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This article investigates how strategic community partnerships form the bedrock of successful institutional community engagement activities. In this investigation, these engagements encourage institutional practitioners to consider how truly effective community economic development materializes when the university assumes a reactionary role by tailoring activity to respond to outcomes community defines for itself. Using the formation and development of York University's successful social procurement program as test case, the article explores how key community partnerships have led to successful program outcomes -- which, to date, have amounted to over $8 million spent on diverse suppliers and 63 apprenticeship opportunities created. To demonstrate this evidence, the article considers how to identify and align with community champions to create tangible outcomes as well as how those defined outcomes are translated into creating activities that are aligned with what the institution can reasonably deliver to achieve the community's stated outcomes. In this article, this will be considered as it explores York's Social Procurement Vendor Portal and how its formation and refinement was directly attributed to community need. Finally, the investigation considers the interplay between how institutions can design impactful reporting that responds to community need.

This paper explores the incorporation of workbased learning in the Digital and Technology Solutions Specialist (DTSS) Master's degree apprenticeship programme in a London-based Higher Education Institution. Specifically, innovative work-based assessments are introduced aimed at utilising workplace resources while meeting academic requirements. Challenges highlighted include balancing academic requirements and business needs as well as supporting learners, employers and academic staff in embracing and implementing the work-based nature of the assessments without compromising academic standards and quality of learning. Lessons are drawn for higher education institutions that consider introducing similar programmes.

Involving students in peer review has substantial benefits for students' learning and development and, more pragmatically, for staff workload. This paper reports on a student-led effort to co-design a peer review formative assessment task. The assessment is part of a personal development module within a higher education degree apprenticeship programme delivered via blended mode by a business school in South-East England. This case study on student-staff partnership offers a description of the process and a reflection on the impacts from both the student and staff perspective. It suggests that student co-design and peer review activities complement work-based learning, effectively bringing the prior experiences and academic skills of mature/professional students into the classroom.

Purpose: This paper presents a qualitative systematic review of Swedish research on vocational education and training (VET) at the upper secondary school level over the past 20 years. The review is based on a theoretical model on curriculum making as social practice that may serve as model for comparative studies between countries. By introducing the model, the ambition is to open for new perspectives on VET curriculum in policy and practice. Questions regarding key themes and the interplay of discourses and processes across multiple sites in the education system have not been addressed in previous systematic reviews of Swedish VET research. Methods: The methodological approach in the present paper is a qualitative systematic research review with an integrative and interpretative purpose and research design. The qualitative review is based on the conceptual model of curriculum making as social practice, seeking to capture the inherent complexity and porous boundaries of education systems and movements of ideas, discourses and actors between sites of activity. The model is used for mapping the research, and a content analysis for identifying main themes and emphases and exploring and discussing the potential gaps that may inform future international research studies. Findings: The results show that the research is focused on the micro and nano sites of curriculum making, with connections to macro site activities of national curriculum policy enactment. Research focusing on the macro site of activity has an emphasis on national policy and policymaking regarding the relationship between academic and vocational knowledge/programmes and apprenticeship and employability. In the micro and nano sites of activity -- which comprise the majority of the research -- the main themes are vocational knowing and identity, teaching, learning and assessment practices and work-based learning. Conclusion: An observation is the absence of principals and middle leaders as actors and informants in the studies. There is little evidence of actors moving between sites of activity and the meso site of activity only comprise a very small part of the research. In this respect, there is a potential gap to be explored, not least regarding how local curricula and syllabi are made and shaped in terms of the influence of representatives from local authorities, companies, trade unions, employer associations, universities and regional agencies. Curriculum making as social practice has the potential to be used for comparative international studies and as a framework that takes national differences in VET education systems into account.

This manuscript describes how one entry-level occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) program used an innovative approach to scaffolding assignments through a cognitive apprenticeship (CA) framework. Cognitive apprenticeship strategies include learning in the context or culture of the profession. This is achieved through observation, coaching, engagement, and discovery of strategies by the instructor. This framework was implemented to facilitate the learning of occupational, activity, and task (OAT) analyses through a four-week module within a first-semester foundations course. Cognitive apprenticeship constructs were used as instructional teaching strategies including active learning, group facilitated assignments, hands on observation, and immediate feedback and modeling of professional reasoning by the instructor. The assessment of findings supporting the effectiveness of the use of CA to implement this module included a mixed methods approach. A quantitative analysis of pre- and post-test surveys measuring confidence levels related to entry-level occupational therapy practice skills demonstrated that each survey item was statistically significant for increased confidence. A qualitative analysis of open-ended questions identified themes related to teaching strategies and the development of a foundational occupational therapy identity. The aim of this project is to expand the use of similar evidence-based applications for CA to progress student professional reasoning and occupational therapy practice skills while also supporting development of an emerging professional identity. This manuscript makes a substantive contribution to the teaching and application of analyses within OT education and the use of professional terminology, particularly the foundational understanding of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework-IV and how it is applied in practice. The module demonstrated successful scaffolding of concepts built across several weeks. Cognitive apprenticeship constructs facilitated students' progression from novice to competent problem solvers within an OT context, which positively impacted the reported confidence of associated entry-level skills.

Purpose: The digital transformation and the increased use of technologies have changed the world of work severely. With it, collaboration and cooperation methods among employees. Therefore, new ways of working together must be applied to work in an international and digital working environment. For Vocational Education and Training (VET), developing new (transversal) competencies to engage in virtual teamwork is necessary to adequately prepare young professionals for the present and future labor market. However, there is little research on the current situation in VET regarding virtual teamwork. Approach: We deployed a cross-sectional design and collected data from N = 181 commercial apprentices in Germany regarding virtual teamwork. We analyze our data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the interrelationships between input, process, and outcome variables to foster satisfaction and innovative learning in virtual teams as desired targets of VET. To assess these results regarding virtuality, the complexity of tasks, gender of the apprentices, and the size of the training firms, we derived a multigroup analysis (MGA) of our model. Findings: The results indicate that organizational factors have the most significant influence concerning the relationship between input and process factors. Surprisingly, the technical affinity of individuals has only a minor effect. Regarding the relationship between process and outcome factors, motivation and responsibility have the highest impact on innovative learning, whilst communication culture severely affects the perceived satisfaction in virtual teamwork. Conclusion: The findings lead to valuable insights on factors influencing virtual teamwork in VET and can help to design learning programs to prepare young professionals to smoothly transition to and successfully master their future working environments by using new ways of collaboration and cooperation. This is particularly relevant for VET, as prior research has focused primarily on primary and secondary education. Lastly, we identify potential scales and items that help capture some of the inherent constructs of virtual teamwork.

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.]

Taking Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu)" as a literary vehicle, this article uses a psychoanalytic lens to examine the problem of what to do with our desires in the philosophy of education. The article describes an apprenticeship, a personal process of learning in which an ethical rapport with desire can be established. Apprenticeship entails a temporal relationship called "afterwardsness" (Nachträglichkeit), in which the subject constructs the truth of its desires in hindsight. This result can only be achieved by first failing to see the possibility of attaining the object of desire and then eventually coming to understand the nature of desire in general. While others have framed the relationship between desire and education in terms of either fulfilling one's desires or questioning their desirability, we argue that a more lasting ethical attunement to desire can be found via an apprenticeship in failure.

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.

Chinese Dongbei Dagu vocal songs, a traditional genre hailing from Northeast China's Dongbei region, possess a rich history spanning over two centuries, distinguished by their unique combination of rhythmic speech-like delivery and melodic elements. The objective of this study is to investigate the fostering of literacy through the transmission of Chinese Dongbei Dagu vocal songs in Xiuyan County, Liaoning Province. The research utilized questionnaires and interviews with six key informants as research tools, including two academic experts, three singers of Dongbei Dagu, and one musical accompanist, who played a pivotal role in providing invaluable insights into various facets of Dongbei Dagu, ranging from its historical significance to the methods employed for its traditional and modern transmission. Qualitative data analysis revealed the existence of two primary modes of transmission: the time-honored apprentice style and the familial family-style methods within traditional settings. Moreover, it uncovered contemporary transmission modes that ingeniously adapt to folk activities, tea houses, theaters, and specialized training workshops. The research findings underscore the paramount importance of cultural databases, governmental support, educational initiatives, innovation, audience expansion, and early education in the continuous preservation and promotion of Dongbei Dagu. Ultimately, this study not only enhances our comprehension of intangible cultural heritage but also offers a pragmatic blueprint for sustaining traditional art forms within the context of contemporary society.

Context: Faced with deep challenges with access to formal education, many West African countries are increasingly taking steps to reform their informal apprenticeship systems to make them a quality skills development alternative for their teeming youth. A review of the literature shows that although different countries in the region are deploying different reform strategies, what is emerging as a dominant reform model is the "dual training model" (DTM), a collaborative arrangement in which the task of training apprentices is shared between informal trainers (master craftspersons, under their respective trade associations) and formal vocational training institutions (FVTIs). This paper presents an outcome-process evaluation of a DTM-based apprenticeship reform programme piloted in Ghana. Methods: Designed as a case study, the paper adopts an interpretivist approach, relying on diverse sources of data, both secondary and primary. Secondary data includes journal articles, attendance registers of participants, memorandums of understanding, relevant media reports, websites, and official reports by all relevant actors. The primary data originated from in-depth interviews with fourteen (14) key informants, as well as from overt and covert observations of respondents. Results: At the outcome level, the paper shows that the programme has largely failed in transferring new skills or in changing dominant poor practices among trainees, foundational objectives of the programme. At the process level, the paper revealed deep flaws in implementation; these are discussed in detail in an attempt to clarify the programme outcomes. Conclusion: The paper concludes that although the dual training model remains a potentially viable reform model in informal apprenticeships, its success ultimately depends on the quality of implementation, which in turn depends on the strength and quality of inter-stakeholder collaboration in programme design and implementation.

This study employed a critical inquiry paradigm to explore the significance of equity and social justice in teaching qualitative methodologies and methods to graduate students. Graduate students of multiple minoritized identities and a faculty member conducted a two-year inquiry into the research apprenticeship experience, including the stages of student-led conceptualization, data collection, analysis, international conference presentation, and publication. The study investigated the experiences of the faculty and students as well as the responsibilities of the institution against the backdrop of historical and contemporary pandemics. Consequently, we problematized hidden curriculum and unconscious assumptions to suggest research course design sequencing improvements. The findings emphasize the impact of these experiences on qualitative research teaching and learning practices and institutional responsibility to graduate student research apprenticeships. The Graduate Research Apprenticeship Nested Design Pathway is presented as a tool that institutions worldwide can adapt and implement to serve the complex needs of their students.

The six-phase model of cognitive apprenticeship (modelling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection and exploration) has been recognized as a useful and effective instructional method in educational research; however, only a few studies have investigated the structural relationships among the six phases at work. This study aimed to qualitatively examine the relationships among the six phases of cognitive apprenticeship. The study focused on the preceptorship of clinical nursing education in which an experienced nurse (preceptor) instructs a newly registered nurse (preceptee) during their first year of tenure. The grounded theory approach was used to analyse open-ended survey data from 41 nurses at a university hospital in Japan. Participants were asked to recall how they were instructed by their preceptors. The results indicated that preceptors used articulation and reflection during coaching, scaffolding, and exploration, and that scaffolding was closely associated with exploration. Based on these findings, a revised model of cognitive apprenticeship was proposed. This study contributes to the literature by proposing a revised cognitive apprenticeship model.

In many countries with apprenticeship-based vocational education and training (VET), dropout from apprenticeship training is a major concern. Leaving an apprenticeship early can be problematic, particularly for young people who do not continue their training at another company or in another occupation, and drop out of the education system without obtaining a qualification. Previous research mostly has used a quantitative design focussing mainly on the perspective of apprentices who left training early and on attributes of the individual that may lead to dropout. Drawing on literature on quality of workplace learning environments, this study used a qualitative comparative approach to analyse the workplace learning environment from the perspectives of both young people who left their apprenticeships early and apprentices at the end of their training. The analysis revealed striking differences between the stayers and leavers in terms of two main characteristics of the workplace learning environment. The findings illustrate how being given responsibility can promote professional development and self-confidence, but also can lead to stress, exhaustion and insecurity if an early transfer of responsibility is not accompanied by support and guidance. Furthermore, the findings emphasise the importance of creating safe learning environments in which apprentices experience support and room for making mistakes. The study concludes that future research may include measures related to transfer and fulfilment of responsibility and handling of mistakes in workplaces to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the processes leading to early contract terminations.

Modeling vocational competence is increasingly crucial for monitoring and enhancing the quality of Vocational Educational Training (VET), particularly in the context of ongoing international comparative studies known as "large-scale assessments" of vocational education and training. This study endeavors to provide well-structured and guideline-compliant empirical evidence for the validation of the two-dimensional construct of economic vocational competence, advancing beyond the current state of research. A sample of 1438 first-year apprentices from two federal states in Germany participated as test-takers. The authentic assessment framework comprised 24 items, assessing two dimensions of vocational competence: domain-linked competence and domain-specific competence in the business/commercial domain. Measurement invariance was assessed across (1) federal states and (2) versions of test booklets, and the Multidimensional Random Coefficient Multinomial Logit model was employed to examine the quality of the two-dimensional vocational competence construct. The results supported the validity of the structure, highlighting the differentiation between domain-linked competence and domain-specific competence. This provides a more substantively accurate representation of trainees' vocational competence compared to a unidimensional model.

Some students learn better if they can apply skills and knowledge to their lives. Youth apprenticeships are a way for students to work and gain skills in a chosen career field and earn money while still in high school. Youth apprenticeships are on a continuum of work-based learning that includes job shadowing and internships. Apprenticeships require a yearlong commitment from the students and employers, and students often graduate from high school with career credentials and college credits. Schools and employers must work together to make the experience a success for all participants.

The inheritance of traditional handicraft of intangible cultural heritage is facing an unprecedented crisis. The essence of inheritance is the process of imparting and inheriting from master to apprentice, but there is acute shortage of research about the parties, the relationship and the behavior of inheritance. Therefore, choosing inherited behavior as a starting point to explore the inner formation mechanism of master and apprentice inheritance in traditional handicraft, as well as determining the influencing factors of the inheritance, have important theoretical value and practical significance for the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. Using 4 traditional handicraft inheritance institutions in China as case objects, 37 inheritance parties and 21 mentoring matching groups were interviewed. Through standard case analysis and three-step coding method of grounded theory, it is found that skill generation involves the stages of inquiry, interaction and feedback, as well as the following steps: cognition of skill generation, coupling of skill generation, automation of skill generation, etc. Through coding, 12 categories and 33 specific influencing factors are identified. Among them, individual factors influence interaction relation, and the interaction relation has a concrete influence on the process of inheritance, affecting the ultimate effect of inheritance. This study is of reference value for improving the relationship between masters and apprentices and promoting the effective inheritance of traditional handicraft.

This original study presents findings from a study of members of the first cohort of legal degree apprentices. Introduced in the UK in 2016, legal degree apprenticeships (LAs) remove uncertainty towards legal qualification in an otherwise competitive graduate recruitment environment and could help to increase social mobility into the professions. We examine the impact of the LA pathway on the development of wellbeing and capabilities of apprentices and traditional law students through the following research questions: does it enhance wellbeing when instead of loans, debt and insecurity, aspiring lawyers have a salary, no debt and secure job prospects through an apprenticeship pathway to qualification; and does using a capability framework offer a meaningful lens for understanding the experiences on different pathways? The analysis adopts a capabilities approach, intersected with an inequalities lens, to explore interviews with 23 aspiring solicitors, from different social backgrounds and at different stages of progression on the traditional university and LA pathways in England. The interviews explored access to and experiences of both pathways, particularly how participants were able to develop and convert their social and cultural resources into key capabilities. This provided a meaningful way to make sense of participants' experiences. Capabilities were enhanced for LA students by removing stress and uncertainty around employment. This wellbeing gain was corroded for some by long commutes into work--often centred in London. Future quantitative research could establish whether, on balance, the majority of LA students experience an overall wellbeing gain. The capability framework usefully showed how across the LA and university pathways, all participants valued agency and developing all capabilities. Social capital was a key resource for creating opportunity and a desired capability that participants sought to develop.

Background: In example-based learning, examples are often combined with generative activities, such as comparative self-explanations of example cases. Comparisons induce heavy demands on working memory, especially in complex domains. Hence, only stronger learners may benefit from comparative self-explanations. While static text-based examples can be compared easily, this is challenging for transient video-based modelling examples used in complex domains because simultaneous processing of two videos is not feasible. Objectives: To allow for such comparisons, we combined video-based modelling examples with static representations (i.e., summarizing tables) of the observed optimal and a suboptimal solution of the problem-solving process. A comparative self-explanation prompt asked learners to compare the different solution approaches. Our study investigated the impact of video-based modelling examples versus independent problem-solving on cognitive load and problem-solving skill development. Moreover, we investigated the effects of comparative versus sequential self-explanation prompts, depending on learners' prior knowledge. Methods: In an experiment, 118 automotive apprentices learned a car malfunction diagnosis strategy. Apprentices were divided into three groups: (1) modelling examples with comparative self-explanation prompts, (2) modelling examples with sequential prompts, and (3) no examples or prompts. Diagnostic knowledge and skills were assessed before and after the intervention. Cognitive load was measured retrospectively. Results and conclusions: Despite no observed effects on cognitive load, modelling examples enhanced diagnostic knowledge and diagnostic skills with scaffolds, though not independent diagnostic skills without scaffolds. The need for more practice opportunities to foster independent diagnostic skills is assumed. Additionally, comparative prompts seem promising for learners with higher prior knowledge. Takeaways: Video-based modelling examples were more beneficial for learning than practising to apply the diagnostic strategy. Static representations allow for comparisons of video examples and comparative prompts are promising for learners with higher prior knowledge (cf. expertise-reversal effect). Further research, especially on the effects on cognitive load, is necessary.

European education and training policies have gained momentum with the debt crisis and soaring youth unemployment. In 2013, the 'European Alliance for Apprenticeships' was launched. In Germany, a role model for apprenticeship training in Europe, a national 'Alliance for Initial and Further Training' was signed just one year later. Both Alliances represent a new, experimentalist governance mode, in which a novel steering entity orchestrates stakeholder cooperation. What explains the parallel evolvement of alliances for apprenticeships in Germany and at the EU level? Studying developments around the Alliances in the last two decades, we trace and critically discuss four theorised drivers: (1) German-driven VET governance reforms with a strong influence of German best practices, (2) EU-driven cooperation that influences German VET policies, (3) cross-fertilising reforms and (4) externally driven, parallel reforms in response to governance mega-challenges. Our analysis supports a prevalence of the fourth driver: increasingly complex policy problems push both the EU and Germany to implement policy innovations such as the Alliances for apprenticeship training. In an experimentalist setting that often entails a governance by (seemingly neutral) numbers, benchmarking and learning, this also gives leeway to Germany to present itself as a pioneer of the EU's focus on dual training.

The modern apprenticeship system is an essential strategy for human resources development in China. It is the institutional carrier for training high-level technical and skilled talents. Based on the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a survey of 495 first-year college students' willingness and behavior to participate in modern apprenticeship in N vocational college in Jiangsu Province found that perceived benefits, prescriptive norms, exemplary norms, external conditions, and self-efficacy have significant positive effects on college students' willingness to participate in modern apprenticeship. Behavioral willingness and external conditions have a significant positive impact on college students' participation in modern apprenticeship. Situational factors have a significant positive moderating effect on college students' willingness and behavior to participate in modern apprenticeship. For this reason, the article proposes the following actions to push on modern apprenticeship. We should establish a high-quality employment security mechanism to enhance the inherent attraction of modern apprenticeship, attach importance to career planning education to improve students' self-cognition, pay attention to career cognition education to enhance students' career development awareness, improve the modern apprenticeship "1+X" certificate system to enhance college students' sense of academic achievement.

This study presents a new blended learning model that combines a computer-assisted learning system called Cognitive Apprenticeship Programming Learning System (CAPLS) with instructor co-teaching in an introductory programming course. CAPLS, as its unique aspect, functions as a master in cognitive apprenticeship, guiding learners throughout their learning while also assessing their progress. In contrast, the instructor in physical class settings serves a supportive role, monitoring progress and articulating as needed to fill knowledge gaps. To investigate the impact of this learning model on students' motivation, we used the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) at the beginning and end of the semester. College Entrance Math score, midterm and final exams were also used to assess student learning outcomes. The study was conducted with first-year students in the Department of Information and Computer Engineering, and two key findings emerged. First, students' programming proficiency was strongly correlated with their College Entrance Math scores. While math ability impacted programming learning, all students improved their final scores compared to their midterms, with high-scoring math students outperforming their peers. Second, the proposed blended cognitive teaching strategy significantly reduced students' extrinsic goal and self-efficacy levels, but their learning outcomes still significantly improved. This suggests that the proposed teaching model promotes more conscious learning. These results can be used as a reference for improving student learning outcomes and experiences with computer-assisted learning systems.

Under the Saudi Vision 2030, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for educating Saudi Arabia's youth and preparing them for future employment. The recent expansion of higher education institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia both in terms of quantity and quality demonstrates the government's belief that higher education is critical to the country's transition from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. The Ministry has overhauled curricula and raised education standards across the country. A key aspect of Vision 2030's success is the country's ability to enhance human capital and reduce the skills gap between higher education graduates and labour force demands. While Saudi citizens have benefited from government employment initiatives, educational institutions must similarly respond by adapting and ensuring their students are equipped with the skills needed to fulfill market demands. The purpose of this paper is to present the status of higher education in Saudi Arabia and discuss prospective opportunities within the Saudi higher education sector to tackle the skills gap and raise employment prospects of its graduates. This work discusses the expansion and growth of higher education in Saudi Arabia. Factors impacting Saudi Arabian higher education are presented, followed by a discussion of current Saudi government initiatives. Despite the positive initiatives currently witnessed in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of a national skills-gap remains a concern. This skills gap, its occurrence, and causes are investigated, and solutions for bridging the gap are provided.

While historically aligned to skilled labor and trades, and unlike many European nations, apprenticeship models in the United States have long existed outside the realm of university teacher preparation programs and other professions requiring four-year degrees. With threats of increasing childcare options, teacher shortages and difficulty in teacher recruitment, particularly in rural areas, a national spotlight now shines on apprenticeship programs, a "place-based" or "working-integrated" educational approach that occurs in the community childcare centers and schools. The authors explore the critical need for high quality early childhood educators and the many challenges and barriers impacting individuals and rural communities invested in high quality early childhood education. Several place-based models of apprenticeship will be explored with particular emphasis on the Apprenticeship Program at Carlow University, the first four-year Department of Labor approved program in Pennsylvania.

Work-based learning (WBL) is used interchangeably with other concepts such as work-related learning (WRL) and workplace learning (WPL). Work-integrated learning (WIL) considers WBL a subset within WIL. Some scholars and practitioners argue that WBL as a mode of learning is pedagogically incompatible with WRL, WPL, and WIL. WBL and WIL practitioners work across the coexistence of many possible meanings of modes and disciplines within the Higher Educational space, something WPL and WRL does not do explicitly when applied outside of Higher Education by Human Resource Management (HRM) practitioners. This conceptual paper applies a critical, multi-perspectival, multi-theoretical and multi-methodological approach of inquiry to the concept of boundaries as it relates to WIL and WBL as a mode of learning within pedagogics. It emphasizes the unique raison d'être for WBL and WIL which is the liminality and tension as a mode of pedagogical practice, between, across, and through disciplines.

Context: Dealing with professional complexity has been of scientific interest in the research field of vocational education and training for decades. So far, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding how professional complexity finds its way into learning processes in VET. A common option is to model complexity through authentic simulations and/or problemsolving tasks. This study does both: Complex problem-solving tasks are integrated into an authentic office simulation and are expanded to include collaborative elements, using computer-based agents. Collaboration is used to improve learning, but it is also an authentic representation of current work processes, so we ask whether apprentices perform better in the individual or in the collaborative test setting. Methods: To compare skills used for complex problem-solving tasks within an authentic business simulation, the test settings are systematically varied between individual and collaborative test settings. The test environment is a technology-based assessment (TBA). Test tasks reflect a complex professional problem; they are presented in an office simulation, in which apprentices can collaborate with a computer-based agent. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis is conducted to test for measurement invariance across test settings, and the two-dimensional Rasch-model incorporating between-item multidimensionality with correlated dimensions is used for ability estimation. We also conduct ANOVA tests to determine if there is a statistically significant difference regarding the problem-solving ability between the individual and collaborative test settings. Findings: The study provides various findings: First, collaboration helps apprentices to deal with complexity. Second, to solve complex problem-solving tasks, two bundles of skills are activated: Cognitive and social skills. The two-dimensional construct of skills with correlated dimensions showed better fit than the unidimensional construct. The scalar measurement invariance was established after excluding three items. ANOVA tests confirmed that the collaborative setting enhances the problem-solving ability of learners significantly regarding both, cognitive skills and social skills, with cognitive skills being fostered more. Conclusion: The findings suggest the validation of the two-dimensional construct with cognitive and social skills in economic domains. The results show the effectiveness of collaboration with a computer-based agent. In the practice of vocational training and education, teachers can use digitalized collaborative approaches to enhance learning.

Purpose: To better prepare young people for the increasingly complex world of work in the global knowledge economy, apprenticeships are receiving renewed attention in countries without a strong history of vocational education. One of the strategies to promote and modernize apprenticeships in these countries is to offer apprenticeships integrated into degree programs, known as degree apprenticeships at the tertiary level. However, little research has been done to explore this new degree pathway. The purpose of this study is to explore the rationales and recent development of degree apprenticeships in the U.S. and to present a conceptual framework for designing and delivering such programs. Approach: Through an extensive literature review, this study examines the underlying justifications for the integration of apprenticeships into degree programs. Subsequently, it delves into the current progress of degree apprenticeships in the U.S., substantiating the rationales. Finally, it explores multiple facets of degree apprenticeships, offering a conceptual framework for higher education institutions to consider when implementing such programs. Findings: This study discusses two rationales for degree apprenticeships. First, they enable permeability of vocational education credentials, one of the features of a robust apprenticeship system. Second, they also equip higher education institutions to effectively prepare young people for work in response to globalization. For these reasons, recently, community colleges, the primary vocational education providers in the U.S., have actively been implementing apprenticeships within degree programs. This study also outlines four interconnected dimensions of apprenticeships - occupational, pedagogical, relational, and aligned -- as a conceptual framework for implementing degree apprenticeships. Conclusion: By providing a useful context and framework for degree apprenticeships, this study contributes to the growing body of research on apprenticeships and provides a foundation for on-going research to advance the theory and practice concerning degree apprenticeships. Future studies can explore the process of implementing degree apprenticeships using the suggested framework and develop strategies to further modernize apprenticeships based upon this study.