 Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
It is with deep sadness that the Canadian Vocational Association (CVA) announces the passing of Pierre Morin, a cherished colleague, mentor, and friend. His loss leaves a profound void in our organization and in the field of competency management, where he dedicated his career to helping others grow and succeed.
Pierre was more than just an expert in competency analysis, competency-based program development, and performance management—he was a leader with a vision, a teacher with a passion, and above all, a man with a big heart. As the CVA’s DACUM Training Coordinator, he played a pivotal role in shaping vocational education in Canada and around the world. Since 1995, his expertise has guided countless professionals, and his legacy will continue to influence generations to come. Interested in receiving the CVA/ACFP free bi-monthly Newsletter? Our #DACUM training calendar 2025 For more information on DACUM or write to dacum@cva-acfp.org Join our online community -Scoop.It! @Canadian Vocational Association / Association canadienne de la formation professionnelle
In a globalized world, education, especially vocational education and training, is becoming increasingly important for economic growth and social stability. Internationalization has become a central topic in this field and can be considered a key aspect for a sustainable education system.
Many countries, including developing and newly industrializing countries as well as countries with school-based vocational education and training systems, are undertaking reform efforts in order to meet the growing qualification requirements and increase the employability of young people. The increased competitiveness of the TVET system that this aims to achieve is set to influence the competitiveness of local SMEs in the country as well.
One example of such reform efforts is Georgia. Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg is supporting the Georgian vocational training reform by building up and increasing capacities for vocational training research. Local universities are brought together with the Georgian Ministry of Education, business stakeholders and German TVET experts in order to achieve sustainable and multiplicative effects.
The project includes the establishment of a doctoral program at the partner university in Tbilisi. The results will be summarized in this book, combining the national perspective with international development trends in the academization of teachers in vocational education and training.
Artificial intelligence has become the new geopolitical fault line – and universities now sit squarely on it. Washington’s export-control regime blocks sales and technical support for advanced AI chips to China; Beijing, for its part, requires recommendation algorithms and generative-AI models to be filed with – and in some cases to be licensed by – state regulators; and Brussels has approved the world’s first cross-sector ‘trustworthy AI’ act.
These rival rule-sets decide who may collaborate, what data may cross borders and which discoveries become strategic assets.
Universities that misread this terrain risk forfeiting funding, partnerships and, ultimately, academic freedom itself. How can universities protect – and even strengthen – their missions amid such a fragmented AI policy regime?
First, we need to map the fault lines of today’s competitive landscape of national AI rules, based on our analysis of national AI policy.
Second, we need to arm university leaders with four lenses – structural, political, human-resource-related and symbolic – to navigate the turbulence, reinforcing governance, recalibrating diplomacy, retraining talent and reaffirming ethical purpose.
For many young women in construction, their journey begins with uncertainty. The physically demanding tasks and the male-dominated industry can feel overwhelming and challenging. Daria Mahera, a third-year student training to be a painter-plasterer and tiler, was no exception. "The first year of training was tough. I doubted my choice and thought, 'Why am I doing this?'" she recalls.
But as she received guidance from instructors and gained experience, her perspective shifted. Over time, Daria not only gained confidence in her skills but also developed a passion that led her to dream bigger – towards a future in design and architecture.
Her transformation is just one example of how the EdUP project is equipping young women in Ukraine with the skills, knowledge and confidence to thrive in construction careers.
Before our show starts today, I just wanna take a minute to note the passing of Professor Claire Callender, OBE. For the last two and a half decades, she’s been one of the most important figures in UK higher education studies, in particular with respect to student loans and student finance. Holder of a joint professorship at UCL Institute of Education and Birkbeck University of London, she was also instrumental in setting up the ESRC Centre for Global Higher Education, of which she later became deputy director. I just want to quote the short obituary that her colleague Simon Marginson wrote for her last week after her passing from lung cancer. He said, “What we’ll remember about Claire is the way she focused her formidable capacity for rational thought on matters to which she was committed, her gravitas that held the room when speaking, and the warmth that she evoked without fail in old and new acquaintances.”
s empower workers in the AI revolution
Abstract
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has transformed academic learning, offering both opportunities and challenges for students’ development. This study investigates the impact of AI technologies on students’ learning processes and academic performance, with a focus on their perceptions and the challenges associated with AI adoption. Conducted at the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, this research involved second-year students who had direct experience with AI-enhanced learning environments. Using purposive sampling, 85 participants were selected to ensure relevance. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire comprising 11 items as follows: seven closed-ended questions assessing perceptions, usage, and the effectiveness of AI tools; and four open-ended questions exploring experiences, expectations, and concerns. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequency and percentage calculations, while qualitative responses were subjected to thematic analysis, incorporating both vertical (individual responses) and horizontal (cross-dataset) approaches to ensure comprehensive theme identification. The findings reveal that AI offers significant benefits, including personalized learning, improved academic outcomes, and enhanced student engagement. However, challenges such as over-reliance on AI, diminished critical thinking skills, data privacy risks, and academic dishonesty were also identified. The study underscores the necessity of a structured framework for AI integration, supported by ethical guidelines, to maximize benefits while mitigating risks. In conclusion, while AI holds immense potential to enhance learning efficiency and academic performance, its successful implementation requires addressing concerns related to accuracy, cognitive disengagement, and ethical implications. A balanced approach is essential to ensure equitable, effective, and responsible learning experiences in AI-enhanced educational environments.
Keywords: artificial intelligence in education; academic development; personalized learning; education technology; student engagement; critical thinking
📌The gig economy is rapidly expanding, creating new opportunities and challenges for workers worldwide. The GIZ report "Learning for Platform-Based Gig Work" provides a deep dive into the role of micro and digital credentials in shaping the future of skills and employability in platform-based work
🎯 Here are the key takeaways:
✅ Micro-Credentials: A Game Changer for the Gig Economy
Micro-credentials offer a flexible, industry-relevant way for workers to upskill and showcase expertise. While they are increasingly recognized, challenges remain in quality assurance, standardization, and employer recognition
💼 TVET & Digital Learning for Gig Work
TVET institutions are key to ensuring skills development aligns with labor market needs. Collaboration between TVET, industry, and policymakers is essential to integrate micro-credentials effectively
📈 Portability & Recognition: The Missing Link
A lack of globally agreed definitions and quality standards hinders the portability of micro-credentials across platforms and borders. More efforts are needed to create frameworks that ensure recognition across industries
📉 Barriers to Access & Inclusion
Cost, internet access, and digital literacy remain significant barriers, particularly for women and marginalized workers in the Global South. Governments and platforms must invest in digital infrastructure and affordable training opportunitiesCliquez ici pour éditer le contenu
The Government of Canada works in collaboration with the provinces, territories and Canadian learning and career development organizations to provide Canadians with the information and services they need to decide what and where to study and how to cover the costs of education.
Using the second wave of the European Skills and Jobs survey, this paper measures the relationship between technological change that automates or augments workers’ job tasks and their participation in work-related training. We find that 58 per cent of European employees experienced no change in the need to learn new technologies in their jobs during the 2020-21 period. Of those exposed to new digital technology, 14 per cent did not experience any change in job tasks, 10 per cent reported that new tasks had been created while 5 per cent only saw some of their tasks being displaced by new technology. The remaining 13 per cent simultaneously experienced both task displacement and task
creation. Our analysis shows that employees in jobs impacted by new digital technologies are more likely to have to react to unpredictable situations, thus demonstrating a positive link between technologically driven task disruption and job complexity. We show a strong linear relationship between technologically driven job task disruption and the need for job-related training, with training requirements increasing the greater the impact of new
technologies on task content.
Description
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way learning and development (L&D) professionals design, deliver, and scale training, but myths, fears, and uncertainties still hold many back. Join Training Magazine for an exclusive webinar featuring Nikki Le, head of impact evaluation at Google, as she demystifies AI and provides practical strategies for effectively integrating it into your L&D toolkit.
From content creation and instructional design to performance feedback and AI-powered research, this session will help you move beyond the hype and into hands-on implementation. Discover how Google's AI tools—like Notebook LM—can streamline your workflow, enhance learning experiences, and empower your team with credible, well-structured AI outputs. You'll leave with concrete steps and resources to confidently incorporate AI into your learning programs.
Key Takeaways:
Break the AI barrier. Overcome fears and misconceptions about AI's role in L&D, including concerns about job security and credibility.
Practical AI playbook. Explore real-world applications, from writing learning objectives to refining feedback and generating training content.
Prompt like a pro. Access a prompt library and learn how to craft effective AI queries to optimize your results.
This research studies the relations and articulations between two schools from the Antofagasta Region, located in the mining north of Chile, and three of mining companies in the country, which have part of their main operations in the surrounding territories of these schools. This study interrogates the forms of articulation between these schools and the companies, analyzing the main actions, agendas and institutional purposes that both the schools and the companies seek regarding each institutional needs and perspectives. We critically examine these articulations and relationships because, as a result of Chilean public policy in the area of TVET, which is intended to be an industry demand-oriented training policy, the mining industry is actively influencing the school training processes and curriculum, which does not necessarily result in the acquisition of relevant and significant skills for students. This study was designed from a qualitative approach, through the application of two-rounds of situated in-depth interviews to schools’ managers and professionals from mining companies from the north region of Chile. The findings illustrate the ways in which different efforts, contributions and formative actions provided by the companies are reshaping the educational processes inside the schools, establishing educational agendas that expect to provide more efficient alignments between the schools and the companies’ labor needs. Specifically, the paper argues that mining industry companies promote a reduced technical skills approach. This does not include long-term educational planning within the schools, and alternative technical, relational and transformational approaches to skills are absent. The former conventional notions of vocational education and training are being challenged by theoretical and empirical literature. A critical discussion on the skills agenda setting in VET systems is also presented. This study offers an original analytical review and an in-depth study on the dynamics and discourses that articulate and motivate the collaboration between VET schools and mining companies in the Chilean North.
|
Explore competency-based education and its impact on modern learning. This post delves into key concepts, terminology, and real-world applications. We'll examine nationwide implementation, successful models, and strategies for educator development. Gain insights into how this approach is reshaping education for today's learners.
Defining Competency-Based Education
Competency-based education is a learning approach that focuses on what students can do rather than how long they spend in a classroom. It's all about making sure students actually master skills and knowledge, not just sit through lectures. In this system, students move forward when they show they've learned something, not when a certain amount of time has passed.
Unlike traditional education, where everyone moves at the same pace, competency-based education lets students learn at their own speed. Fast learners can zoom ahead, while those who need more time can take it without falling behind. It's like having a personalized learning path for each student.
This approach also changes how we think about grades. Instead of A's, B's, and C's, students get feedback on specific skills they've mastered. Teachers act more like coaches, helping students understand what they need to learn and how to get there. It's a big shift from the old "one-size-fits-all" way of teaching.
Competency-based education is shaking things up in schools and colleges. It's making learning more about real skills and less about just showing up to class. As we move forward, this approach could change how we think about education and what it means to be "educated."
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) promise to improve productivity significantly, but there are many questions about how AI could affect jobs and workers.
Recent technical innovations have driven the rapid development of generative AI systems, which produce text, images, or other content based on user requests - advances which have the potential to complement or replace human labor in specific tasks, and to reshape demand for certain types of expertise in the labor market.
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work evaluates recent advances in AI technology and their implications for economic productivity, the workforce, and education in the United States. The report notes that AI is a tool with the potential to enhance human labor and create new forms of valuable work - but this is not an inevitable outcome. Tracking progress in AI and its impacts on the workforce will be critical to helping inform and equip workers and policymakers to flexibly respond to AI developments.
From the AI boom to the 2024 Budget, employees in 2025 will need to be more strategic than they’ve ever been to get, and stay ahead, in their respective industries. According to a report by Telegraph Money, job vacancies in 2024 have fallen to pre-pandemic levels, by 13.5% to be specific, the lowest since March-May 2021.
As the 2024 Budget means higher operating costs for businesses, more employers are cutting back on hiring, but where does this leave an employee in 2025? Keep reading to learn what skills, sectors and jobs you should focus on to put your career at an advantage.
Amidst war, Ukraine’s resilience is evident not only in its ability to withstand external challenges but also in its commitment to rebuilding from within. Vocational education, once overlooked, is now at the forefront of the country’s recovery, playing a crucial role in reconstructing and stabilising the economy.
The SDC-funded EdUP project, implemented by Swisscontact in Ukraine, is driving innovation and collaboration, fostering collaboration by bringing together businesses, vocational education institutions, and government stakeholders to equip the next generation with the skills needed to rebuild the nation. Our mission is clear: to ensure that Ukrainian youth and workers have access to high-quality, market-relevant training that meets the demands of industries today and in the future.
Based on an analysis of Bangladesh and Switzerland, and focusing on vocational education and training, the article discusses why qualifications frameworks often do not have the impact that policymakers expect them to have. Drawing on an historical-institutionalist reading of the literature, it argues, in general terms, that this lack of effective implementation stems from existing institutions and from key actors in the respective VET systems who cling to and benefit from these existing institutions. On a more specific level, the article adds to this institutionalist reading by arguing that ineffective implementation of NQFs needs to be interpreted in the broader context of educational expansion and the social conflicts manifested in this process. Particular attention should be paid to the phenomenon of academic drift, which, as the two case studies suggest, affects the implementation of NQFs in different ways.
From industry trends to competencies within TVET
This publication proposes approaches to facilitate the dual transition in hospitality and tourism, structured around the identification of emerging green and digital competencies in a timely manner, their integration into future-oriented curricula, and their effective implementation in TVET. Drawing on practical examples from Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe, it offers actionable recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.
Europe faces significant demographic shifts, while rapid digitalisation and the green transition are reshaping industries and societies, creating both challenges and opportunities in the labour market. To ensure a resilient and competitive economy, the European Union (EU) must invest in equipping its workforce with future-proof skills. At the heart of this transformation are vocational education and training (VET) teachers, who play a pivotal role in preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow.
This research examined VET teachers’ understanding of how people learn, and how they cater to the learning needs and preferences of their students across a range of different contexts. It found that most VET teachers use a similar overarching strategy in their teaching that aims to enable a diversity of students to learn effectively. It also describes what is needed to enable the implementation of good teaching practices, including support for new teachers, dedicated time and space to learn and use new teaching skills, and recognising the skills and human element of good VET teaching.
The Government of Canada works in collaboration with the provinces, territories and Canadian learning and career development organizations to provide Canadians with the information and services they need to decide what and where to study and how to cover the costs of education.
What the History of Technological Change Tells Us About the Likely Economic Consequences of Artificial Intelligence - Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging General Purpose Technology (GPT). That is, it is an innovation that can be used for many activities across different industries and sectors and can be expected to have a major impact on economies, including on labour markets.
- Substantial controversy surrounds AI; some technologists and AI experts are calling for strict government regulation of AI to prevent socially undesirable consequences, including mass unemployment and even machine subjugation of humans.
- The economic consequences of earlier GPTs, such as the printing press, the steam engine, the telephone, and computers, should help inform expectations about the likely effects of AI.
- Studies of earlier GPTs show that the adoption process is slow. Indeed, it can take decades for the original innovation to be improved to the point that it is commercially beneficial for use by a wide range of potential adopters. It also takes time for new uses of GPT to be identified and for complementary investments to be made so that new uses are financially and technically viable.
- GPTs profoundly improve productivity and standards of living. While some economic activities contract along with the demand for specific occupational skills, employment losses are more than offset by increased demand for new occupational skills, often in new business activities.
- The experience with AI to date suggests that it will have similar consequences to those of other GPTs.
This study examines the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on employment, wages, and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The paper identifies tasks and occupations most exposed to AI using comprehensive individual-level data alongside AI exposure indices. Unlike traditional automation, AI exposure correlates positively with higher education levels, ICT, and STEM skills. Notably, younger workers and women with high-level ICT and managerial skills face increased AI exposure, underscoring unique opportunities. A comparison of LAC with the OECD countries reveals greater impacts of AI in the former, with physical and customer-facing tasks showing divergent correlations to
AI exposure. The findings indicate that while AI contributes to employment growth at the top and bottom of wage quintiles, its wage impact strongly depends on the movement of workers from the middle class to below the wage mean of the high-level quintile of wages, hence decreasing the average income of the top quintile.
While Canada gets decent grades in numeracy, literacy and problem-solving, the country is not a superstar performer.
From neighbourhood rinks to packed NHL arenas, Canadians have long been among the most skilled players in the world – from Connor McDavid, Marie-Philip Poulin and Sidney Crosby to Guy Lafleur and Bobby Orr.
But off the rink, how well do Canadians fare when it comes to the skills needed in an increasingly complex world of work?
Not bad, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In its 2023 decennial study of adult skills across 31 countries and economies, Canadians showcased strengths. The question is, in the arena of work, are we putting on a superstar performance? And if not, why not?
This research explores how skill imbalances are expected to evolve over the next two decades, driven by technology adoption and demographic shifts. As automation and AI technologies continue to grow, what skills will employers be looking for? What policies do we need to stem the tide of growing skill shortages in critical industries? How can data be used to adapt curricula to address current and future skill requirements? Solutions call for a range of measures, from interventions across education levels to improved integration of immigrant talent.
|
