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The present paper investigated how inclusive vocational excellence (IVE) practices specific to vocational education and training (VET) can be described in an effective and transparent manner. A framework for the description of such practices was proposed, and then 44 descriptions of practices were collected with this framework from an international sample of providers of such practices from four countries. Expert raters have rated the quality of these descriptions, in terms of how much they respect the proposed structure, provide relevant information about the proposed practice, provide relevant information about the manner in which the practice was implemented and offers a clear and explicit description, further usable by other interested VET institutions. Statistical analyses have then revealed that the framework generates more consistent descriptions for some domains than for others. Implications for practice are discussed. [Note: The volume and issue number (24, 1[47]) shown in the header on the PDF is incorrect. The correct volume and issue number are 25, 1(49).]

There is little empirical evidence that convinces the effectiveness of distributed leadership in contemporary educational research. Thus, many distinguished scholars suggest its' statistical examination. Considering this need, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of principals' distributed leadership practices on students' learning outcomes at Technical and Vocational Education Training schools in Eritrea. The study was conducted based on quantitative design and applied structural equation modelling. A sample of six hundred and three students was employed. The researcher developed the structural equation model to test a model that hypothesized the relationship between the major variables using path analysis. The study results demonstrate that the principals' distributed leadership practice has a direct and significant (0.883, p<0.001) effect on students' learning outcomes keeping other things constant. The strongest predictor of students' learning outcomes was capacity building, given it has the largest path coefficient ([beta]=0.346). Moreover, findings show gender disparity among the respondents and in terms of turnout rate; nevertheless, it was not statistically significant (p<0.001). One of the study's contributions is that it developed and assessed the validity of the principals' distributed leadership practice scale for Eritrea's TVET schools through CFA model. The study offered basic evidence that distributed type of leadership is a significant predictor of learning outcomes by exploring six factors of leadership practices, which shows a promising area for practice and future studies.

Context: For many businesses, one of the key indicators in their management is the adaptation of Information Technology in their operations. In Kenya, there has been a phenomenal growth in access to mobile phones, by June 2023, over 66 million mobile phones were connected to various telecommunication operators of which 58.3% were smart phones constituting 67.1% of internet connections. There are many digital technologies which can be adapted to facilitate the processing, dissemination, and access of information. The modern world has become competitive due to the uptake of Information Technology as one of the main business management skill, with the availability of smart phones and many applications that are easily available and easy to use. One of the main beneficiaries of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is the Jua Kali artisans who are a key player in the Kenyan economy. Entrepreneurial competencies help the growth of businesses along the dimension of innovation. Kenya intends to entrench the use of Information Technology for public service delivery, business, skills, and innovation. The Jua Kali sector cannot be ignored, it contributes more than 80% of the total employment in Kenya. Approach: This research was carried out in the Eastlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected using a questionnaire, an interview and observation schedule. The study used an interview schedule to collect data from Jua Kali artisans carrying out their artisan businesses in the Eastlands of Nairobi and a questionnaire survey to collect data from a sample of identified Nairobi residents who had engaged an artisan to work for them six months prior to the research. Findings: The research established that most Jua Kali artisans acquired their skills in the Jua Kali sector by apprenticeship (86.3%) while a small percentage (12.7%) trained in Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions while a further one percent were trained by their former employers. Most of the artisans had attained the basic formal education qualifications i.e. primary education (27.9%) and secondary education (47.6%). The Chi-square (?²) test was used to test the relationship between use of the basic social media digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by artisans owning artisan businesses. Conclusion: At 0.05 level of significance (a) the research established that there is a significant relationship between the adaptation of digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by the artisans.

There is an increasing need to train and retrain personnel that would be saddled with the capabilities, professional and skill developmental requirement that meets societal needs. In this case, there is need for adequately trained personnel that will bridge the gap between societal needs; industrial needs with classroom instructions and vice versa. Therefore, this study examines the influence of building aspiring teachers' capabilities, professional and skill development as an auspice to quality teaching activities in technical vocational education and training institutions. Samples were selected using a multistage sampling technique. The collected data from 945 aspiring teachers was analysed using empirical analysis with AMOS SPSS v.23. Hayes PROCESS macro was used for mediation analyses. The result of the study indicated that self-efficacy and professional skills with knowledge of instructional delivery and personal capabilities have strong significant linkage. There is also a mediating interaction of attention to relationship on the relationship between constructive teaching and personal capabilities. TVET institutions should ensure continuous professional development by concentrating on the requirements concerning teaching and learning, individual resources and social support for coping with various requirements.

Using critical race theory (CRT) as both our theory and analytical framework, we interrogated vocational, career, and technical education (VCTE) policy as a racial instrument. We applied key CRT themes to examine both primary sources; including historical and contemporary VCTE Acts (e.g., Perkins I-V) and Congressional reports; and secondary sources, including academic analyses of VCTE, its history, and related legislation. Findings demonstrate that VCTE policy upholds race-neutrality, which we argue is problematic because without being designated a special population, racially oppressed students stand to miss out on important funding opportunities that could dramatically alter and improve their lives.

The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the efficiency of blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application for Shunde Technical Vocational College, (2) compare students' achievements before and after learning through blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application, and (3) examine students' satisfaction with of using blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application. The sample comprised 30 students at Shunde Technical Vocational College in China, derived through purposive sampling. The instruments used to collect the data were (1) blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application for enhancing learning achievement, a student's pretest and a posttest, and a teacher's satisfaction form. The data analysis statistics were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the t-test for the dependent sample. The research findings revealed that applying blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer applications for enhanced learning achievement was efficient by E1/E2 (81.40/81.23). The evaluation of content blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application teaching by the experts was appropriate at the excellent level ([x-bar]=4.78, SD. = 0.58). The evaluation of students' satisfaction with blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer applications in China by 30 students. The overall students' satisfaction was a strongly agreeing level ([x-bar]=4.51, SD. = 0.50). When considering each item, it was found that blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application methods was strongly agreeing level ([x-bar]=4.67, SD. = 0.48) and combined teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application was strongly agree level ([x-bar]= 4.60, SD. = 0.50), respectively. According to Shunde Technical Vocational College, teachers' satisfaction with blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer applications for enhanced learning achievement was high, with a mean of 4.51.

Information technologies represent the main fields in vocational and technical education systems. Since the curricula of this field are technology-based, they need to be assessed and updated at shorter intervals compared to other curricula. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the framework curriculum in the field of Information Technologies in Turkey. The research was carried out based on a qualitative approach. The research design is a case study. The sample of the study was determined via maximum variation sampling. The sample determined for the study consists of Information Technology teachers working in vocational and technical upper-secondary schools in different provinces of Turkey. A semi-structured interview form was employed as a data collection tool. It has been found that the outcomes in the curriculum framework tend to be consistent, but they are above the student level. Timeliness, simplicity, and the availability of printed books are among the strengths of the curriculum framework. Insufficient physical conditions and lack of materials and equipment are among the aspects of the curriculum framework that need to be improved. Students' low level of readiness is stated as one of the main challenges in implementing the curriculum framework. Teachers have provided suggestions such as admitting students to vocational and technical upper secondary schools via exams, offering financial resources, establishing IT upper secondary schools, and transforming vocational upper secondary schools into project schools for an effective curriculum framework.

Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) are the primary providers of public postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities in the state. The purpose of this study was to determine which student demographic and enrollment characteristics significantly correlated with the completion of a postsecondary certificate or diploma at a TCAT. Using a state administrative dataset and employing multilevel modeling techniques, this study found students who enrolled on a full-time schedule, who had a prior postsecondary education background, and who received the state's need-based grant had significantly higher odds of credential completion. Students who had below a high school education, students who were classified as nontraditional based on gender and program of study, and Students of Color had significantly lower odds.

Purpose: In Germany, various approaches have been taken to tackle the current teacher shortage in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). One attempt to remedy the shortage in Bavaria has been the introduction of an engineering education study programme at universities of applied sciences. Ideal candidates for this programme should have an interest in both engineering and social interaction. For effective recruitment, therefore, it is necessary to know applicants' characteristics such as their vocational interests. In this study, the vocational interest profiles of students in TVET teacher training programmes were identified and their interest profiles and further characteristics were compared with those of other VET students at universities and universities of applied sciences. Design/methodology/approach: An online questionnaire based on Holland's interest theory and adapted from the Allgemeiner-Interessen-Struktur-Test-3 (interest structure test) was administered to 85 students in TVET teacher training programmes at universities and universities of applied sciences in Bavaria. Items regarding reasons for choosing a particular study programme, university location and other personal details were added. Findings: The vocational interest profiles of students at universities and universities of applied sciences can be described as similar but weakly differentiated. Insights are provided by the characteristics of students such as the majority being first-time academics in the family. The reasons for choosing the degree programme and university location highlight the fact that a large proportion of students in engineering education would not have chosen a teaching-related degree programme if it had not been offered at the respective university of applied sciences. Research limitations/implications: Although the sample in this study was small and, therefore, limiting, it represented a high proportion of TVET teacher training students in Bavaria and a substantial proportion of first-year students in TVET teacher training programmes at universities and universities of applied sciences in Bavaria (section 2.2 and 3.1). Thus, the findings provide valuable insights into commonalities in interest profiles between engineering education students at universities of applied sciences and other TVET students at universities. With respect to the domain of the chosen vocational specialisation, differentiated profiles emerged that, for example, showed a stronger artistic orientation among students in construction technology/wood. For further analysis, the previous variable-centred orientation of the analysis can be supplemented by person-centred analyses (e.g. cluster analysis and latent variable mixture modelling, LVMM) (cf. Leon et al., 2021). Practical implications: The findings in this study reveal the potential for attracting candidates to universities of applied sciences if they prefer to study in rather rural areas close to their hometowns. With the aim to educate prospective teachers for future work not only in metropolitan regions but in rural areas too, offering bachelor degree programmes in rural areas would seem promising. A regional option can boost the recruitment of new students and attract candidates that otherwise would be unable to pursue studies or a career as a teacher in vocational education. The results of this study and those of previous studies suggest that universities of applied sciences can cooperate with universities to help solve the teacher shortage problem. Social implications: Overall, it is apparent that the students' interests reached comparatively high values in all interest orientations and thus are only weakly differentiated. If undifferentiated profiles indicate low levels of career readiness, this significantly affects the recruitment of young people for the teaching profession. Assessing career orientation and promoting vocational interests should be prioritised during secondary school education. Vocational orientation measures are essential and should provide insight into typical activities of daily work life in different professions and thus pique and foster interests. Originality/value: This study provides insight into how to respond to the teacher shortage in VET by identifying important characteristics of engineering education students using vocational interest profiling.

This article provides a historical review of the FCS profession beginning with the Progressive Era and founder Ellen Swallows Richards. The review includes a summary of significant historical events and legislation, that reveal how the FCS profession addressed the needs of individuals, families, and communities from inception to the present. From the review challenges as well as roots of challenges faced by the FCS are revealed. Recommendations for the future to address the challenges are included as FCS professionals continue to improve quality of life for others.

The Vocational Major was introduced in Victoria, Australia in 2023 to raise the status of Vocational Education and Training (VET). To address demand for qualified VET teachers in secondary schools, VET trainers without a teaching qualification are granted permission to teach VET. This policy contributes to a vicious circle which maintains the low status of VET education, compromising student learning experience, reinforcing the academic-vocational divide and disincentivising trainers from upskilling. We contend that a virtuous VET circle would include bespoke teacher-preparation designed to expeditiously and sustainably upskill industry-experienced vocational experts to become qualified (VET) school teachers.

The authors use data on high school students and teachers from Washington state to connect the observable characteristics and preparation of career and technical education (CTE) teachers to various non-test outcomes (absences, disciplinary incidents, grades, grade progression, and on-time graduation) of students with and without disabilities in their classrooms. The authors find that students participating in CTE tend to have better non-test outcomes when they are assigned to a CTE teacher from the state's Business and Industry (B&I) pathway--designed for CTE teachers with 3 years of industry experience but no formal teacher preparation--relative to being assigned to a traditionally prepared CTE teacher. These relationships do not significantly differ for students with and without disabilities, despite survey data suggesting that CTE teachers from the B&I pathway receive little formal training in special education. These results suggest that content knowledge and experience may matter more than traditional preparation for CTE teacher effectiveness.

This paper is based on findings of a study that examined challenges to innovation and the greening of economies identified by businesses, TVET institutions, and other organisations with the "aim to formulate options for strategic actions to increase 'sustainable competitiveness' of Hong Kong SAR, China" as measured by "The Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index" (GSCI). This article focuses on Hong Kong but refers to Denmark (one of the Nordic countries participated in the study) as it scores much higher than China on the GSCI. The assumption of this study is that Denmark's experience can help formulate policies and the strategic actions required for building sustainable development (SD) solutions for economic green growth through innovation and skills development in Hong Kong. The study used a qualitative methodology. Data was collected through desk-top research and interviews with stakeholders from both settings. The results identified a clear distinction between innovation and greening in terms of education and skills, the business sectors involved, support modalities (policies), investment, as well as culture in both Denmark and Hong Kong SAR. Despite the very different approaches to innovation and variations in both industry structure and the environment for training and skills development, the challenges to industry and their implications for TVET in terms of greening and innovation were found to be very similar in the two contexts. Thus, contrary to the study's assumptions, this article discusses the similar policy responses to these 'green' challenges for "both contexts," as well as recommended policy goals and strategic actions with implications for TVET that can support green innovation in both settings.

Economic growth is dependent on well-skilled human capital. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes are paramount in provision of the requisite capabilities which encompass both academic and non-academic skills also known as whole youth development (WYD) skills. Youths leaving training institutions in Kenya experience various challenges associated with skills gap including incapacity to access, sustain and progress in the labour market. This article examines influencers of WYD skills acquisition among learners in the TVET institutions in Kenya. The article uses data from a cross-sectional survey, targeting students aged 15-25 years in both public and private TVET institutions. We analyse data from 3452 students, 347 instructors and 171 heads who participated in the study. A composite score based on four domains measured acquisition of WYD skills: functional numeracy and literacy, soft skills and digital learning. Multi-level regression results on WYD reveal better performance in well-equipped institutions compared to inadequately equipped ones. Similarly, better performance from institutions located in wealthier regions compared to those in marginalised areas. We deduce that the uptake of WYD skills among TVET students heavily relies on supply-side influencers.

Learner agency, often understood in terms of self-direction and negotiated engagement, is considered important in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Yet nurturing and supporting agency is resource-intensive and difficult. In this paper, we consider learner agency for online TVET--a setting where content delivery models can be experienced as stultifying. We document the design and evaluation of specific task designs using the method and principle of double-stimulation, where prompts help participants to reconceptualise problematic situations and break out of conflicting motives. We draw on data from a research-intervention with adult learners undertaking a facilities management diploma online, while working. We explore how, across nine online workshops, task designs engendered transformative agency: the ability to collaboratively diverge from instructional intent, question dilemmatic conditions, and propose and enact change. We claim (1) that specific double-stimulation tasks encouraged participants to engage in understanding institutional practice, exposing conflict, and enacting change; (2) that participants came to view their own problematic conditions as stimuli for resistance, criticism, and development; and (3) that online resources were crucial for highlighting evidence of failure and learners' potential roles in change. Our findings are of importance to help learners set and evaluate their own learning agendas.

As part of the efforts of higher education to reach additional audiences, this study deals with an alternative non-traditional pathway that leads to higher academic education. This alternative, the stackable credentials pathway, uses short-cycle tertiary VET as a way to an academic degree. The study describes the extent of users of the pathway in Israel and the characteristics of its population and compares them to traditional pathway students, who go into academic programmes directly after high school. Having found that the pathway is especially popular among those with high previous academic achievements who come from low social backgrounds, it seems that for entry to academia, it has increased equality and upholds the meritocratic principle. We argue that fear of failure motivates the high achievers of low social background in their academic attainment process. Given their limited resources, those from low social backgrounds adopt the stackable credentials strategy to reduce the risks associated with academic failure.

This review focuses on answering the research question: What can we learn from studies of interventions to address the implementation of inclusive education of students with disabilities in low- and lower middle-income countries? A systematic literature review was conducted to identify studies focused on interventions aiming to improve inclusive education in low- and lower-middle-income countries. The searches returned 1,266 studies for a title and abstract review. Only 31 studies evaluated interventions and included 20 or more respondents. Published between 2000 and 2019, these studies estimate the impact of a number of approaches that can be used to increase support for students with disabilities in general education settings including teacher trainings, improving facilities and educational materials, and forming partnerships within the community. Covering 19 of 84 low- and lower-middle-income countries, this systematic review underscores the limited amount of work on this critical topic and the need for further research.

VET researchers and policy-makers have historically displayed a keen interest in the future. Two assumptions link VET to the future. The first is that there is a singular object called VET and, secondly, that it can influence a forthcoming state of reality. This relationship is investigated through a rarely utilised post-structuralist discourse analysis of Australia's development of national vocational education and training policies. The performative language of policy-makers treats VET as a singular object and portrays the future as rational and predictable. By demonstrating that VET and potential realities exist in multiple forms, it might be possible to better utilise VET's capacities to produce more desirable national futures. The findings suggest that despite continual reform of the sector, just three strategic positions and their supportive discourses have guided federated policy making. The first generally neglected technical and adult education, followed by the creation of a federally funded novel type of educational institution which eventually led to the establishment of VET quasi-markets. Each underpinning discourse exploited the productive power of language to give effect to governments' desire to improve manifold futures by deploying alternative versions of VET.

This paper provides an account of the everyday workplace learning of cycle technicians. Derived from an ethnography of working cultures and practices at a bike shop in the North of England, this paper rests on a critical reading of Communities of Practice theory in order to explore the complex and heterogeneous learning of cycle technicians. Drawing on a series of vignettes constructed from the ethnographic data, the paper demonstrates the variety of experiences of both formal and informal learning that characterise the trajectories of new cycle technicians as they enter the industry. In addition to providing an account of a qualified and specialist workforce that is under-represented in extant research literature, the paper also provides an exemplar for ethnographic research as a vehicle for exploring working practices through a Communities of Practice lens, using the paradigmatic theoretical elements of the theory. The paper concludes by arguing that for cycle technicians, and perhaps other occupations as well, Communities of Practice theory can generate rich and complex accounts that do justice to the richness and complexity of the craft and practice being observed.

As technical and vocational education and training (TVET) continue to occupy a prominent position in Africa's development, addressing the growing concerns about young women's under-participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related TVET has become urgent. This paper draws on the critical capability approach of vocational education and training (CCA-VET) to critique the TVET policy discourse on the participation of girls and women in STEM-related TVET. The paper employed the practical argumentation approach, a critical discourse analysis approach to achieve the paper's aims. The paper's central thesis is that for education policies to transform young women's under-participation in STEM-related TVET, it is urgent to move beyond human rights-based, and human capital approaches to adopt a comprehensive theoretical approach, such as the critical capabilities approach. The paper concludes that breaking this hegemony of human rights and human capital approaches to TVET policy can be achieved by re-conceptualising TVET policy discourses. The re-conceptualisation of TVET policy discourses can be achieved by admitting the critiques of these dominant theories that underpin most TVET policies and then adopting the CCA-VET as a better alternative approach to framing TVET policies.

It is theoretically acknowledged that needs assessments generally present holistic views in new, quality improvement or extension of projects. Although previous studies demonstrated the significant contributions of approaches and methods, reviews of the literature on needs assessments describing formal and non-formal technical and vocational higher education were excluded. Therefore, a thematic review of patterns and trends concerning on the needs of needs assessments in technical and vocational higher education between 2016 and 2020 was reported. Guided by the systematic review process and thematic analysis by using ATLAS.ti of Scopus, ScienceDirect and EBSCOhost identified 21 related articles. Further review of these articles produced conceptual framework with two main themes: i) "What is?" and "what should be?" to the project; and ii) Needs of needs assessment including input of needs assessment (experts, resources, time, innovative approaches, knowledge and authentic data) and method of needs assessment as preliminary studies tools, needs identification tools, evaluation tools and decision-making tools. Conceptual framework that synthesizes and uses the findings in organizing and categorizing the needs of needs assessment. Significant contributions for practical, multidisciplinary approaches in technical vocational education were presented as implications for prospective research.

The world is undergoing a new era of growth known as technological transformation, which enhances economic and social development. The demand for Knowledge workers (K-workers) is increasing because they are the experts who will handle the advanced technologies. One of the channels to produce K-workers is through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). At present, the number of TVET graduates in Malaysia is not meeting the market demands based on the enrollment in TVET programs after completing their secondary school. Several contributing factors that affect students' tendency in enrolling vocational education are recognized namely students' interest, parents' perception, social perception, employers' perception, inexperienced TVET instructors, facilities in TVET institutions, current government policy, and vocational education cost. This paper aims to develop two Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) models, in determining the level of importance for these influential factors based on TVET instructors and TVET students' perceptions. In comparing the differences between two models, a statistical test known as "t-test" is conducted to validate the hypothesis statements. The findings reveal that parental influence is the most contributed factor in TVET student enrollment. In addition, it is also found that the null hypothesis fails to be rejected since the "p-value" (0.9998) is greater than 0.05. Hence, it can be concluded that both groups do not have significant difference on their population means.

This paper is a summary of my doctoral dissertation; it investigates the recent developments and reforms launched by Cameroon Higher Education policymakers to upgrade and align this sector to the needs of the country's socio-economic development and suggest strategies built from China's successful experience. This qualitative work was done in the broad discipline of comparative education and therefore compared and shared some best practices that China has accumulated in reforming its HE system. As a developing country assuming a different development model or certain independence from the Western model, China constitutes an example that can only inspire Cameroon differently. Considering this systemic difference with the West, including in its Higher Education (HE) system, the adoption of successful Chinese practices in this research provides new and original perspectives on HE. Findings from document analysis and participants' perceptions have shown in the study that Cameroonian authorities, in their recent HE policies have stressed on professionalization, curriculum reform, university entrepreneurship, and on university's third mission. On the Chinese side, strategies in reforming its HE sector were elaborated around prioritization of the HE sector development, a vigorously governmental promotion of the National System of Innovation (NSI), a strategic structuration and organization of the HE sector in poles for more efficient investment, the introduction of market model mechanisms in resources distribution, management, and a permanent effort to align HE to the national development strategies and needs. Among the strategies suggested for Cameroon, this research has insisted on strengthening the NSI, strategic restructuring of HE in poles, the development of public vocational and technological HEIs, and a substantial financial allocation based on market-type mechanisms.

This study aimed to determine the direct and indirect effects of digital literacy, self-awareness, career planning on student achievement of prospective teachers of education and technical and vocational training (TVET). This type of research is ex post facto with quantitative data. The method used was comparative causal differential with path analysis. The problems posed are (1) whether there is a direct effect of digital literacy, self-awareness, career planning on learning achievement, and (2) whether there is an indirect effect of digital literacy and self-awareness on learning achievement. The results showed that (1) Digital Literacy and Self-awareness directly affect Career Planning by 42.8%. Taken together, digital literacy, self-awareness, and career planning directly affect student learning achievement. The effect of these three variables to student achievement is 50.9%. (2) The direct effect of digital literacy and self-awareness on learning achievement tends to be dominant compared to the indirect effect through Career planning. The total effect of digital literacy on learning achievement is 0.33, with details of the direct effect of 0.263 and the indirect effect of 0.068 through career planning. The total effect of self-awareness on learning achievement is 0.4809, with further information of the direct effect of 0.345, and the indirect effect of career planning is 0.1359. Research recommendations need to be expanded by adding respondents and job literacy variables among prospective TVET teacher students as independent variables.

Context: Against a backdrop of dwindling oil resources and increasing unemployment rates, the government of Oman has set out to diversify its industry and establish a knowledge-based economy. In this context, forming a highly-skilled Omani workforce is considered to be of crucial importance. Yet, the national TVET system suffers from low social status, poor quality, and limited labour market connectivity. This paper offers an analysis of Oman's TVET system in the socio-economic and cultural context of a rentier state. Approach: We draw on the political economy of skills and socio-cultural approaches that understand TVET systems and the broader skills regimes in which they are embedded as part and expression of particular patterns of the social organisation of work. This helps to locate TVET systems' strengths and weaknesses in the context of their underlying social relations instead of considering them as mere dysfunctionalities at the systemic level. This paper draws on an unpublished study on TVET for industrialisation commissioned by an Omani line ministry in cooperation with an international organisation. For this study, the authors carried out a literature review, undertook two field trips to Oman in 2018 and 2019 and conducted forty semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from government, private companies, business associations, and TVET and higher education institutions. Findings: Our analysis highlights how skill formation in Oman is shaped by the socioeconomic and cultural context of the Omani rentier state. First, the availability of cheap expatriate labour and Omanis' traditional preference for public sector jobs culminate in poor incentives for employing Omani nationals in the private sector. Second, reluctant employer attitudes towards national skill formation deepen quality issues in the TVET system, especially with regard to work-based training. This reinforces negative perceptions of the local workforce, which in turn contribute to biased employment patterns. Both social processes mutually reinforce each other, eventually preventing the emergence of strong national skill formation dynamics. Conclusions: While immediate structural change appears challenging, it is evident that reforms of the TVET system alone will not lead to its sustainable improvement. More research into how skill formation relates to Oman's specific socio-economic structures, how employment dynamics relate to educational credentials and how cultural traditions shape educational and work practices is needed.

Swiss Vocational Education and Training (VET) is based on national legislation which was introduced in the 1930s and renewed in the 1960s (as well as in the 1970s and in 2002). At first, the goal of the national VET legislation was to further Vocational Education and Training in order to support small and medium enterprises; however, later, it also included industry and services and has more recently grown to support the learners themselves. The 1963 national legislation and the following implementation acts in the cantons were decisive in shaping the Swiss VET system from a historical and comparative perspective. We argue that still today we do not have a unified, national system of education, but rather e cantonal modes of education and also of VET. However, the cantonal actors--with a specific focus on Ticino, Geneva, and Zurich--argue with similar justifications, when it comes to the reform of VET. Nevertheless, within this national legal framework, the cantons adopt rather different solutions. The result is that different (language specific) regional pathways of VET were established, based on various education and training regimes. In this research paper, we aim to concentrate on the years from 1950 to 1970, a period that turns out to be particularly significant for the development of Swiss VET. We focus our research on the introduction of the Vocational Training Act in 1963 and look in detail at the extent to which the cantons developed their corresponding implementation acts from the perspectives of different motives and logics.

Workforce development and career and technical education (CTE) have long provided reliable pathways to middle skill jobs and a gateway to the middle class. Given recent changes in middle skills jobs, the education landscape, and federal policy priorities, the role of CTE in the U.S. educational landscape is evolving more rapidly, encompassing a broader range of education, and practices are changing ahead of research. The first part of this report provides an overview of the current state of CTE in the United States, as well as the state of CTE research, and presents an argument for a broader definition of CTE that incorporates workforce development through postsecondary institutions. The second part provides operational definitions and typologies to facilitate future research. Our aim is to build a research framework for CTE that is grounded in a normative path through CTE: getting in (preparation and recruitment), getting through (retention and skill acquisition), getting out (completion and initial hire), and getting on (career progression). Key challenges and priorities for future research are discussed.

This study explored the process followed by a small manufacturing company in a rural area to implement a planned training program to develop the technical skills of its engineering/production workers as the company expands its operation. A case study design was used. Data was collected over an eight-month period by the examination of documents, direct observation, and interview. Findings indicate the process followed were consistent with elements of the Talent Development Architecture. The growth of the company presents learning opportunities for both the owner and his management team. The job analysis provided inputs to implement a planned training program and to develop documents to support talent development. To maintain a pipeline of skilled entry-level workers, partnership needs to be built with the high school CTE program.