We explore how unexpected temporary increases in the demand for low-skill service jobs in the tourism industry impact educational choices in Italy. We identify exogenous variation in the demand for service jobs using positive shocks to the tourism industry caused by terrorist attacks in foreign...

At a time when European science and innovation policy is seeking to better support research talent in navigating increasingly diverse post-PhD careers, we suggest that skill requirements vary substantially across employment sectors. We examine PhD holders' self-perceived transferable skills to...

We find a substantial and long-lasting positive effect of the introduction of regional minimum wages on training incidence and intensity. We apply a stacked difference-in-differences estimation to identify the dynamic effect of high minimum wages introduced in several Swiss cantons between 2018...

New digital and artificial intelligence technologies are fast reshaping skill requirements in the EU labour market, fostering skill mismatches. There are marked concerns about the potentially adverse consequences of automation and AI on employment, as well as the lagging competitiveness of EU...

Energy exchange-traded funds (ETF) are innovative energy financial product that reflects the cyclical supply and demand of energy. This paper employs the TVP-VAR-DY model to examine the dynamic volatility spillover effects within the energy ETF market in response to EPU shocks, as well as to...

Context: Dual apprenticeships (DA) are a type of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) that emphasize the development of work skills through collaboration between the education sector and the labour market. DA are believed to facilitate smoother transitions to work for youth by...

Context: The digital transformation affects vocational schools and poses new requirements on teaching as well as on schools as an organization. For schools, the implementation of digital technologies in everyday school life is an innovation that entails a lengthy and complex process of change,...

Context: Azerbaijan's vocational education and training (VET) system has undergone a significant reform, culminating in the enactment of the Law on Vocational Education in 2018. Despite not being a member of the European Union (EU) and lacking formal political, economic, or cultural alignment...

Context: Extensive theory-based research on academic and vocational education has long explored the connections between emotions, motivation, and learning as drivers of behavioral change in occupational contexts. Emotions and motivations play a crucial role in shaping how individuals and...

Context: Vocational training has been a critical issue in China, where large percentages are regularly cited for unemployment statistics. In addition, Chinese higher vocational education and training (HVET) students are from relatively disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and they are...

In international comparison, dual systems of vocational education and training are often considered to be more successful than school-based systems for managing sustainable transitions from school to work. This assessment is particularly valid for Switzerland, while the German dual system has...

Hohe Arbeitslosenquoten und eine relativ junge Bevölkerung stellen den Arbeitsmarkt und das Bildungsangebot der Region Emscher-Lippe vor Herausforderungen. Gleichzeitig bedingt die ökologische Transformation neue Ausbildungsanforderungen und erfordert Fachkräfte, was eine Chance für die...

Firm training is key to meeting changing skill demands, yet little is known about the role of workers' beliefs in shaping training participation. In a survey of 3,701 workers in Germany, we document that they expect substantial returns to firm training - both in terms of earnings and...

The objective of this policy note is to provide an overview of the status of digital skills in Nigeria from a comparative perspective and understand how prepared educational institutions are to help develop the digital skills of the population. First, the note summarizes the status of access to...

Identifying sensitive periods in which the returns to investments into skills are especially high is challenging, but crucial for an effective and efficient timing of parental or public investments aimed at fostering children's skills. We can detect sensitive periods with a novel design by...

We analyze the impact of AI-augmented training on worker productivity in a financial services company. The company introduced an AI tool that provides performance feedback on call center agents to guide their training. To estimate causal effects, we exploit the staggered roll out of the AI-tool....

In response to the growing importance of vocational education for youth employability, this study examines students' perceptions of dual vocational education and training (dVET) in Bulgaria, focusing on the following determinants of student loyalty (SL) and word-of-mouth communication (WOM) in...

This paper investigates how kinship and professional networks shaped labour market outcomes in early modern Genoa. Using a newly constructed dataset of over 8,000 apprenticeship contracts (1450-1530), I examine the extent to which kinship ties with masters or guild members influenced both entry...

Safety training in high-risk industries often lacks user-centric design, leading to ineffective learning outcomes. This study presents a novel framework to optimize Virtual Reality (VR) safety training by integrating two decision-making methods to align user needs with technical design. The...

Context: This study uses a social space approach to investigate Virtual Reality (VR)-based workplace learning in the context of apprenticeship training in the electronics industry in Switzerland. It was one part of a project which developed a prototype VR environment that enables apprentices to...

Context: Unlike education policy for general education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) policy often focuses on societal needs, ignoring the attitudes and subsequent behaviors of learners. As a result, the impact of TVET policies is not what was expected and sometimes even...

Purpose: In the evolving landscape of the 21st century, characterized by dynamic global challenges such as health crises, climate change, and rapid technological advancements, the imperative of lifelong learning has become more pronounced than ever. Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) plays a pivotal...

Purpose: This study examined how vocational education and training (VET) students' satisfaction of basic psychological needs in VET learning environments, namely autonomy, competence, and relatedness, is related to their burnout and intention to leave VET. Self- Determination Theory was employed...

Context: As part of vocational education and training, learning factories are a new, hands-on learning setting in which students can create products with realistic digital manufacturing equipment while still in vocational school. Given their novelty, learning factories have not yet been studied...

This publication, based on contributions from members of the Cedefop community of apprenticeship experts, sheds light on how selected incentives for learners and employers participating in apprenticeships across Europe are designed, introduced and received by their target groups. The evidence...

This study investigates the determinants shaping Construction 4.0 adoption in the Australian construction sector, with a focus on organisational integration and workforce skills development. Drawing on the technology-organisation-environment (TOE), resource-based view (RBV) and socio-technical...

This paper assesses the green tourism readiness of six EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe - Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania - using a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model. As tourism sectors face increasing pressure to align with the...

(1) Background/Purpose: Our research focuses on stakeholders' attitudes in the Slovak SME sector, which we assessed through a questionnaire. The ability to evolve and adapt continuously is critical for micro-enterprises in competitive markets. (2) Study Design/Methodology/Approach: The primary...

The Education and Training Monitor is the European Commission's annual report on EU education and training systems, tracking their progress towards reaching the seven EU-level targets adopted as part of the 2021 Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education...

Malta has made steady progress in increasing participation across all education levels and reducing early school leaving. However, it continues to face structural challenges that limit the equity, quality and labour market alignment of education and training. Learning outcomes remain among the...

Spain has one of the highest participation rates in early childhood education and care in the EU. Current efforts focus on supporting disadvantaged children through fee reductions and priority admission. The share of early leavers from education and training is falling and the decline in basic...

While Austrian students outperform most of their European peers, basic skills have decreased over the past decade. Education outcomes remain strongly linked to socio-economic and migrant background. Despite efforts to increase the number of places in ECEC, especially for under-3-year-olds, there...

The Netherlands has launched several measures to address the most persistent challenges to its education system: (i) staff shortages in early childhood education and care and school education; (ii) declining basic skills of its students; and (iii) an insufficient number of graduates in STEM...

Denmark faces considerable skills shortages. Although participation in STEM courses continues to increase, it remains below the EU average. Basic skills keep declining with every fifth student showing low skills, and less than 10% showing top performance. Socio-economic and migrant background...

Portugal is strengthening the ability of its education system to respond to labour market needs. Portugal has also made progress in increasing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) enrolment and modernising vocational education and training (VET). However, challenges remain in...

Polish students perform better than their European peers, but basic skills have sharply declined since 2018. Poland is progressing at pace with preparing a curriculum reform that focuses more on key competences. Measures were adopted to improve teachers' working conditions. However, shortages...

An underperforming education and training system weighs on Slovakia's labour market, innovation potential and competitiveness. Currently, one out of three students in Slovakia have insufficient basic skills, and educational performance has been declining. Absenteeism and early school leaving are...

Cyprus has rolled out a comprehensive education and training reform package in the last decade, but its impact is yet to be seen. Cypriot students recorded among the sharpest deterioration in basic skills in the EU, leading to an underachievement rate of above 50%. They also show lower level of...

Greece has met the 2030 EU-level targets on early leaving from education and training and is close to the target on tertiary educational attainment. However, major challenges persist in terms of acquisition of basic skills, in particular mathematics with almost every other student failing to...

Belgium maintains high levels of participation in early childhood education and care, but staff shortages and capacity problems exist. In school education, the Communities are implementing major reforms to improve educational quality and school accountability. Nonetheless, educational...

The provision of ECEC services has been largely improved both in terms of access and quality. A new system for early detection of special educational needs, adapted to Luxembourg's multilingual context, was introduced in 2025. Luxembourg addresses the high diversity of its school population by...