White Paper

This report aims to inform VET professionals who seek information on how the 'demand for skilled labour' is defined, and whether the results of the analysis and forecast of demand for labour can be utilised for improving relevance of VET delivery to the identified market demand.

This is the fifth annual ALIA LIS Education, Skills and Employment Trend Report. [The intention is to provide students, educators, employees and employers with an understanding of the national library and information science (LIS) landscape, and the Association with the data we need to help inform our work as the sector's peak professional body. This 2018 report updates some of the statistics in the previous editions, using the latest figures from the Commonwealth Departments of Education and Jobs and Small Business. In some sections we have included data for Gallery and Museum Technicians, Archivists, Curators and Records Managers., The 2018 report again notes that there will be modest growth in the number of qualified librarian positions over the next five years. In 2018 there were 10 higher education institutions offering 23 ALIA accredited courses, including Masters degrees, Bachelor degrees, and Graduate Diplomas. There were two universities, 14 TAFEs and one private RTO offering 17 ALIA accredited Diploma of Library and Information Services courses, making a total of 27 accredited institutions and 40 accredited courses. The number of LIS students enrolled in ALIA accredited higher education courses has dipped below 900 EFTSL (equivalent full-time student load) for the first time since 2011, and for VET students the figure has fallen below 600 FYTE (full year training equivalent) students. Are we producing enough graduates to meet demand? At this stage it would appear so, given employment demand and unemployment levels.

The UK has been a key partner and conduit for Ireland's international trading activity since the foundation of the State, with the volume of exports and imports to and from the UK market and the integral role played by the UK landbridge as a channel for Ireland's international trade. Such is the interrelationship between the Irish and UK economies, on a North-South as well as East-West basis, that the UK's departure from the European Union [commonly known as Brexit - and potentially both the Single Market and Customs Union - poses one of the greatest challenges for the Irish economy since independence. This report seeks to identify the skills needs arising from the potential trade implications of Brexit. Examining the potential impact on a number of key internationally trading sectors, as well as the wider Freight Transport, Distribution and Logistics sector that underpins this trade, the study is an attempt to build the evidence base on the anticipated impact of Brexit, determine the skills response required to offset or mitigate this impact, and avail of any opportunities that arise., The report finds that a Hard Brexit scenario will have a pronounced impact on skills requirements across international trading and Logistics and Supply Chain activities, with the impact varying across sectors - some of which will require a fundamental change in the markets they serve, and how they transport goods to market, in order to offset its impact. Even those sectors not as directly exposed to the UK market will be affected by the potential implications for the UK landbridge, regulatory divergence and financial considerations. Overall, there is a lack of preparedness and understanding within sections of the enterprise base on what Brexit will require from a skills perspective, with clear gaps in areas such as customs expertise, financial management, and a need for skills measures to facilitate international traders and logistics and supply chain enterprises to explore new markets. In particular, there will be a need for a large number of new entrants into Freight Transport, Distribution and Logistics professions and to establish such roles as attractive career options. On the basis of this research and analysis, this study makes eight overarching recommendations, with 46 associated sub-actions, both short term and longer term in nature. These are directed towards enhancing the skills base from which Ireland can draw, for both diversifying into new markets and the smooth and efficient facilitation of international trade, in what going forward could potentially be a more restrictive trading environment with the UK.

This report is the culmination of a seven-month research project led by the RSA in partnership with WorldSkills UK and supported by FETL. It has investigated inspiring examples of global innovation in TVET and skills, with the aim of drawing out lessons for UK policymakers and practitioners, including the FE sector, as they work to confront the major skills, productivity and social inclusion challenges facing Britain. Working with WorldSkills UK has allowed us to examine a relatively under-explored but highly promising platform for skills innovation: skills competitions.

Technological breakthroughs are reshaping the way goods and services are produced and consumed, with profound implications for the dynamics of productivity, jobs, trade and investment. This report shows that emerging technologies have potential to bring considerable economic benefits but entail disruptive adjustments and require ambitious policies for the future world of work.

The report highlights key gender gaps and obstacles to decent work for women. It explores the structural barriers, including unpaid care work, that shape the nature and extent of women’s engagement in paid employment, and examines how laws, policies and practices in certain countries have addressed them. The report also outlines the measures that can and should be taken to seize the opportunities presented by the changing world of work.

The introduction of T-levels is part of a wider 'skills agenda', which includes the reforms to apprenticeships that began in 2012. T-Levels, scheduled to start delivery in 2020, are two-year courses that aim to give students a technical alternative to A-levels at age 16. Each T-level consists of: a qualification that includes technical knowledge and practical skills; an industry placement of at least 45 days; relevant maths, English and digital skills; and workplace skills. The two most prominent attempts to introduce a new set of technical qualifications over the last 30 years - first, General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in the early 1990s; and second, Diplomas in 2007 - ultimately failed. Both had considerable political backing and were supported by a sizeable financial investment. Recent government publications and senior officials involved in T-levels have repeatedly insisted that they have 'learned from the mistakes of the past'. This report investigates whether the introduction of T-levels does indeed show signs of learning from past mistakes., The report begins with an exploration of two major initiatives that sought to reshape the world of vocational education in recent decades - GNVQs and Diplomas - with the aim of understanding why neither of them have survived to the present day. After providing a historical perspective, the next step is to understand whether the newly-proposed T-levels have indeed learnt from past mistakes or whether they are heading down the same path as their predecessors. Finally, once T-levels have been analysed in detail, a set of recommendations will be offered that seek to build a stable, rigorous and respected technical education system over the next few years., The conclusion of this report is that T-levels have the potential to make a valuable contribution to the UK education system, but this will only be realised if they are conceived, designed and delivered in the wider context of building a high-quality and sustainable technical education route. The author argues that one of the biggest mistakes made by Diplomas and GNVQs was that it was never clear how they were supposed to fit with, and operate alongside, other qualifications and programmes. Too many elements of the T-level reforms (particularly the distance between them and apprenticeships as well as the proposed licensing model) are likely to cut T-levels adrift from the rest of the 16-19 system. The end result of this will be that T-levels are left vulnerable to any changes in educational or political winds. The recommendations in this report describe a new path for T-levels that allows the Government to maintain the momentum of the reforms while simultaneously constructing a broader technical education system in which T-levels can play a central role.

The 'future of work' has become the subject of considerable research and scholarship in light of technological trends such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation more broadly. To date, most research has focused on the labour market overall or potential effects within specific sectors or occupations. This research can tell us which parts of the economy are most susceptible to automation, but it does not necessarily point us toward the geographic areas most at risk. Place-based analysis of what these trends will mean for different communities is still nascent. Yet early signs indicate the impacts could differ significantly between urban centres and rural areas. And that could exacerbate pre-existing urban-rural differences in economic outcomes and labour market performances. This report aims to carry out an urban-rural scan. It applies a place-based lens to the research to explore the current urban-rural economic divide in Canada, how technology-induced disruption may exacerbate it, and what Canadian policymakers can do about it. The goal of this analysis is to identify potential urban-rural trends and start to develop policy options for Canadian governments. The preponderance of research points to asymmetrical effects between urban centres and rural areas. This is mostly a function of the sectoral composition and labour market characteristics of rural places. That is to say technology-induced disruption is expected to disproportionately affect rural labour markets due to their over-representation of 'routinized work' and less diversified industrial footprints. The result will be to hasten a growing urban-rural economic divide in Canada. This analysis comes with caveats. Projections on the impact of technology are informed yet ultimately speculative. They can be affected by unexpected developments such as geopolitical changes spurred by the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis. And, of course, there is a role for public policy to shape the diffusion and adoption of new technologies across the economy.

For as long as we've all been at work, CEOs and boards have referred to people as their 'most important asset'. But rarely have they acted in concert with this claim. Now, and for the foreseeable future, this must change. Why? Because organisations today are caught at the nexus of 5 seismic forces: The complexity of business and work; The pace of change; Unprecedented demographic shifts; The need to compete through productivity; Changing relationship to work. Trace these seismic forces to their epicentre and what you find is an urgent need for large organisations to reskill the workforce - and to do so with a tangibly human approach. One that meets people where they are and then inspires and empowers them to achieve their own goals alongside those of the organization. This white paper pinpoints the seismic forces that are compelling large organisations to reinvent Learning and Talent with an empathetic eye on their people, and lists strategic actions required to align executive, [human resources] HR, and [learning and development] L&D leaders on the shared goal of reskilling the workforce to close the gap between current and future capability - before it's too late.