocational education and training sector: Barriers to success identified in case studies of four adult learners

Government policy in Australia is increasingly encouraging training organisations in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector to adopt flexible delivery approaches, but some researchers are sounding a note of caution. Evidence is emerging that Australian VET learners are not universally ready for flexible delivery, and this is reflected in high attrition rates and low pass rates. The literature on flexible delivery identifies a number of specific factors that can impact on the success of adult learners. However, there seems to be agreement that failure or dropout is not determined by a single factor, but by the interaction of a number of factors that build up over time. To understand these factors, we need to understand the learners – what their participation in education means to them, the context in which they are studying, and the numerous inter‐connected factors that contribute to their failure to achieve a successful outcome. This paper discusses four case studies from a research project that followed up a small number of adult learners who enrolled in flexible delivery VET courses but did not achieve a successful outcome.