Article Gold Open Access 2025

Innovation, technician skills, and vocational education and training: connecting innovation systems and vocational education and training

LP
Lewis, Paul A.
Journal of Vocational Education and Training
Journal · Vol. 77 · Issue 2 · pp. 364-391
Abstract

The paper adds to the literature on vocational education and training by developing an account of the role played by technicians, and vocational education and training, in innovation. It also fills a gap in the innovation systems literature by analysing the neglected role of technicians and providers of vocational education and training in innovation. It outlines technicians’ contribution to innovation, sets out a theoretical framework for analysing the role of providers of vocational education and training in the innovation system, and discusses what ‘system failure’ involves in this context, as well as possible policy responses, using England as a case study. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Training Innovation apprnticeships innovation systems system failure Technicians

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Department of Political Economy, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
Funding & Acknowledgements
George Mason University, GMU
I am very grateful to Bill Bonvillian, Ewart Keep, Ken Mayhew, and Alison Wolf for helpful comments on, and discussions about, earlier versions of this paper. Two anonymous referees also provided useful comments. I am grateful also to the F. A. Hayek Programme, based at the Mercatus Centre at George Mason University, for financial assistance, provided under the auspices of its Work and Dependency project.
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