In work-based learning (WBL), autodidactic, informal, nonformal, and formal approaches to learning are viewed not as dichotomous, distinct, or divergent spheres along a continuum but as intersected and clustered spheres. In WBL, prior learning, professional development, advanced standing, and other forms of learning are therefore formally…

Higher Education plays an influential role in societal transformation towards sustainability. An understanding of the application of sustainability learning from degree programs in a graduate's professional practice can serve as an important feedback loop for developing and advancing sustainability in higher education. A knowledge gap exists…

Purpose: This research moves beyond a focus on employability skills and explores student perceptions of preparedness for graduate life in a more holistic manner. Design/methodology/approach: Final-year business students were asked to outline their concerns regarding graduate life and the personal and professional challenges anticipated in their…

Engineering education must embrace several challenges, such as increased numbers of work-based students, increased demand for online education, mismatches in employability skills and industry requirements, and lack of student engagement. The hydrology course at the University of Southern Queensland attracts more than 100 students every year, where…

This study explores skill transfer in graduates as they transition from university to the workplace. Graduate employability continues to dominate higher education agendas yet the transfer of acquired skills is often assumed. The study is prompted by documented concern with graduate performance in certain employability skills, and prevalent skill…

Despite ample research indicating creativity is valuable in creating a competitive advantage and enabling individual success in the global knowledge economy, there are still industry concerns about how adequately individual student's creative abilities are developed for the workplace (McCorkle, Payan, Reardon & Kling, 2007). In considering how…

The expectation that universities will produce graduates with high levels of work readiness is now a commonplace in government policies and statements from industry representatives. Meeting the demand requires that students gain industry related experience before graduation. Traditionally students have done so by undertaking extended work…

Prior to this research little was known about the ways in which people draw upon their science backgrounds. An earlier CSHE [Centre for the Study of Higher Education] study for the ACDS [Australian Council of Deans of Science] examined employment outcomes and confirmed that many science graduates pursue careers outside scientific research. There…

Victoria University, like many other educational institutions, has recently nominated workplace learning as an essential feature of all its courses. As a contribution to the framing of this shift in an educationally responsible way, this article explores the question: How can tertiary education organisations design on-campus work-based experience…

The "new" ICT professional should be an articulate problem-solver who understands business and technology, in particular how technology can solve business problems. Furthermore, the ideal ICT student should be adaptable. The adaptable student embraces change, learns quickly, understands the job market, thrives on variety, is autonomous,…

Much had been written over the past few years on the intersections of work and learning. This article suggests that the analysis of the intersections of work and learning can benefit greatly from understanding the ways in which governing workers as individuals and populations has changed in Western liberal democracies in the latter part of the…

The work-based learning model of human resource development has captured a great deal of attention and has gained increasing importance in higher education in recent years. Work-based learning is a powerful phenomenon that attempts to help policy-makers, managers and curriculum developers improve the quality of the decision and organizational…

Profound changes are occurring in technology, work, and work organization with equally profound implications for the future role of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia. The changes have the following six interrelated elements that tend to affect one another. (1) globalization is creating a more internationalized economy and…

All employees are influenced by career management actions at each step of their career. The responsibility for career planning rests with the individual, whereas the responsibility for career development support should be the employer's: career management is a shared decision. Career planning training helps employees to analyze their interests and…

The factors that influence learning in workplaces were examined through a study of guided learning in five workplaces. Special attention was paid to the dual considerations of how workplaces afford opportunities for learning and how individuals elect to engage in activities and the guidance provided by the workplace. The readiness of the workplace…