In England, a new model of apprenticeship was initiated in whose stated intention was to 'put employers in the driving seat'. Regulation of the new model was focused on the mandatory 20% of apprentices' work time allocated to off-the-job training offered by colleges and other training providers. Based on case studies of employers and training…

The study draws on mixed methods research with further education middle managers across England in order to explore whether there are gendered differences in management. There remain debates about whether there are gender differences in management or leadership. The study adds to this debate with results that reveal that women and men are…

Three influential theories are used to understand why employers value and seek out educational credentials in hiring. Qualifications can function as proof of productive skills (Human Capital Theory), as a signal of desirable characteristics (Signalling and Screening theories) or as a means for social closure (Closure Theory). Although these…

In the United Kingdom, the number of young people (16 to 24 years-old) not in education, employment or training (NEET) was estimated to be c.763,000 in October to December 2019. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of NEET young people attending alternative education provisions that focus on physical and mental health in…

We present new evidence on the pandemic's effects on youth, for the first time focusing on perceived effects on the learning of job skills, as well as on education. The context is post-Brexit Britain. We find that 47% of young people in a representative sample perceive a loss of learning of job skills, while a sizeable minority (17%) judge that…

The research explored the impact of an employability programme, delivered by a Community Interest Company and other third sector partners in England. The programme was designed to increase the employability of people aged between 16-72 years-old who were unemployed or economically inactive. To measure the impact of the programme on participants,…

An unprecedented number of autistic people are completing university and they frequently face unemployment after graduation. However, research focusing on the forms of graduate capital and their employability is scarce. The focus of existing research has been on non-autistic, or neurotypical, graduates. The human, social, cultural, identity and…

This article explores the underexamined idea of employer engagement as the institutional agency around the supply-demand relationship surrounding education and training (E&T) and VET in England (2012), arguing why VET needs are still likely to be unmet. A single case-study methodology and forty convergent interviews with high-skill employers…

While measures to combat 'Early Leaving' (EL) have been widely adopted internationally, as a means of curbing rates of economic and social exclusion among young people, the term itself is not widely utilised across the UK. That is not to say that measuring and reducing the number of young people who drop out of education (or training) before…

This paper applies a conceptual framework of five key categories (personal challenges, social relationships, family circumstances, institutional features of school/work, and structural factors) to consider the comparative contexts of risks to Early Leaving (EL) in key regions within Spain with a high national level of EL and England, a nation with…

In this paper, we draw on a conceptual framework of five key categories of risk to Early Leaving (EL) to analyse and compare 'Structural Factors' (SF) and 'Institutional Factors' (IF) of risk in a region in England and in Portugal. We draw on data from an EU-funded project, which explored risks and support strategies to EL across five European…

The further and higher educational experiences and consequent employability of women with the under-researched Triple X syndrome are arguably unknown. This research study examines their special educational needs (where relevant), and their negotiation of conventional educative systems, throughout the stages of post-compulsory education and into…

Community-based interventions have long been seen as mechanisms via which to target marginalised youth in relation to personal development. Research surrounding such interventions has often highlighted the promotion of a range of pro-social behaviours and attributes which, in turn, facilitate an increased sense of social inclusion. This paper…

In post-registration, professional healthcare education, learning outcomes should reflect the needs of several stakeholders, including the professionals studying the programme, workplace managers aiming to develop their workforce, and the educators teaching the programme. This study aimed to gain a multifaceted view of how these different…

Further education policy across the UK has diverged significantly over the last decade. While in both countries colleges have been subject to a programme of restructuring and rationalisation, Scotland now has a largely 'nationalised' sector while England has adopted a more market-led approach which has been characterised in some quarters as a…