Streamlining the vocational qualification development process in Australia is a current priority of the skills ministers of both the Australian Government and state and territory governments. This research summary explores the development processes associated with vocational qualifications in selected countries and compares them with the current…

This project is focused on the second element noted by the Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) to streamline the national vocational education and training (VET) system so that it can better respond to the needs of industry -- faster development of qualifications. It looks at the vocational qualification development processes in different…

In a speech, Looking Ahead in Vocational Education", to a group of Hamilton educators, D.O. Davis, Vice-President, Engineering, Dominion Foundries and Steel Limited, Hamilton, Ontario spoke of the challenge of change and what educators and industry must do to help the future of vocational education. (Editor)

A promising way of improving school-industry communication about requisite job skills is to use competency models to relay employers' needs to educators and by which educators can transmit clear descriptions of their products back to employers. The DACUM Chart described in the article also serves for organizing and conducting training. (Author/AJ)

This handbook provides basic information about forming and operating an industry-education partnership council (IEPC). Purpose of the handbook is to enable interested communities to replicate the model IEPC and develop strong local industry-education alliances. Part I is an introduction to industry-education partnerships. Part II focuses on…

The need for workplace skills upgrading has never been more acute. In Canada, many awareness-building initiatives for literacy have been started. The most successful efforts will probably be those based on a partnership model that links companies and unions with educators who understand adult learning styles. Before a workplace literacy program…

Canada's ability to take advantage of the opportunities and mitigate the difficulties presented by today's economic, cultural, and social changes and global competition depends on the education and skill development of its youth. Meeting these challenges requires a common purpose involving students, parents, businesses, educators and others. To…

In continuing education and college programs throughout Canada, the vast majority of teaching is done by part-time adjunct appointees, most of whom have other work that occupies a major portion of their work lives. Another simultaneously developing trend is that of the increasing efforts by a variety of organizations to encourage workers to assume…

Off-campus education is an experiential method of learning that integrates a student's classroom studies with on-the-job experiences obtained at an employing organization. Off-campus education programs are based on a partnership among the school, the parents, the student, and the employing organization, with each of the partners sharing the…

The author describes the development of individualized instruction programs for adults in various areas of vocational education, including the use of advisory committees to identify occupational skills, preparing learning activity packages (LAPS) for the programs, and installation and operation of the programs in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (MF)

This report is designed as a companion to a three-volume report that describes how education and industry skill standards systems operate in the United States. It provides an overview of international efforts to develop processes and systems to "harmonize" the recognition of an individual's competencies and skills across national…

As a result of new legislation, experiments in school and workplace cooperation have been set up in Quebec in order to improve the relationship between the two entities and provide more vocational education options to youth. Five sections of recommendations are being implemented: (1) partnership protocol between an academic establishment and an…

This paper is designed to serve as a basis for discussions of the senior apprenticeship option that is now being developed by Manitoba's (Canada) Department of Education and Training. The first two sections examine the need for a senior apprenticeship option in the context of challenges facing the Canadian economy and labor force and the history…

A study identified students' perspectives on quality and nature of learning achieved in a vocational program using a cooperative learning approach. The theoretical framework for analysis of the implementation of a vocational program included Lave and Wenger's (1991) concept of situated learning and the Guile and Griffiths' (2001) model of work…

Canadian financial services organizations, and retail banking in particular, are changing rapidly due to the spiraling costs of labor, the influence of computers, and global competition. These changes are especially affecting bank tellers, who will need new skills to adapt to the changing workplace. To develop a timely and relevant training…