Enrollment in construction and infrastructure apprenticeships in New Zealand has not kept up with demand, and completion rates are low by international standards. The Construction and Infrastructure Centre of Vocational Excellence (ConCOVE) commissioned a study into what improvements are required, focussed on public policy settings and government funding of apprenticeship support programs. The mixed-methods research approach included document and literature review, data analysis, international comparison, interviews with 38 stakeholders and interviews and focus groups with eight apprentices and six employers. Eight critical areas requiring intervention were identified: overlapping policy initiatives prioritizing participation over completion, persistent apprentice financial barriers, inconsistent pastoral care delivery, variable employer training quality, misaligned economic and financial incentives, fragmented apprenticeship resources, poor role clarity between government, employers, and training providers, and unclear national strategic direction of apprenticeships. Recommendations offered aim to improve system efficiency and ensure the system better delivers for employers, learners, and national labor productivity.
This study explores the lived experiences of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) teachers and students who participated in a 6-week mindfulness program across six vocational learning areas in a large metropolitan college. While mindfulness is increasingly present in education, its application in vocational education and training (VET) remains under-researched. Using a phenomenological case study approach to better understand both teachers and students experiences, five key themes were identified: a) wellbeing, b) teaching practice, c) emotional vulnerability, d) timing, and e) contextual fit. Teachers reported enhanced self-awareness, improved classroom dynamics, and a desire to improve pedagogy. Students linked mindfulness to better focus and reduced stress, although some participants experienced discomfort or disengagement underscoring the need for emotionally sensitive delivery.
This study examines the integration of Industry 4.0 digital skills into vocational training for electric vehicle (EV) technicians, with the aim of aligning conventional curricula with emerging technological demands. Using a PRISMA-based systematic literature review, 62 articles from 2024-2025 were analyzed from an initial pool of 421 Scopus-indexed documents. Findings indicate that technical competencies remain focused on battery management and fault detection, whereas newer technologies such as digital twins and predictive maintenance are still emerging. Though pedagogical evaluations are scarce, vocational training models include embedded, hybrid, and transformative approaches. Bibliometric analysis reveals strong clusters in energy storage and AI diagnostics research, dominated by East Asian authors, but with weak links to vocational education research. This study underscores the need to balance technical and digital competencies within EV-focused vocational curricula to enhance workforce readiness.
Vocational teacher professionalisation is increasingly recognised as essential for skills formation, yet it is often treated separately from human resource development (HRD) debates. This conceptual paper reframes vocational teacher professionalisation as an HRD strategy linking vocational education and training (VET) systems to workforce transformation. Using international policy frameworks (ILO, UNESCO, UNESCO-UNEVOC, OECD, and the World Economic Forum) as analytical lenses, the paper synthesises global guidance with Indonesian policy directions and scholarly literature. The analysis identifies three interrelated HRD strategies: (1) industry-based teacher internships and work placements to strengthen occupational currency and pedagogy - practice alignment; (2) digital competence and soft skills development to support adaptive professionalism; and (3) competency-based certification linked to continuing professional development (CPD). The paper contributes an integrative HRD framing of teacher professionalisation and articulates implementable policy implications for systems facing inequality and resource constraints. The Indonesian case highlights conditions for transferability to other emerging-economy contexts.
Microgrids are scaling to meet the growing need for resilient energy, but the workforce to support this growth remains insufficient. This paper opens with a Training Needs Analysis framework that defines key roles and skill areas within the sector. It uses Knowles' adult learning principles to design training that meets the self-directed and experience-based preferences of professionals. A unified microgrid development process is introduced to build foundational knowledge and create a shared framework that supports collaboration across disciplines. Training pathways are identified for microgrid managers, designers, operators, and technicians, with role optimizations informed by delivery to over 3000 learners through more than 100 programs. The paper concludes with best practices to guide the development of training programs that can keep pace with the evolving landscape of microgrid technology, policy, and business models.
This article examines a nation-wide lifelong learning movement for adults in Singapore known as SkillsFuture. An examination of SkillsFuture shows that the movement interprets skill primarily as situational understanding that foregrounds the practitioner's agency and interactions with the environment. SkillsFuture's adoption of a broad understanding of skill coupled with comprehensive initiatives appears to be generally beneficial for the training of its citizens. However, the approach of skill as situational understanding is oriented towards lifelong education rather than lifelong learning. By emphasising educational provisions at the institutional level rather than learning needs at the individual level, SkillsFuture may have inadvertently overlooked the humanistic aspects of learning. The major implications from the example of Singapore are the potential usefulness of balancing top-down initiatives and bottom-up processes to promote skill as situational understanding; and a need to foster a culture of lifelong learning in jurisdictions that focus on lifelong education.
This paper explores the long-term outcomes, challenges, and strategic significance of Sayid Mohamed Technical Education College (SaMTEC), a vocational training institution in Somalia's conflict-affected Gedo region. It highlights SaMTEC's role in promoting youth employment, gender empowerment, social cohesion, and peacebuilding by offering market-relevant skills to at-risk youth, inclusive enrollment, and community-based engagement. The findings affirm the programme's impact in providing alternatives to radicalisation and economic marginalisation. However, the study also identifies key constraints, including limited access to startup capital, delayed employment, gender-specific barriers, and weak post-training support systems, which affect scalability and sustainability. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to strengthen job placement, expand financial access, foster public-private partnerships, and integrate vocational education into national peacebuilding strategies. As Somalia continues its recovery, SaMTEC's experience demonstrates the transformative potential of technical education grounded in local realities and sustained by strategic investment.
India's Northeast Region (NER) comprises eight states, with 61% of its handloom workforce, a majority being women. Despite high global demand for handmade products, challenges such as the shift to mass-produced goods, globalization, and artisans' lack of modern market skills threaten traditional crafts and their intergenerational transmission. Using a multi-method approach, comparing data from surveys, reports, and policies against field data, the study reveals that although several government schemes are operational, the NER receives a disproportionately low share of these compared to its craftspeople population, and available fund utilization is low. The current training programs emphasize tradition preservation but lack modern market dynamics, consumer engagement, digital literacy, and training in new technologies essential for craft marketability and sustainability. A structured training program akin to formal education systems is critically needed. The study categorizes artisans into Traditionalists, Potential Modernists, Artisan Associates, and Artisan Entrepreneurs, recommending tailored, structured, and digital-first training.
In Finland, workplace-based learning (WPBL) is recognized as a promising educational strategy in vocational education and training (VET), with limited emphasis on students with learning difficulties (LDs). This study investigated the WPBL feedback experiences of students with LDs in six vocational fields in Finland: social and healthcare, business administration, building and construction, catering and tourism, electronics and automation, and logistics. Employing a qualitative paradigm, this study used semi-structured interviews comprising individual face-to-face and focus group discussions with 35 final-year students aged between 18 and 35 years in four inclusive vocational institutions. The data were transcribed and analyzed using the NVivo software. The results indicate that these students receive feedback from peers, trainers, and supervisors, and generally express satisfaction. This study underscores the significance of fostering student feedback literacy skills, emphasizing that support and guidance should be administered within a structured framework to ensure trainers' proficiency in addressing specific difficulties.
Graduate unemployment in Tanzania remains a significant issue, largely due to a substantial mismatch between university education and labour market demands, necessitating effective reskilling and curriculum reforms. Thus, the present study evaluates the effectiveness of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in reskilling university graduates and examines stakeholder perceptions of its suitability for enhancing employability skills. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach within a systems theory framework, data were collected through interviews with six university leaders, focus group discussions with 20 graduates, and document analysis of educational policies. Findings indicate that VET's competency-based training effectively addresses technical skills gaps but is limited by its focus on manual trades, cultural biases, and capacity constraints. To ensure graduates' skills align well with market needs, the study advocates for curriculum reforms integrating soft skills, digital literacy, and experiential learning, alongside industry-university partnerships and entrepreneurship education.
Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy offers a transformative framework for education, but its application in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) presents significant challenges. This article examines these challenges through a participatory study of National Certificate (Vocational) [NC(V)] graduates in South Africa. Three tensions are identified: the conflict between Freire's emancipatory ideals and TVET's instrumental focus, the difficulty of fostering critical consciousness among students under employability pressures, and the structural constraints that hinder dialogical learning. While Freirean principles of conscientisation, dialogue, and praxis remain valuable, their adaptation to TVET requires careful consideration of institutional, economic, and pedagogical realities. Engaging with current debates in TVET research , this article critically assesses the feasibility of Freirean approaches in vocational education. It calls for a pedagogical framework that balances critical pedagogy's transformative aims with the practical demands of TVET, offering insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers.
The paper provides an expereinced practitioner reflection on the essential of doctoral research supervision. Doing doctoral research is regarded as a long-haul learning journey, which must be sustained over several years of intensive collaboration between student and supervisor(s). The doctoral learning process is embedded into a research training process as well as a more elusive to define educational experience. The concepts of status passage and instrumental adjustment provide a useful framework for the many practical decisions that often drive the research process at a micro-level. The two concepts have been regarded as helpful companions to being 'guide, philsopher and friend' in supervising doctoral research. The ideas of training and education form part of a continuum of actions that characterise the doctoral learning journey. Going further, the paper reflects on practical research outcomes and what might comprise 'good practice' in doctoral supervision.
This article explores the professional agency of vocational education and training (VET) teachers by examining how they responded to impositions in policy reform documents relating to teaching and learning practices. Scholars in the field of education caution that policies that focus on rigid methodologies may lead to teachers being seen more as technicians rather than educators. Existing research often centres around the de-professionalisation of teachers, the diminishing status they face, and the emerging redefinitions of their roles. This article investigates how teachers at a rural Australian vocational education and training institution have responded to such policy reform documents to meet student needs. Data analysis can be found within policy contexts and teacher interview transcripts. The findings show that, even by implementing performance strategies, accountability measures, and policy control mechanisms, the teachers could develop their professional agency by forming strong collegial relationships and adjusting policy requirements in their practices.
This qualitative research examined the learning needs of early career Vocational Education and Training (VET) teachers in Denmark to inform approaches that may increase the retention of new teachers, improve outcomes for their students and inform curriculum and pedagogy for VET teacher professional learning. Interviews were undertaken with eight early career teachers across three different VET schools. Data were aggregated into three composite cases using adaptive expertise as a theoretical frame. Three key learning needs were identified; (1) deepening teacher conceptual understanding, (2) supporting early career teachers to navigate the uncertainty inherent in teaching, and (3) enabling teachers to be adaptive to changing needs and contexts. Implications for workplace-based ways to better equip early career teachers with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to engage in the work of teaching are presented.
Mathematical proficiency is essential in vocational education and training (VET), yet many students lack confidence in their math skills, raising concerns among employers about graduates' preparedness for real-world applications. This paper presents a qualitative case study of students learning mathematics at a rural adult VET institution in Australia. By analyzing policy documents, teaching materials, classroom activities, and interviews with teachers and students across three credential programs, the study reveals a reliance on behaviorist methods within a narrow competency-based training framework, leading to negative experiences in math education. Teachers reported limited opportunities to adopt innovative strategies or address diverse student needs, creating a disconnect between students' learning requirements and the instruction provided. While the findings highlight troubling trends in adult VET mathematics education, they also uncover positive experiences shaped by teachers' beliefs about student learning, aligning with best practices in numeracy education and suggesting improvements for math instruction in VET settings.
The study explores the alignment between occupational competency assessment practices and strategies in Ethiopia, using a mixed-methods approach. It involved stakeholders at various levels, including deans, trainers, assessors, supervisors, directorates, and hotel and industry supervisors. Data was generated through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, observation, and document analysis. Findings showed that aspects such as assessor methodology and tool validation align well with established strategies. However, challenges were identified, such as a lack of autonomy for CoC agencies, insufficient feedback for TVET institutions regarding assessment scores, a mismatch between occupational standards development and national market demand, fairness issues from using single assessors, and a scarcity of internal and external verifiers. The study proposes recommendations for the Ethiopian Ministry of Labor and Skill and regional CoC Agencies, including ensuring agency autonomy in competency assessments, tailoring assessment tools to occupational standards, fostering industry involvement, maintaining relevance, and addressing concerns about single assessors.
