Examining self‐perceived employability among immigrant women participating in vocational training in Taiwan

This study aimed to test the proposed model of self‐perceived employability (SPE) of immigrant women participating in vocational training in Taiwan by utilizing the developmental‐contextual model of career development as a framework. We examined the relationships among a distal contextual variable social welfare resources (SWRs), proximal contextual variables (vocational training experiences comprising the curriculum and instruction of vocational training, interpersonal relationships of vocational training and certificate examination guidance of vocational training), an individual‐level variable employment attitudes (EAs) and SPE using the model. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey of 699 immigrant women attending vocational training in Taiwan and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings empirically supported the proposed model, which explained 63.5 per cent of the variance in SPE. This study found that SWRs influenced all vocational training experiences, which in turn, directly and indirectly influenced SPE vis‐à‐vis their effects on EAs. In turn, EAs influenced SPE.     

Training in Portuguese non‐profit organizations: the quest towards professionalization

The non‐profit sector is increasingly important, both in terms of the services rendered to society and level of employment provided. As part of a move towards the professionalization of the sector, training is seen as a vital tool for capacity building. Although the training practices of non‐profits are fairly well documented in countries like Australia, the UK and the USA, this is not so in Portugal. We provide an overview of the training practices of Portuguese non‐profit organizations, and identify indicators of professionalization that influence training investment. We find wide variation among organizations in this sector, both in terms of training provision and expenditure, and in the management practices implemented. We also find that the presence of a professional manager and formalized policies, especially those related to performance, are significantly associated with higher levels of training, suggesting that professionalization has beneficial effects on training in the non‐profit sector.     

Developing human resources for the technical workforce: a comparative study of Korea and Thailand

Asian countries face significant and growing shortages of technically skilled workers. Vocational‐technical systems are key components of national human resource development. Using labor market data from Thailand and Korea, this paper analyzes the economic payoff for individual investment in vocational‐technical education, and subsequent employment in a related occupation. The results are mixed, showing that relatively few men or women end up working in areas that they are trained for, but that for men in Korea and women in Thailand, employment in a related field pays off in terms of higher monthly earnings. As governments move toward workforce policy created in conjunction with firms and education, the results of this study reinforce the need for national development plans that address the relatively weak relationship between initial training and employment in Asian countries.     

电子商务专业校企合作实训基地建设探讨

高等职业教育最显著的办学特色在于技能性、实践性和职业性,校企合作生产性实训基地建设是高职教育中的一个重要环节,是高职教育工学结合、培养高技能人才、实现学生零距离就业的关键。本文结合肇庆工商职业技术学院校企合作实训基地建设的实践,就如何建设高职电子商务生产性实训基地,从建设思路、建设目标、建设方案等方面进行了探讨,探索高职学院实训基地建设的新途径。     

Participation in industrial training programs

Two questions suggested by the recent literature on the matching of workers and firms are examined. The first relates to differences in the proportion of workers that participate in industrial training programs in large and small firms. The second relates to the characteristics of workers who participate in such programs. The major finding of this study is that workers in large firms are more likely to participate in industrial training programs than similar workers in small firms; the large-small firm training program participation rate differential is less, however, among low productivity workers than among high productivity workers. Additionaly, workers with vocational training received outside of a work setting are just as likely to find employment in small firms as in large ones.This research was supported by the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration under SBA award number 8487-AER-84. The findings and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the author.     

Training‐related dimensions of apprenticeship programmes in crisis‐ridden Greece: an exploratory study

Since the 2008 financial crisis there has been increased interest in apprenticeships in Greece, largely due to the perception that apprenticeships, in comparison to academic studies, may improve the employment prospects of young people. Before this time, there had been little interest in vocational education and training (VET) and consequently few efforts to develop the VET system. This exploratory article focuses on training, a crucial aspect of apprenticeship programmes, and offers a critical overview of key dimensions of the training content of apprenticeships in Greece. The article draws on the findings of a large‐scale, mostly qualitative research project (carried out between December 2015 and March 2017), which aimed at reviewing the Greek apprenticeship system and gathered, inter alia, the views of 150 individuals representing different groups of stakeholders. It is argued that, despite positive features, the training offered in Greek apprenticeships still suffers from severe shortcomings, which highlight the need for urgent reform and restructuring. Without such reform, the potential of the system to be an effective, alternative to the academic pathway or to boost employment will be seriously constrained.     

工学结合的高职专业英语项目化教学探索——以金融保险专业英语为例

当前，“工学结合”作为高职教育人才培养模式改革的重要切入点，正积极推动着我国高职教育领域的重大变革。项目化教学打破传统的知识体系，以工作任务（项目）为中心，选择、组织课程内容，并以完成工作任务为主要学习方式。     

Do collective bargaining institutions crowd out discussion and implementation of firm‐related training programs? Evidence from Japan

The paper empirically examines labor‐management communication concerning in‐house training programs and its relation to the actual on‐ and off‐the‐job training policy and wage structure. Using governmental datasets from Japan, we study how different labor‐management communication institutions may affect the training interests of employers and employees differently. We classify these institutions in terms of whether they have a legal (i.e. statutory) foundation (‘de jure’) or not (‘de facto’). We find that collective bargaining, with legal grounds, may crowd out employees’ willingness to communicate about training. However, the existence of ‘de facto’ communication channels such as joint labor‐management councils or shop floor committees is positively correlated with both on‐ and off‐the‐job of training. At the same time, the existence of unions is positively correlated with the steepness of wage profiles for mid‐career workers, which is consistent with the fact that employers and employees assume a long‐term relationship. Thus, we show that a multi‐tiered structure of labor‐management communication, together with a long‐term orientation toward the employment relationship, contributes to strengthen employees’ voice in training matters.     

新时期农民工在就业中的教育问题分析

随着城市化进程的加快,我国农民工群体日益扩大,逐渐成为城市中一个特殊而重要的群体,农民工在流动就业过程中产生的大量需求,催生了一个巨大的就业服务市场,同时也给过去主要面向城市劳动者的就业服务和职业培训工作带来了挑战.正是在这样的背景下,以农民工对象的就业服务和职业培训应运而生.从技术培训的实效性、就业导向的前瞻性和职业精神的思想性等方面分析研究现实情况的各种问题,并提出调整改进措施.为解决好农民工的培训问题提供参考.     

Factors Influencing the Choice of Initial Qualifications and Continuing Development in Australia and Britain

This article presents the outcomes of an exploratory study into the factors that influences individuals' choice of different types of qualification at stages throughout their employment history. The survey of individuals in Australia and Britiain sought information on individuals' training and education decisions between school and employment; after gaining employment; and of their future intentions for further study. There were few differences between Australians and British respondents at the school‐leaver stage, but once in work differences emerged between the two countries. Few differences were observed between males and females. Comparison of those opting into academic and vocational programmes indicated that those who choose academic programmes are motivated by a cluster of mainly internal factors while those opting for the vocational route were more likely to have been influenced by their manager and the possibility of funding. Implications for the marketing of qualifications are discussed.     

International briefing 8 Training and development in France

Two main features characterise training and development in France: the influence of the school‐based model and a strong institutionalisation of continuing vocational training which is regulated by law and collective bargaining at national and sectoral levels. In the last decade training has been affected by four major changes: the development of alternating training programmes for young people and unemployed persons; a process of decentralisation which gives to regions an essential role of coordination; strengthening of links between training and employment; and an increasing responsibility of firms in the management of training. As a result, training is on an upward trend yet large inequalities in access still exist.     

Fostering enterprise architecture education and training with the enterprise architecture competence framework

Enterprise architecture (EA) implementation refers to a set of activities ultimately aiming to align business objectives with information technology infrastructure in an organization. EA implementation is a multidisciplinary, complicated and endless process, hence, calls for adequate education and training programs that will build highly skilled personnel (called enterprise architects) with diverse competencies. This development of domain‐specific competencies is also supported by European policies on education and vocational training. To this end, the authors present training uses of the Enterprise Architecture Competence Framework (EA‐CF). EA‐CF is a proposed conceptual model that describes EA competencies in compliance to the European e‐Competence Framework (e‐CF). The authors argue that EA stakeholders can consult the framework regarding competencies they want to underpin and thus identify the corresponding skills, knowledge and attitudes that result as learning outcomes in EA courses and training programs.     

INTERNATIONAL OUTSOURCING,THE REAL EXCHANGE RATE AND EFFECTIVE DEMAND

We develop a two‐country model of international trade with outsourcing opportunities, and analyze the effects of outsourcing on employment and effective demand under stagnation. Increased outsourcing proves not only to lower employment but also to depreciate the real exchange rate which has the effect of boosting employment. The latter also dominates the former, such that employment and consumption are stimulated. The home and foreign countries respond in opposite ways, however, to the production shift and the real exchange rate adjustment. Furthermore, we find that the effects of outsourcing on consumption are opposite in the presence, and the absence, of unemployment.     

Training opportunities and employee exhaustion in call centres: mediation by psychological contract fulfilment

The aim of this study is to analyse psychological contract fulfilment as a mechanism through which training affects stress in call centres. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 412 call centre operators, using structural equation modelling to analyse their survey responses. Our results demonstrated that training is negatively related to workers' exhaustion and that the relationship is fully mediated by the fulfilment of socio‐emotional obligations. We found that it was the fulfilment of balanced obligations, and not relational obligations, which mediated the relationship between training and exhaustion. Hence, we verified that training was related to lower levels of employee exhaustion through fulfilment of the balanced psychological contract. Our findings highlight the centrality of psychological contract fulfilment to call centre workers, and the importance of training in constructing positive employment relationships with workers. We discuss implications for human resource management in call centres.     

The effect of innovation policy on SMEs’ employment and wages in Argentina

This article evaluates the effect of the Argentinean Support Program for Organizational Change on employment and wages. The program aimed at increasing small and medium-sized enterprises’ competitiveness by co-financing technical assistance to support process and product innovation activities. Although employment is not usually the main objective of these types of programs, they are always implemented assuming that they create—or at least do not destroy—employment opportunities. We use a unique data set with information for the population of firms in Argentina from 1996 to 2008 to test this important assumption. Using a combination of fixed effects and matching, we find that both process and product innovation support increased employment and wages, with a higher impact on employment. In addition, we find that product innovation support had a larger effect on wages than process innovation support.     

Services policy reform and manufacturing employment: Evidence from transition economies

Policy reforms targeting the services sectors are a neglected dimension of the process of structural transformation and economic development. The effects of such reforms on employment across industries as a function of their use of services as intermediate inputs are theoretically ambiguous and remain largely understudied. This paper uses sector‐level data for 24 transition economies for the 1990–2012 period to assess the impacts of services policy reforms on downstream manufacturing employment. We find a negative effect of services reforms on manufacturing sector employment. This is mostly associated with the process of transition to a market‐based economy. Controlling for transition‐specific dynamics, the data suggest a neutral effect of progress towards adopting “best practice” policies for upstream services on employment in downstream manufacturing. Furthermore, in line with the extant literature, we confirm that services policy reforms enhance productivity of downstream manufacturing industries. Finally, we find that the negative effects on downstream employment are mitigated in countries with better economic governance and human capital.     

An Exploration of the State of Ethics in UK Accounting Education

A growing body of literature places blame for accounting frauds on the failure of educators to implement ethics training in accounting curriculums in higher educational institutions. Although, the professional accountancy bodies in the UK espouse high ethical standards, others suggest that these bodies are failing to cover ethics in any meaningful way. This study surveys faculty about what is being taught and how much time is dedicated to ethics training. This is the first study to examine whether content suggested by the Ethics Education Framework (EEF) has been implemented in curriculums in the UK. In addition, we look to determine if there is a notable difference between what is covered in both pre-1992 (less vocational) and post-1992 (more vocational) UK universities. Although we find that post-1992 (more vocational) institutions have implemented the EEF suggestions more than pre-1992 (less vocational) UK universities, current ethics training is insufficient and has not changed much over the last two decades.     

Enlargement and the EU Periphery: The Impact of Changing Market Potential

We study the impact of changing relative market access in an enlarged EU on the economies of incumbent Objective 1 regions. First, we track the impact of external opening on internal spatial configurations in a three‐region economic geography model. External opening gives rise to potentially offsetting economic forces, but for most parameter configurations it is found to raise the locational attractiveness of the region that is close to the external market. Then, we explore the relation between market access and economic activity empirically. We simulate the impact of enlargement on EU Objective 1 regions. Predicted market‐access‐induced gains in regional GDP and manufacturing employment are up to seven times larger in regions proximate to the new accession countries than in ‘interior’ EU regions. We also find that a future Balkans enlargement could be particularly effective in reducing economic inequalities among the EU periphery, due to the positive impact on relative market access of Greek regions.     

基于行业就业双元驱动下的高职商务英语人才培养研究

随着全球一体化趋势的不断加快,传统商贸模式的革新势在必行。涉外人才作为传统商贸向新型商贸转变的中心,其角色与功能升级对高职商务英语人才培养提出了更高要求。从当前的经济环境与政策倾向来看,外向型发展在很长一段时间内会成为商贸形式的发展主流,这就为高职院校的商务英语专业带来了很大机遇,同时升级型外贸人才的培养也为高职院校商务英语人才的培养提出了挑战。本文就行业与就业两个方面对高职院校商务英语人才培养的现状进行分析,并提出双元驱动高职商务英语人才培养的有效策略。     

第三产业结构升级中的就业变动

第三产业不同行业间就业弹性存在很大差异。在对 1 991年之后第三产业各个行业的要素贡献加以分析的基础上 ,我们发现 ,有些行业偏重于资本密集型技术 ,表现出某些第二产业的特点。在此基础上 ,我们具体分析了第三产业中比重最大的四个行业的不同情况 ,认为在第三产业吸纳就业的问题上 ,要对不同行业区别对待 ,促进行业发展的同时充分吸收就业。另外 ,需要完善社会保障制度 ,加强培训 ,提高就业者科学文化素质以及职业素质