Journal Article

Nowadays programming and computational skills are of great importance in working and social life. Knowing how to code is empowering. It allows to understand the digital world we live in and to shape it. Basic coding skills are essential for accessing the jobs of today and tomorrow and for achieving a better skills-match between education and the labor market. This paper presents a European Project entitled 'Coding and Youth: An innovative program in the digital era' (Code@Youth), which attempted to utilize constructively the long period of summer vacations in European countries in order to introduce students to the world of programming and robotics by offering hybrid learning activities in parallel with on-line learning facilities. The main purpose of this program was to plan, implement and evaluate these activities for young people, through the on-line platform, in order to lead to the acquisition, recognition and validation of computational skills obtained through non-formal learning.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the first-year university experience as an agent for the (re)learning and (re)making of masculine identity as it intersects with other categories of identity. Historically, male students from working-class backgrounds have often struggled with identity issues and many leave school early for vocational employment where their masculinity is reinforced and validated. A small percentage, however, re-enrol in higher education later in life. This paper explores how 'Deo', a tradesperson who became a university student, reconstructed his identity during this transition. Design/methodology/approach: The primary methodology for this case study is semi-structured interviews., Findings: Deo articulated his transition in terms of 'change' and 'transformation', in which a theme of risk was central. He also drew attention to cultural practices that regulate hierarchies of masculinity as they intersect with the identities of age, sexuality, ethnicity and socio-economic status within his work and study. Research limitations/implications: This study focusses on one student's experience in an Australian public university, so findings may not be generalisable. However, single stories are an important means of illustrating the intersection of shared socio-cultural practices. Originality/value: Within adult education literature there is limited engagement with intersecting cultural narratives that shape experiences, inequalities and barriers in learners' lives. Deo's story gives voice to socio-cultural narratives around masculinity, age, ethnicity, sexuality and socio-economic status, highlighting their central significance to learning, being and belonging.

Drawing on research of Australian cafes, this article examines the link between product market strategies, skill and pay. Addressing the methodological problems within existing research, the findings not only suggest a new methodology for future research examining these linkages but also a new theoretical proposition about the linkages based on occupation rather than firm, industry or sector.

Canadian society is characterised by a plurality of immigrants and Canadian migration policy and corresponding recognition approaches are strongly geared to economic criteria, qualifications and skills. This paper addresses the question how immigrants who have acquired their highest qualification outside Canada are able to use their foreign qualifications and skills in their current job. The analyses are conducted to verify the assumptions of human capital theory as well as the lack of transferability of human capital across country borders. To answer these questions a labour market success index is developed, which is used as a dependent variable in regression models. The results show that traditional operationalisations of human capital (years of education, years of work experience and skills) have a positive effect on individual labour market success. At the same time, being born abroad and having acquired one's highest qualification abroad in comparison to Canada, especially in a Non-Western country, has negative effects on the overall labour market success of an individual. Detailed comparisons regarding different indicators of labour market success also prove these comparatively negative effects. The results demonstrate the limited explanatory power of human capital theory and the necessity to complement it with Bourdieu's concepts of social and cultural capital.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the longitudinal relationships between planned happenstance skills (PHS) and life adjustment and to examine whether this relationship was moderated by the degree of career barriers. The participants were 307 Korean college students going through a school-to-work transition. The results showed that PHS preceded and were positively associated with life adjustment. Additionally, the association between PHS and life adjustment differed by the levels of career barriers; individuals with greater PHS were more likely to adjust well in life even when they perceived high career barriers. The findings suggest empirical support for planned happenstance theory. Implications regarding career counseling interventions for college students in a school-to-work transition are discussed.

The elevated demands of the new knowledge economy pose particular challenges to rural and northern regions in Canada, long acknowledged by policymakers to suffer from acute human capital deficits. Rural residents obtain lower levels of education than their urban counterparts and those that do obtain post-secondary training often migrate to urban regions offering abundant employment opportunities and higher wages. Despite an emerging consensus around over skill deficits across rural regions, Canadian researchers have yet to systematically explore contemporary rural-urban differences in human capital using refined measures of literacy and numeracy skills. We ameliorate this deficiency by mapping rural-urban disparities in skills across the working age population (16–65) using Statistics Canada's 2012 Longitudinal International Study of Adults (LISA). Our results indicate that residents from smaller population centers and rural areas within Canada show significantly lower skills proficiencies. These differences across location of residence shrink considerably when controlling for education level, underscoring the need to enhance post-secondary access in rural areas.

This paper investigates the responsibilities and membership of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in England in the light of devolution of employment and skills responsibilities. Through the theoretical lens of 'hollowing out' and a direct comparison with the late-Thatcherite Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) of the 1990s, the paper argues that LEPs represent a fresh, market-driven attempt by the government to alter the institutional framework for meeting local labour market needs through 'local business leadership'. However, through a synthesis of publicly available data across all LEPs, the paper shows that while LEPs assume important strategic and practical roles, their structure, resourcing and sectoral affiliations are poorly aligned for the engagement of local employers. Rather, it is argued, LEPs may be characterised as distant business elites, with only weak connections to local employment and skills priorities. Conclusions are drawn about the implications of distant and elite LEPs boards for future employment and skills policy.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the 'skills gap' concerns that are increasingly prevalent in the USA and globally. In particular, the paper explores the current skills gap debate as a component of the American economy. This is an important issue as there is an increased economic uncertainty and global competition impacting many sectors. The paper specifically defines the current skills gap dilemma with respect to the USA and uses the Tampa, FL example of the practical implications of these concerns using recent survey and focus group data. Design/methodology/approach: The research for this paper includes an outline of the economic development structures in place in Tampa, FL, a description of the existing mandate(s) to improve workforce training; the review of a key recent, public record report on workforce skills; and, the results of a focus group developed using key stakeholders. Initially, a public record document report titled Clarus Corporation (2013) 'Hillsborough Community College: Workforce Development Scan' was reviewed to provide context and preliminary data to guide the research. In the second phase, a survey was conducted to develop a focus group of 18 key stakeholders in Hillsborough County. Nine of these stakeholders represented the education sector. These were purposefully selected from the Tampa Bay Higher Education Alliance (TBHEA) which represents approximately 30 regionally accredited academic institutions in the Tampa community (TBHEA, n.d.). In addition, another nine respondents were selected by purposeful selection representing employers who had experience with workforce training and development initiatives., Findings: The group survey conducted for this paper confirms concerns by both employers and educators with respect to the existing and the future skill sets of employees. In particular, respondents note that basic skills such as communication and technical skills need more attention. Also, the focus group respondents confirm the importance of technical service certification. Fundamentally, economic development professionals, educators and employers need to develop and implement strategies and action plans to ensure that the skills gap be identified correctly and properly addressed. These initiatives must be developed with broad stakeholder input and these initiatives must be viewed as dynamic reflecting changing circumstances. Research limitations/implications: This research should be viewed as exploratory in nature. The research could serve as a template to develop and track the concerns and issues of key stakeholders in the economic development process with respect to skills in the workforce on a regional or indeed a statewide basis., Practical implications: Nations, states and local governments are more active in structuring workforce development support mechanisms and specific training opportunities to assist employees and businesses. All levels of government highlight the fact that they have skilled, competitive employees to assist in recruiting new companies to consider locating in their respective jurisdictions and in retaining companies. Social implications: Having a clear understanding of the skills being demanded by employers as they strive to remain globally competitive is important. Local economic development officials, academicians and employers must be on the same page. Although relationships between these sectors are critical flexibility and adaptability are key to reflect changing demands. Originality/value: The paper provides empirical evidence of the perceptions employers and educators have with respect to the skills gap issue in a fast growth jurisdiction. This jurisdiction promotes itself as having an abundant and skilled labor force. Data suggest that there are some concerns emerging from stakeholders.

The global agenda for sustainable development has centred lifelong learning on UNESCO's Education 2030 Framework for Action. The study described in this article aimed to examine international and intergenerational variations in literacy skills gaps within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this purpose, the author examined the trend of literacy gaps in different countries using multilevel and multisource data from the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning survey data from the third edition of the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE III). In this article, particular attention is paid to exploring the specific effects of education systems on literacy skills gaps among different age groups., Key findings of this study indicate substantial intergenerational literacy gaps within countries as well as different patterns of literacy gaps across countries. Young generations generally outscore older adults in literacy skills, but feature bigger gaps when examined by gender and social origin. In addition, this study finds an interesting tendency for young generations to benefit from a system of Recognition, Validation and Accreditation (RVA) in closing literacy gaps by formal schooling at country level. This implies the potential of an RVA system for tackling educational inequality in initial schooling. The article concludes with suggestions for integrating literacy skills as a foundation of lifelong learning into national RVA frameworks and mechanisms at system level.