Vocational education and training and employer engagement: an industry‐led sectoral system in the Netherlands

The overall objective of this paper is to determine, through a qualitative case study of the Dutch sectoral training system, factors associated with successful employer engagement. As well as examining the key features of the Dutch approach to vocational education and training (VET), the article makes a number of specific arguments: (1) employer ‘buy‐in’ is crucial to the success of the sectoral approach to VET; (2) simply establishing a system of sector‐based training bodies (e.g. skills councils) does not guarantee effective employer engagement; and (3) to make sectoral training work, especially in countries where a ‘supply‐led’ system dominates, a fundamental reform is required in areas such as funding, qualification structure, leadership and system support.     

Employer training in Australia: current practices and concerns

This paper presents and analyses results from a research project on current trends in employer training in Australia. While the formal vocational education and training (VET) system is well‐researched, the everyday training that happens in workplaces is relatively under‐researched in Australia. Using some of the results of an employer survey undertaken in 2015, the paper describes and analyses employer‐based training across a range of industry areas. The survey included groups of questions on a range of matters, including the reasons why employers train, and how these relate to employers’ perceptions of their operating environment, and the structures they have in place to manage and organize training. Detailed data are provided about three specific forms of training: in‐house training and learning; the use that employers make of external providers of training; and employers’ use of nationally recognised training – training from the VET system. Finally the paper reports what managers said about the barriers to providing more training. The paper analyses the findings in relation to the literature and also identified changes over time in training practices in Australian companies. Implications for training policy and practice, as well as for future research, are identified.     

Unzureichende Ausschöpfung der Realsteuern — das Beispiel Rheinland-Pfalz

In Germany, state and local authorities repeatedly come into conflict with one another regarding the funding of municipal budgets. The sufficient fiscal endowment of local public authorities depends not only on a satisfactory provision of state grants but also requires an adequate exhaustion of existing sources of revenues at the local government level. Against this background, the paper analyses local tax policy in order to assess whether the budget finance potential is being sufficiently exploited. Taking Rhineland-Palatinate as a case study, the degree of tax exploitation (local business tax, local property tax) is empirically estimated for the time period 2009 to 2015.     

Apprenticeships and ‘future work’: are we ready?

The paper evaluates the readiness of apprenticeship systems to cope with five major developments affecting the future of work. The institution of apprenticeship has evolved over time in all countries, gradually adapting to changes in industrial processes, the economy, the labour market and education systems. This paper suggests, however, that recent changes in the economy and the labour market, and their concomitant effects on the likely future of work, have the potential to disrupt apprenticeship systems quite radically worldwide, and/or to make them less relevant in the 21st century. The paper draws on data from recent Australian and international research projects undertaken by the author, as well as the author’s engagement in Australian government exercises to discuss the future of apprenticeships. The research found that adaptations of systems and processes were being undertaken at company level and by stakeholders such as trade union or employer peak bodies. They were less frequently apparent, however, in government policy. The paper analyses the data to produce a framework of readiness for ‘future work’, but also queries whether adaptation of apprenticeship systems is necessarily desirable in all instances. Although the presence of multiple stakeholders in the system has previously been viewed as a strength of the system, it can also make even minor changes difficult to implement. This could prove to be a major impediment to apprenticeship’s future or could be a means of preserving its essential features.     

The impact of workplace support and identity on training transfer: a case study of drug and alcohol safety training in Australia

Previous research has indicated that the transfer climate of work organisations is an important factor in determining the degree to which knowledge, skills and abilities gained in training transfer to the workplace. In particular, workplace social support from supervisors and coworkers is consistently cited as an important factor that can facilitate or inhibit training transfer. However, research evidence regarding the impact of workplace social support on training transfer is mixed. In order to address this issue a study was conducted to identify under what conditions workplace social support impacts on training transfer. This study evaluated a workplace drug and alcohol training programme * * The training evaluated in this study is part of the Building Trades Group Drug and Alcohol Programme. This is a national drug and alcohol programme for the Australian Building and Construction Industry. For more information on this programme, visit: http//www.btgda.org.au .
to examine the impact of workplace social support and identification with workplace groups on training transfer. Results indicated that the influence of workplace social support on training transfer was moderated by the degree to which trainees identified with workplace groups that provided this support. This study supports the proposition that in order to fully understand training transfer, and to design effective training programmes, training research and practice needs to focus on both the personal and situational factors that may interact to influence learning and transfer.     

International briefing 12: Training and development in Norway

In Norway, the system of initial education is distinguished by public regulation, provision and financing, whereas the system of vocational training, and adult learning until recently has been deregulated, and dominated by private providers and employer financing. During the last decade comprehensive reforms of vocational and adult education and training have aimed at expanding public involvement and increasing participation in learning. Some major challenges persist, however, in terms of developing an all–inclusive system of lifelong education, training and learning.     

Rethinking UK small employers' skills policies and the role of workplace learning

Small business employers in the UK are widely perceived as adopting a reactive, ad hoc approach to employee skill formation. Employer reliance on workplace learning is often treated, explicitly or implicitly, as evidence of such an approach. Small employers' approaches to skill creation are investigated using data from two employer samples. Three main conclusions challenging these arguments are presented. First, small employers' skills policies are highly diverse: strategic, tactical and restrictive policies are distinguished. Second, employers perceive particular benefits in enabling workplace learning; simplistic views that a reliance on workplace learning necessarily constitutes an inferior last resort for those employers unable to provide access to external training are rejected. Third, enabling workplace learning is important to strategic employers, as well as to those attaching a lower value to skills. For some employers, the workplace is the primary source of new knowledge and skills because they are unavailable elsewhere. The prevalence, diversity and significance of workplace learning in small businesses require a reappraisal of UK small employers' skills policies. The implications for research, practice and policy are discussed.     

财政信息公开引致地方政府支出绩效的实证研究

本文基于DEA评价所获取的地方政府支出绩效值,运用2007-2012年间的省级面板数据,实证剖析我国地方财政信息“阳光化”改革的绩效后果。研究发现：在设置了一系列控制变量情况下,计量模型肯定性地刻画了省级财政信息公开的确有助于提升地方政府支出绩效水平,即直接或狭义的财政信息公开透明度每提升1单位,则相应的地方政府支出绩效会改善6%;将地方政府行政信息公开透明情况纳入并构建广义财政信息公开指标,则发现解释变量对被解释变量的贡献度或解释力显著地提升到了9%。本文从理论和实证两方面证明了财政信息公开是提升地方政府支出绩效的重要路径和保障机制,为进一步推进财政信息公开制度改革以改进地方政府支出绩效提供了必要的政策依据。     

Cultural awareness in knowledge transfer to China—The role of guanxi and mianzi

This paper examines cultural awareness in knowledge transfer to China. The concepts of guanxi and mianzi are fundamentally important in understanding cultural interactions in China. These concepts, generally analyzed at the personal level, are extended here to relationships between firms and with governmental bodies. Our findings suggest that foreign investors in China must be aware of these key concepts and must use their knowledge to establish better institutional connections with locally owned partners and government. Using these concepts to build trust lies at the heart of interactions with local stakeholders including employees, local partners and government officials. Government support and a shared mindset can only be secured when mutual trust is established. This has to be achieved by long-term engagement with the key actors.     

Support for Rapid-Growth Firms: A Comparison of the Views of Founders, Government Policymakers, and Private Sector Resource Providers

The paper contrasts the perspectives of firm owners, government policy advisers, and external resource providers on how rapid-growth firms should be supported. Qualitative data were analyzed to identify similarities and differences in groups' perspectives. The research indicates that each group sees its roles as critical. Policymakers and external resources providers have incentives to interact with rapid-growth firms. Rapid-growth firms have incentives to obtain advice from government sources and external resource providers but prefer to obtain advice from their peers. These findings suggest a network-based approach to the support of rapid growth that is consistent with a new Ontario-based program, the Innovators Alliance.     

Evaluation of workplace lactation support among employers in two Pennsylvania cities

A majority of mothers with infants less than 1 year old participate in the labor force. Employers can modify the physical and social environments at work to accommodate breastfeeding employees and enable continued participation in the labor force. The purpose of our article is to (1) characterize breastfeeding policies and programs currently offered at workplaces in two Pennsylvania cities and (2) identify improvement areas to support breastfeeding employees in the workplace. We partnered with two business groups on health in Pennsylvania and electronically administered a survey to their employer members. Responses were aggregated into a workplace lactation support score based on physical space, time, policy, and resources. Higher scores indicate that employers offered a large number of workplace lactation supports. We conclude by offering specific improvement opportunities that include a written policy communicated to all employees and the formal communication of lactation services. Employers can utilize workplace lactation support scores to elect interventions that are feasible for implementation in their organizations.     

上"行"能否带来下"效"?——领导言行一致对员工敬业度的影响机制研究

基于214对UPS天津国际转运中心员工与其直接主管的配对调查数据,以社会交换理论互惠原则为理论基础构建一个被调节的中介模型,实证检验领导言行一致对员工敬业度的影响机制.研究结果显示: 领导言行一致对员工敬业度具有正向影响;心理安全感部分中介领导言行一致对员工敬业度的影响;职场友谊在心理安全感与员工敬业度的关系中起调节作用;职场友谊也调节了领导言行一致通过心理安全感对员工敬业度产生的间接影响,职场友谊水平越高,心理安全感的中介作用越强.本研究进一步完善了领导言行一致对员工敬业度的影响机制,能够为员工敬业度的管理实践提供有益启示.     

Unified structural adjustment policy in Europe?

Low growth and high unemployment have induced the European Union (EU) to outline an economic programme in which long-term effective growth and structural policy measures play a central role. Simultaneously, the German government adopted an “action programme aiming at more growth and employment”, in which the efforts on the EU level play hardly any role. Is international coordination of growth and structural adjustment policy legitimated from an economic point of view or is competition between national policies more efficient?     

The Effects of Employee Attitudes on Workplace Charitable Donations

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this paper are to examine the effects of employee attitudes toward the employer on workplace monetary donations at two levels: (1) to see if there is a significant difference between the attitudes of employees who make workplace contributions and those who do not; and (2) to examine whether awareness of employer charitable contributions moderate the relationship between employee attitudes and donating behavior. Employee attitudes include organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The research questions are examined in the context of workplace contributions made to a regional branch of United Way. The results indicate that organizational commitment scores exhibited by employees who made workplace contributions, and who were aware that their employer was also making corporate donations were significantly higher than the commitment for employees who did not make workplace contributions. No significant relationships were found for job satisfaction.     

Higher Level Skills Training: Meeting the Needs of Small Businesses

In order for businesses to remain competitive it is suggested that across industry there is a requirement for ‘higher and broader’ skills. Universities have an important role to play in satisfying the need for higher level skills training for businesses of all sizes. With respect to small firms, the training and development provided by universities has traditionally been founded upon an educational/large firm model. In order to make significant in-roads into the small firm training market it is argued that universities need to attend more closely to the specific needs of client organisations. One way in which the small firm higher level skills training market can be segmented is in terms of sector. The present study examines the higher level skills training needs of a sample of UK small firms from the perspective of sectoral variations. Differences between firms occupying different sectors were observed in terms of funding of training, responsibility for training and types of higher level skills training undertaken. Attitudes towards universities as training providers were generally favourable with little inter-sectoral variation. It is argued that these findings need to be taken into account if universities are to address the real, as opposed to perceived or presumed, needs of small businesses. A systematic-collaborative model of the customer-supplier relationship for the small firm training market is put forward.     

多委托代理关系、政策的选择性执行与农村税费改革

农村税费改革在全国全面推行后,在目前的条件下这一政策出现的一些问题能否得到全面深入的贯彻执行的问题引起了学术界的关注.本文运用多委托代理理论来分析中国多层级垂直行政管理体系中的政策执行问题,认为地方基层政府利用政策存在无法执行的可能性以及信息传递中的噪音,从事违背税费改革精神的行为,地方政府出于自身的利益以及要求地方基层政府完成各种政策任务的考虑默许、袒护这一行为,并提出了全面贯彻执行农村税费改革政策所要采取的对策.     

Factors affecting Modern Apprenticeship completion in Scotland

Completing an apprenticeship has been shown to be critical to an individual’s future employment, earnings and career development when compared with apprentices who do not complete. International research, notably in England, Australia and Germany, has identified factors specific to the apprentice, employer and training provision that are associated with a higher chance of completion. However, to date, there has been no comparable research in Scotland, which operates its own distinct and well‐established apprenticeship system. Based on the factors identified in other countries, logistic regression was conducted on records of apprenticeship leavers in Scotland, covering the period from 2007 to 2015. Data for a total of 78,952 leavers were analysed, consisting of 59,737 completers and 19,215 non‐completers. It was found that women are more likely to complete an apprenticeship than men, while those from deprived areas are less likely to complete. Apprentices employed by a large employer, those receiving training from public sector organizations and those studying for selected technical subjects are more likely to complete, as are apprentices living in an area with a high local unemployment rate. The paper considers the reasons why some apprentices are more likely to complete than others and discusses the implications for apprenticeship policy in Scotland and beyond.     

Legislative protection from discrimination in access to employer‐provided training

This article provides an analysis of laws across all 193 United Nations countries that protect workers from discrimination in access to employer‐provided training. We assessed the overall level of protection and the characteristics most commonly protected, as well as the extent of variation across geographic regions and country income. Overall, 60% of countries were found to offer specific protections from discrimination in access to training for at least one of the seven protected characteristics, which was significantly less than the percentage of countries offering protections from discriminatory hiring or terminations. Gender was the most commonly protected characteristic, whereas sexual orientation was least commonly protected. These findings suggest that employer‐provided training is less well‐protected from discrimination when compared with other aspects of employment and that there is variation in protection across socio‐demographic characteristics and geographic regions. Additional legislation may be needed to ensure equitable access to training for all workers.     

An Empirical Investigation of Marketing Programme and Process Elements in the Home-Host Scenario

SUMMARY

The two major strategies often available to international marketers are standardisation and adaptation when deciding to operate in a foreign host market. Both strategies have pros and cons. Drawing on the findings of previous theoretical and empirical studies, this study proposes a “marketing programme/process and performance” framework. The study employed a linear multiple regression (OLS) analysis method to examine the proposed framework, based on the experience of 233 Australian and New Zealand (home markets) firms operating in the Greater China region (host markets). Factors identified as significantly associated with adaptation of programme/process include “employee” and “employer” immigrant effects, government regulations, economic development, competitive environment and product life cycle. Factors identified as influencing firm performance include product adaptation, product type and market entry mode.     

政府人员培训需求问题分析与框架构建

作为人力资源开发的领域之一,政府人员开发的目标和对象应指向公务员所应具备的能力、知识、素质与品质。培训是人力资源开发的重要途径,而当前我国行政机关对政府人员培训不够重视,政府人员培训不能按需进行,培训方式落后,无法保证培训效果。恰当的培训需求分析,是提高我国政府人员培训整体效果的重要条件。我国行政机关培训应从单位的组织特点、任务要求、人员素质结构出发,在认可培训重要性的基础上,从国家、社会、单位、个体等各个层面,利用多种培训媒介,通过多种培训方式,不断丰富培训内容,提升培训层次,最终有效提高培训对象的知识、技能和品质。而要实现这一目标,必须把人力资源培训看做一项系统工程,使培训与社会、组织、政府人员个体素质之间实现很好的匹配,同时总结历史经验,建立政治经济社会发展与政府人员培训方法之间的关系模型,进而从组织视角和个体视角出发建立我国政府人员培训的需求框架。