Engaging Industry – Next steps and further readings

The paper on employer engagement in vocational education and training (VET) offers several actionable insights for key groups and stakeholders. Here’s how these insights benefit different groups:

1. Policy Makers:
   • Benefits: Provides evidence-based insights into the challenges and inefficiencies within current VET policies.
   • Actionable Insights: Encourages the development of policies that support more flexible and responsive VET programs, tailored to the rapidly changing needs of high-skill industries.
2. Industry Leaders and Employers:
   • Benefits: Helps employers understand the strategic importance of actively participating in the design and implementation of VET programs.
   • Actionable Insights: Motivates employers to initiate and maintain robust partnerships with VET providers, ensuring that the training programs are directly relevant to current industry requirements.
3. Vocational Education Providers:
   • Benefits: Highlights the need for VET programs to be adaptable and aligned with industry expectations.
   • Actionable Insights: Suggests integrating real-world projects and industry professionals into the curriculum to enhance the relevance and applicability of training.
4. Economic Development Organizations:
   • Benefits: Reinforces the role of VET in regional economic development and workforce preparedness.
   • Actionable Insights: Encourages collaborations between economic development entities and educational institutions to tailor VET programs to the specific needs of the local job market.
5. Education Consultants and Analysts:
   • Benefits: Provides a detailed analysis of the gaps and opportunities in employer engagement that can inform consultancy practices.
   • Actionable Insights: Offers frameworks for assessing employer satisfaction with VET programs and suggests methodologies for improving these engagements.
6. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs):
   • Benefits: Enhances understanding of the socio-economic impact of effective VET programs.
   • Actionable Insights: Provides a basis for advocating for educational reforms and partnerships that increase access to quality training, particularly in underserved communities.
7. Trade Unions and Worker Advocacy Groups:
   • Benefits: Offers insights into how VET programs can be designed to better meet the needs of the workforce, potentially improving job security and career advancement opportunities.
   • Actionable Insights: Encourages unions to participate in discussions about VET curriculum relevance and advocate for the inclusion of skills that increase worker employability and mobility.

Further Readings

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Amin, A. 2004. ‘An Institutional Perspective on Regional Economic Development’. In Reading Economic Geography (Chapter 3) by Barnes. edited by T. J, J. Peck, E. Sheppard, and A. Tickell. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

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BIS (2011). “Evaluation of National Skills Academies.” Research Paper Number 39. Department for Business Innovation & Skills.

British Council (2017) “The UK Skills System: An Introduction.” (available at: www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/f165_uk_skills_sector_study_web.pdf )

Brockmann, M., L. Clarke, and C. Winch. 2015. “Knowledge, Skills & Competencies: European Divergence in VET.” Oxford Review of Education 35: 547–576.

Brockmann, M., and I. Laurie. 2016. “Apprenticeship in England – The Continued Role of the academic–vocational Divide in Shaping Learner Identities.” Journal of Vocational Education & Training 68 (2): 229–244. doi:10.1080/13636820.2016.1143866.

Bryman, A. 2008. ‘Social Research Methods’. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

DCLG. 2017. “Apprenticeships Reforms: Guides for Local Authorities.” Department for Communities & Local `government. ISBN: 978-1-4098-5104-2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-reforms-guide-for-local-authorities. Accessed May 2022.

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