Designers and engineers seem finally to be awakening to the challenge that sustainable development has given. Educators and students alike are keenly aware of the need to become more effective in the training and practice of their specific disciplines with respect to sustainability. In the past four years since this research has developed, there…

Creative problem-solving has been identified as one of the most critical future-proof skillsets we can develop in our society. When educating future designers, entrepreneurship skills are now considered essential; however, designers find it difficult to establish themselves as entrepreneurs. Therefore, graduate designers are increasingly in need…

The benefit of external, often industry-based, speakers for a seminar series associated with both undergraduate and graduate programmes is relatively unchallenged. However, the means by which such a seminar series can be encapsulated within a structured learning module, and the appropriate design of an accompanying assessment methodology, is not…

In Ireland, Technology Education's structure and organisation across the levels of education is not delivered or governed in a coherent manner. Technology Education in primary level education, for students between 5 and 12 years of age, does not explicitly exist as a separate subject. In primary level education, Social, Environmental and…

In the current economic crisis, higher education graduates need transferable professional skills more than ever. They need resourcefulness, an ability to work reflectively, a sense of civic awareness and an impressive curriculum vitae. This case study analyses how Dublin Institute of Technology's Programme for Students Learning With Communities…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss Irelands national apprenticeship programme, introduced in 1993, in the context of the country's evolving economic and social policies. Design/methodology/approach: A critical analysis is undertaken of the industrial climate in Ireland, which prevented the introduction of a national apprenticeship…

Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to outline the challenges facing industry and educational institutions in educating and training instrument engineers against a backdrop of declining interest by secondary school students in mathematics and physics. This case study cites the experience and strategies of the Kentz Group and Cork Institute…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the challenges facing Irish organisations in the training and development of non-Irish workers. It analyses the importance of fluency in the host country's language and the approach taken by organisations in relation to language training. In-depth semi-structured interviews provide significant insights for the…

This report on Ireland is one in a series of studies for a research project designed to identify training and education policies pursued by governments and individual firms that have contributed to innovation, technological adaptation, and skill development in manufacturing. Part 1 describes Ireland's economic, social, and educational structure…

Purpose: The focus of this paper is to highlight the issues impacting technology-enhanced learning (TEL) in an industrial setting in Ireland. The paper uses the output from a community of practice (CoP) set up to identify and discuss these issues. Seven companies participated in the CoP. Their experiences represented the full spectrum of…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate hotel industry employers' expectations of, and satisfaction with, graduate competencies in comparison with graduate perceptions of what is required for their roles and their satisfaction with how well their education experience prepared them. Design/methodology/approach: The research involved a…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to highlight factors influencing the commitment of nurses, and particularly focuses on the role of training, development and career issues. It provides the basis for a HRD framework, outlining policy choices in developing high commitment amongst nursing staff. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer a comparison of how human expertise is perceived by human resource development (HRD) scholars across several Western European countries and in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative, exploratory approach using electronic mail was used for this study. In total, 36 leading HRD scholars from…

Purpose--The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of life cycle stage, specifically parenting stage, on work-family conflict among working parents to determine whether discernible differences are evident among those individuals at the early stage of their parenting cycle compared with those with older children.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Irish MNCs, and more specifically, to investigate their approach to human capital development and how these correspond to foreign MNCs in Ireland. In particular, it seeks to investigate training and development expenditure, adoption of…