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The main objective of this study was the design and validation of a mobile learning environment (ML) based on Augmented Reality (AR) visualization with the purpose of developing skilled trades in the field of carpentry in indigenous populations. A pedagogical model focused on lifelong learning was used, in order to promote the acquisition of skilled trades and knowledge in carpentry. The implementation of the ML environment was carried out in the Wayuu community, characterized by its high rate of poverty and limited access to education. During face-to-face meetings, three indigenous people participated in a learning process in which they were instructed on the use of trade tools and became familiar with the different types of trees and wood. To support this process, the AR was used together with the M-L environment. Subsequently, the participants built a chair applying the knowledge acquired during the learning process. During this stage, recordings of the indigenous people were made while they carried out the construction. Then, the performance of the apprentices was evaluated through a competency-based evaluation system, in which three experts analyzed the recordings. Finally, the three indigenous people were able to acquire skills in real time through their mobile device, following the instructions and observing 3D images and videos that showed the entire manufacturing process of a wooden chair, from sanding the material to final assembly and polishing. In addition, it was found that these indigenous people were able to successfully market the products they made in the carpentry workshop, thus improving their family income. The fundamental idea behind the pedagogical implementation of this model in the Wayuu indigenous community of northern Colombia is to provide them with training in various trades that allow them to obtain decent jobs and support their families. That is why the ML environment is ideal for vulnerable people, not only indigenous people, but also for those who are displaced, the elderly or deaf-mute. The visual approach used in this method dispenses with the need for voice and text making it accessible to everyone. [Note: The publication year shown on the PDF in the article citation, on page 1 (2023) is incorrect. The correct publication year is 2024.]

This scoping review paper explores skills gaps for graduates in creative industries as identified and discussed in global industrial and education contexts. Adopting the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) system, our review presents findings from 63 texts published from 2007 to 2023 that were located via five databases. These findings suggest that the top-ranked hard skills gaps for graduates are digital or related skills, such as those related to marketing and data analysis. The top-ranked soft skills are communication and collaboration, both of which are cited more frequently than any hard skill gap and appear key for graduate employability. Factors identified as contributing to these skills gaps include higher education offerings, industry needs and cultural policy. These contributing factors are correlated to the rise of creative industries, shifting values in cultural sectors, change in governments in western influenced cultures and digital transformation.

Initial vocational training (VT) in high school consists of short-term programs leading to employment in a skilled trade. To better align training with employment opportunities and to encourage students to stay in the programs until they graduate, most programs include traineeship. Since traineeships involve acquiring skills directly on the job, they require greater involvement of supervisors to guide the trainees. Given the importance of on-the-job guidance in achieving traineeship objectives, this study examines the potential influence of three dimensions of guidance provided by traineeship supervisors -- planning, support, and training -- on students' job perception (i.e., occupational image) and traineeship satisfaction. Overall, the results provide mixed results, partially supporting the mediation hypothesis suggested by the results of previous studies. Indeed, the results reveal that the quality of the training offered by the supervisor affects subsequent students' satisfaction with traineeship experience. Training has an indirect effect on satisfaction via the occupational image held by students. However, the expected indirect links between the other two dimensions of supervisor guidance -- degree of planning and support perceived by the student -- and the students' image of their chosen occupation could not be confirmed. The results support the importance of providing quality on-the-job training to students during their studies.

Prior research has shown that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to graduate. We examine if this can be explained by background-specific pathways into higher education. Many students in Germany enter higher education with a vocational qualification and prior vocational qualifications occur more often among students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We argue that vocational qualifications shift opportunity structures and opportunity costs of students who have to decide between continuing higher education and alternative options. We therefore examine if parental background and vocational qualifications are associated with the destinations after non-completion. We distinguish the destinations "re-entering higher education", "vocational training" and "skilled employment". Using the German Educational Panel Study (NEPS starting cohort 6), we apply competing risks models. Our results show that non-completers from higher socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to re-enter higher education than non-completers from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The higher rates of transfer to skilled employment among non-completers from lower backgrounds are mainly due to the fact that they more often hold a vocational qualification and have good chances to enter the skilled labour market without additional educational investments. Our results hence shed some new light on the question how vocational training "diverts" lower background students from higher education.

The work reported in this article explores stone knapping learning processes through the study of a Late Upper Palaeolithic workshop in the Italian Alps, so as to contribute to the framework of today's debate on social learning. Social learning is an essential process for human evolution as it fosters the development of brain districts, the building of knowledge and the acquisition of new skills. Results suggest that knapping learning was likely a structured activity at the site. Moreover, this analysis helped the reconstruction of the social organisation and composition of this past group of hunter-gatherers.

New competencies are required given new technologies, shifting business strategies, changes in external environment, such as COVID-19 crisis as well as many other factors. The aim of this paper is to identify key competencies and create a construct describing contribution of specific groups of competencies related to technical, managerial and specialised jobs to form future-oriented reskilling flexible competency models. The data were obtained from 134 organisations oriented on competency modelling. Multidimensional statistic was used to create and confirm designed future-oriented competency models usable in practice. Results developed new framework of competency models defining required competencies reflecting flexibility, leadership, talent and specialised competencies. This research contributes to academia by providing an integrated, and fundamental framework for competency development in different types of organisations based on which practitioner may adjust their models to support development of necessary future competencies.

The skilled trades have long been ignored and under-valued in society. This article explores the potential problem with maintaining the status quo and the impacts it will have on future generations. It considers the steps educational institutions and leaders can make in addressing the skilled trades shortage and how changes to the current graduation requirements in Manitoba can lead to greater career pathways for all students. The goal is to include skilled trades training in the conversation along with improving numeracy, literacy, and information technology across all grade levels.

The skilled technical workforce (STW) comprises workers in occupations that require significant science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) skills but not a bachelor's degree for entry. The United States had over 17 million STW workers in 2017, and is expected to be short about 3.4 million workers who are qualified for the available STW positions by 2022. Despite the important contribution of the STW to the U.S. economy, the policy discourse on the STEM workforce has largely focused on workers with bachelor's or graduate degrees, overlooking those without a 4-year degree. Consequently, knowledge about the STW is limited. This paper draws on a recently available national data source to provide a close look at STW workers through the lens of U.S. undergraduates who joined the STW after college. Multivariate results indicate that students who held STW jobs after college fared better than those who held nontechnical jobs on a range of employment outcomes, including salary, access to workforce benefits, alignment between college majors and intended careers, and job satisfaction. Multivariate analyses also confirmed that graduating from a less-than-4-year institution, earning a subbaccalaureate credential, and majoring in STEM, healthcare, and such technical fields as manufacturing, construction, repair, and transportation are common paths to STW careers. Despite the benefits of STW employment, however, relatively few students pursued STW jobs after college. Significantly fewer female than male students and fewer Black than White students pursued STW jobs, even after controlling for such factors as major field, type of last institution, STEM credits, and educational attainment. However, post-college STW participation did not differ between Hispanic and White students or vary by students' family income or their parents' education attainment.

Multi-institutional educational partnerships are a promising approach to developing the skilled technical workforce. Inexorably, the ability to maintain such partnership networks that support skilled technical workforce education was disrupted by COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to explore Southwest Virginia's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-focused multi-institutional partnership networks, to inventory the disruptive impacts of COVID-19, and to identify how partnership stakeholders navigated these challenges to prepare students for the skilled technical workforce. This work presents a single-case study design, highlighting the evolving landscape of STEM workforce education partnership networks in Southwest Virginia throughout the pandemic. The team conducted interviews with 19 regional stakeholders focused on the participants' role throughout the pandemic, barriers to STEM workforce education presented by public health and economic factors, and innovative strategies to sustain and expand partnership networks through COVID-19. Two key themes emerged from this study: successful partners maintained network connections through adaptive interactions and actors within the network served as brokers to leverage their connections and expand partnerships in the face of adversity. By taking a contextual view of the role of partnership networks in creating equitable STEM workforce pathways during COVID-19, we develop rich insights into partnership formation, collaboration, resource allocation, and programming amidst challenges to their success.

Context: The processes of acquiring education in jewellery in Ghana has been dominated by the informal apprenticeship system and it forms the backbone of the workforce of the jewellery industry in Ghana. However, the patronage of informal jewellery apprenticeship in Ghana in recent times has been on decline even though it has the potential of training human resources to transform Ghana's precious mineral resources sector. This is based on the belief that jewellery trade and its training are shrouded in secrecy, in other words, the jewellery trade is considered to be a sacred profession where information on its operating systems are not allowed to be shared easily. It is believed to be associated with cult and magic, hence the reluctant to admit people who are from outside the family of particular jewellery enterprise. This study is sought to bring to fore the understanding nature, processes and challenges of the informal jewellery apprenticeship in Ghana. Approach: The study adopted the descriptive and phenomenology research designs (qualitative research methods). Jewellers who own a jewellery business and who are training other people through apprenticeships as well as people who are trained are observed and interviewed. A sample size was selected through purposive and convenience sampling techniques from four jewellery enterprises in Accra, Ghana. A thematic analysis plan was adopted to generate findings of the study. Findings: The results show that for a person to train as a jeweller, s/he has to enrol by going through induction, furthermore fees (money and perishable items) are to be paid. The training content is driven by orders received by the master jeweller, thereby making it unstructured and lacking criteria for assessing the performance and progress of apprentice jewellers. Teaching and learning methods are usually on-the-job training that rely on demonstrations and observation. Conclusion: Informal jewellery apprenticeship in Ghana uses a flexible, cost-effective approach for transferring jewellery making skills from masters to apprentice jewellers, and it has substantial potential for improving skills training in the country. Sometimes the reluctant of some jeweller to train others is to keep the trade to family members only.

BNSP technical competence gets high legality on the side of the industry, while not all test participants can acquire it. Until now, studies that discuss relevant competency test models on automotive engine technology are still limited, not specific or even non-existent. The objective of this research is to produce a Competency Test Model for Engine Tune Up-System Injection and determine the characteristics after the model is applied. The subject of development consists of assesses (vocational education graduates, workers and educators), experts, and assessors from related Professional Certification Institutions (LSP). Instrument validation was conducted through expert judgment and feasibility trials. Reliability tests were performed using alpha and interrater coefficient analysis. The results of the test analysis include (1) competency test model assessment using the CBA approach; (2) competency dimension elements in instruments development are in the form of TS, TMS, CMS, EMS, and JRES; and (3) the characteristics of competency assessment include equipment verification of adequacy, avoiding impartiality, meeting requirements, transparent and accountable, and able to produce recommendations as "competent" and "non-competent". The obtained findings showed that the developed competency test model could be used as a reference for use in vocational education.

The late Ottoman Empire witnessed many remarkable developments in entrepreneurship, especially at the beginning of the twentieth century. Turkish subjects, who had been mainly seen as oriented towards the civil service, were encouraged to take initiatives in areas such as agriculture, trade, and craft. Besides the effective use of the Ottoman press, education was also applied for this purpose. Curricula and textbooks that should make education functional came into operation. Entrepreneurship was one of the important subjects discussed in various dimensions in primary-school textbooks prepared in line with the renewed curricula after the Revolution in 1908. This study shows that efforts to raise entrepreneurial citizens were not something new in Turkish society. By focusing on four main textbooks taught at the primary education level in the late Ottoman Empire, economic contents have been analysed. Prepared and approved by officials, these textbooks suggested that children should be made aware of the enterprise idea ["fikr-i tesebbüs"], private enterprise ["tesebbüs-i sahsî"], the characteristics that the entrepreneurs should have, and acceptable entrepreneurship areas. Within this framework, they were directed to become entrepreneurs.

Purpose: The study aims to explore how the collective representations of stakeholders associated with an Executive MBA (EMBA) apprenticeship are conceptualised, and what value elements are perceived as relevant for personal, professional and organisational development. Design/methodology/approach: Forty stakeholders participated in a mixed methods-based group concept mapping (GCM) approach, representing the tripartite relationship of an EMBA apprenticeship. This approach allowed the deconstruction and shared understanding of the value proposition of higher degree apprenticeships. Findings: Analysis identified seven conceptualised value clusters around an eight central cluster "Professional Development". Two regions of meaning were identified: the personal dimensions of apprentices and their contribution within and to their organisation. Findings showed that a work-based designed curriculum improves confidence and communication skills and that much of the value proposition is personal and self-managed by the apprentices. The tripartite relationship was shown to be incomplete and inconsistent, particularly regarding mentoring and reflective practice. Practical implications: The pandemic has brought about significant changes in business practice. This study identifies several areas for improving higher degree apprenticeship pedagogy in readiness for the new business landscape, as well as identifying limitations of the tripartite relationship. Originality/value: The study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the value proposition an EMBA apprenticeship programme. The interrelatedness of cluster concepts has identified value elements missing from previous apprenticeship delivery. Deconstructing the senior leader apprenticeship enables educators to redesign and refine models of engagement for improving the apprenticeship experience.

Collective skill formation systems thrive if employers' skill needs are reflected in apprenticeship training programmes and firms offer apprenticeship positions. Occupation-level adaptation processes underpin these systems, which offer upper-secondary level vocational education leading to hundreds of occupations. Yet, it is considered challenging to introduce new apprenticeships in sectors without training tradition. Based on the case of the newly created cableway mechanic occupation, this paper suggests that the institutional context in combination with effortful institutional work allowed a business association to introduce a small new occupation in the Swiss vocational education and training system. The cableway association mobilised firms, legitimised the new occupation towards public authorities, lobbied for more financial support, and fought to gain apprentices. Ten years after the introduction, finally, financial difficulties were overcome, and the apprenticeship institutionalised in the educational landscape.

One definition of a network administrator describes a person who works with computer infrastructures with an emphasis on networking. To determine the specific skills required of a network administrator by employers, data was collected from 698 nationwide job advertisements on Dice.com. The data collection focused on technical skills rather than soft skills. The requested skills were then broken into various categories in the networking and computing world such as routing protocols, operating systems, virtualization technologies, etc. Educational requirements in terms of degrees and certificates were also tabulated. The results show a great breadth in the requested skills and the summary results will be helpful for curriculum development/review, for career advising, and to faculty teaching in the Information Systems field.

This article explores the underexamined idea of employer engagement as the institutional agency around the supply-demand relationship surrounding education and training (E&T) and VET in England (2012), arguing why VET needs are still likely to be unmet. A single case-study methodology and forty convergent interviews with high-skill employers and policy stakeholders revealed three types of highly constrained employer agencies, in England's Northwest Bioregion, during a period when policy institutions faced restructuring and closure. The research is set against the backdrop of a previously failed and historically repeatedly revised VET institutional environment. In further addressing the lack of empirical evidence on the employer engagement problems faced by policy stakeholders during 2012, it reveals an individualised, voluntary, yet expected weak employer agency around supply-side initiatives. Also, a voluntary yet collective employer agency underpins the wider challenged efforts of policy stakeholders in engaging employers around E&T/VET, while also evident is a collective progressive employer agency around high-skill VET linked to R&D production. Discussions highlight the influence of supply-/demand-side constraints for current VET, questioning what has really changed.

This study explores the incorporation of structural masonry into the undergraduate programmes of higher education institutions in South Africa, specifically focusing on civil engineering. This study is of an exploratory nature. A significant portion of the urban infrastructure in South Africa is predominantly built using structural masonry. Structural masonry is a building method in which the walls of a building or any masonry component, such as a masonry beam or a masonry column, serve a structural purpose. Unfortunately, many higher education programmes that train civil engineers, technologists, and technicians do not adequately address aspects of structural masonry design, detailing, and construction. Hence, it is imperative to address this deficiency throughout the industry in order to enable masonry designers, such as structural engineers, to adhere to the requirements of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977. Ensuring compliance is crucial for protecting the well-being and security of the general population. The researchers collected and examined data through content analysis and verified it with the civil engineering departments of higher education institutions. While civil engineering can be pursued at various traditional universities and universities of technology, only two have confirmed that they offer a fair portion of structural masonry in their undergraduate curricula. The researchers consider this a significant issue because it is critical for civil engineers and technologists to have a thorough understanding of structural masonry. This study is the first in South Africa to propose and support structural masonry education in undergraduate programmes, including design, detailing, and construction.

This paper set out to reassess the effects of economic and social determinants of the probability of formal vocational training in India. Applying the four-level cross-classified logistic model to the 2011-2012 National Sample Survey data, the paper identified the association between formal training and 'good jobs' in large urban electrified firms that offer permanent employment and regular monthly salary to their skilled occupation workers. Nevertheless, India remains a country of severe training poverty. This study confirms that the traditional mindset of the society does contribute to the training poverty; however, this impact is much limited to the household level and religious groups, such as Christians, which are systematically excluded from formal training as compared to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. In contrast, the lower castes and deprived social backgrounds do not affect, as predicted by previous studies. Moreover, it is shown that unskilled males from the rural area of India were less likely to receive formal training as compared to educated single women.

The research paper proposes a skills gap methodology that utilized the respondent experiences in the internship program to measure the importance of the Information Technology (IT) skills gap as perceived by IT students and the industry. The questionnaires were formulated based on previous studies, however, was slightly modified, validated and pilot tested to fit into the needs of the research. Respondents of this study were the IT students enrolled in internship while industry partners respondents were the internship supervisors of the IT students in their respected industries. Internship IT students were selected since they have a strong background on the needs of the company based on their internship experience. The findings of this study revealed that teamwork and communication skills are very important soft skills to be possessed by IT graduates as perceived by the respondents. Further, results reveal that there was no significant difference in the perception of the respondents in terms of the importance of soft skills. However, this finding contradicts the results in the case of hard skills were in there were a big range of disagreement on the importance of hard skills. IT students perceived that hard skills were very important while industry perceived hard skills were somewhat important. The study suggests that the university should enrich the soft skills and entry level hard skills component in the curriculum.

Occupational prestige, the hierarchical perception of occupations, is a neglected issue in studies on vocational education and training, although the attractiveness of apprenticeship programs is strongly affected by their prestige. Based on a qualitative study, this article examines the identity strategies of apprentices whose training programs lack prestige. It understands not only identity but also prestige as dynamically and relationally constructed in everyday life and thus empirically contributes to contemporary theoretical debates about occupational prestige. It compares two occupations -- bricklaying, which requires lower/medium skills, and automation technology, which requires higher skills -- and shows that both are faced with a lack of prestige, although unequally, thus leading the apprentices to employ different strategies to valorize and engage with the training. These strategies draw on the meaning that the apprentices find in their work, the advanced skills the training requires, the variety of work tasks involved and the career possibilities the occupations provide. The results demonstrate that the apprentices are confronted with a vocational-academic divide that exists in many countries. This divide poses a threat to apprentices' identities, and their strategies aim to either maintain or reverse it. Although the prestige of apprenticeships is related to objective differences between both educational tracks and occupations, social actors can negotiate superiority and inferiority. Thus, the article also provides some practical recommendations for how apprentices confronted with a lack of social recognition can be encouraged to continue engaging with their training.

Many tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) have a strong focus on career and technical education (CTE), offering students a plethora of opportunities to develop skillsets that prepare them for the workforce. In today's job market, there is a dearth of skilled laborers such as hospitality workers, construction managers, dental hygienists, electricians, and plumbers to name just a few. CTE classes, combined with academic knowledge, are intended to prepare students to fill these positions immediately--meaning, in the vernacular of employers, students are able to "hit the ground running." It's worth digging deeper into the assumptions around the impact of CTE. Specifically, are these classes at TCUs leading the students down a well-balanced path to employment? Is there a purpose in CTE at TCUs that speaks to values beyond job-ready skills? How do these courses prepare students to help maintain and build up the communities that sustain the TCUs? Speaking to leaders at American Indian higher education institutions, these and other questions around the way Indigenous culture is incorporated into career and technical programs reveal interesting and dynamic viewpoints. This article discussed preparing for life with CTE at Tribal Colleges and Universities.

The importance and relevance of research of questions is determined by the intensive development of the tourism and hospitality industry, the consequence of which is the increase of business needs for skilled personnel. The purpose of this paper is to examine and assess the main strategic trends in educational technologies and methods used for education of qualified personnel for the hospitality industry. For analysis of the modern educational processes in the hospitality industry the authors of the article have used theoretical and empirical research methods, economic-statistical and factor analysis, expert evaluations. In the article the conclusions about the quality of Russian education are made, the main trends in change of system of personnel education by the Russian higher education institutions are proved, including those in which personnel education for the hospitality industry is conducted. The main strategic directions of Russian education development are determined, the European experience of education for the hospitality industry is summarized, the main tendencies of the development of education system for the hospitality industry in Europe are formulated. Moreover, the application of professional standards in the Russian system of education for the hospitality industry is proved, and a draft of "road map" of the development of higher education system (on the example of personnel education for the hospitality industry) until 2025 is developed.