Roodhouse,S; and Swailes,S
This book will appeal to anyone interested in understanding how to improve and maintain standards in higher education and better meet the needs of employers. Through its coverage of recent policy initiatives and reactions to them, researchers will be able to draw on its definitive accounts of how vocational education and its accompanying concern for standards have developed in a British context. It will be of interest lo those in other countries around the world where occupational standards systems have been established and there is a policy and practice interest in employ ability and workforce development. People who have to develop courses in higher education and elsewhere will be able to use the book as a resource for ideas about programme design. Researchers and academics interested in British education policy and practice as well as students on higher courses in education, organisations such as Sector Skills Councils and others responsible for training who have a direct interest in workforce development and HE engagement in the workplace.
It is intended to make a contribution to the discourse around employers, skills and higher education by explaining the history, exploring the barriers to engagement, and providing an impressive spectrum of practice. This includes an explanation of the role of higher education in contributing to the economic needs of society not just today but also from the past. It also engages with the relationship between the professions and higher education which forms an important component in any consideration of workforce development and employer engagement which is often overlooked.
A brief history of the competency movement is included not least to encourage a reappraisal of previous positions in the context of the new higher education context. This is then explained through an emerging university model where work based learning, accreditation of prior learning and company competencies are combined with higher educational requirements to provide a tailored programme of study for employees linked to the business objectives of the company. Taking this theme examples of other national occupational standards application models in higher education expand our understanding of how employer standards can be applied.
The book is informed by the work of the University Vocational Awards Council over the last eight years; in particular it draws heavily on key publications to provide an overview of employer, skill and higher education interactions.
ISBN; 978- 1-904235-15-8 @ £19.95 is published by Kingsham Press Chichester
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