Changes in university staffing structures, the professionalisation of support staff and their increasing role in universities have been studied with varying perspectives and methods over the last two decades. The discussion has recently been enriched by the research conducted in different national settings. This paper contributes to the…

This study uses a person-centered approach to investigate construction workers' learning at work, focusing on their approaches to learning, self-efficacy beliefs and work engagement and how these vary according to their goal orientation profiles. Survey data were collected from Finnish construction sector employees (N = 1,280) in June 2021. The…

This study explored what kind of mathematics is needed in cabinetmakers' everyday work and how problem solving is intertwined in it. The informants of the study were four Finnish cabinetmakers and the data consisted of workshop observations, interviews, photos, pictures and sketches made by the participants during the interviews. The data was…

Despite excellent education and a rich working experience in their home countries, skilled expatriates struggle to find employment that matches their qualifications. This article goes beyond the dominant stress and emotions' perspective on underemployment and presents the challenges of skilled migrant labour through the lens of the Common In-group…

This paper examines the perceptions of vocational expertise and school-to-work pathways among WorldSkills Competition (WSC) achievers and their co-workers and employers within the Finnish context. At the biennial international WSC, young people (aged 18-to-23 years) from over 60 countries demonstrate their skills in more than 40 trades.…

Vocational education has a historical legacy of being low-status and aimed at producing skilled workers. Students with low marks in comprehensive school are still often guided to the vocational educational track. In this article we examine how mathematics teaching in a vocational educational context is framed (henceforth VET). Therefore, our aim…

The authors report the results of a European project, Lifelearn, and discuss how lifeplace learning (LPL) can be used to effect appropriate learning opportunities for all. The project tested the concept of valuing and accrediting learning from life experiences in higher education in Europe, and its conclusions suggest that LPL is valuable for both…

In this globalized world, individuals and countries that invest heavily in education increasingly benefit socially and economically from that choice. Among the 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries with the largest expansion of college education over the last decades, most still see rising earnings differentials…

The alternating and mixed use of Swedish and Finnish and special trade slang in three relatively small firms (employing a total of 678 employees, 40 percent of whom were Swedish-speaking, 56 percent Finnish-speaking, and 4 percent bilingual) in the bilingual city of Vasa, Finland was analyzed. (CB)

This publication consists of 14 selected papers prepared for an international workshop on the problems and relationship between producing vocational competencies for skilled-worker level occupations and controlling and certifying these competencies. Part I outlines the production life and labor market contexts of vocational training and…