New routes to higher education and employment?

Changes to higher education advance ever higher up the agenda of modern governments and, in Britain, higher education is increasingly judged by policymakers according to its ability to support transitions to employment.

Recent changes to post-secondary education in Britain draw heavily on international experience. Two-year qualifications like foundation degrees owe much to the associate degrees studied for over half a century in America, while higher and degree apprenticeships echo of countries where much of higher education is explicitly oriented to the world of work.

What can be learned from this international experience? The second seminar of our international series, held on 4 July 2018, addressed the challenges of diversified higher education. Leesa Wheelahan of the University of Toronto, internationally-renowned expert on both higher and vocational education, drew on important research studies to throw further light on these questions.

How do higher education systems shift between these powerful international models? Can higher education meet demands to provide transitions to work and yet offer access to valued knowledge? What is the role of colleges and non-university institutions in supporting progression to employment and higher education?