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This article examines the rise of the discourse on lifelong learning across Europe and the variety of national policy trends which its rhetoric occludes. The ubiquitous presence of this meta-discourse in education and training policy-in-theory is seen as a singular event, which can be ascribed to the impact of the variety of global forces on the education arena. It serves specific political functions in addition to signalling real changes in education and training systems. The duality of convergent rhetoric and divergent policy-in-practise is seen as a challenge to education policy analysis which requires multi-layered interpretation.

The German vocational system has faced significant challenges since 1990, including the impact of German unification; challenges posed by globalisation and the shift from a production-based to a post-Fordist economy; changes related to the European Union, migration, and immigration; and demographic changes within Germany that have affected both students and teachers in the system. The following article details these challenges and their impact on the German vocational system, and then reviews a number of structural responses being implemented to address these challenges. These responses include the creation of new and modernised occupations; attempts to increase the number of training placements for youth; efforts to improve coordination and cooperation among all partners; specialised pilot projects to address specific challenges; and an expansion in the traditional model of the 'dual system'. While these efforts have benefited a large number of young people, the author contends that they have not completely addressed the challenges in the system, especially the need to more accurately project economic needs and then train accordingly. Moreover, despite attempts to create better transparency, the added forms have made the system more confusing and complex. The author suggests that it is worth questioning the continued relevance of the Berufskonzept for the system as a whole, and that it would be useful to open up a discussion of possible reforms on a deeper structural level.

Current health policies emphasize partnership between professional groups, between agencies and with users, to ensure more integrated health and social care services. However, a number of reasons have been consistently identified as inhibiting interprofessional working. Among the many factors identified are poor communication, conflicting power relations and role confusion, and these present immense challenges to those who wish to offer interprofessional education and training opportunities. East Gloucestershire NHS Trust worked in partnership with the University of Gloucestershire (formerly the Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education) to overcome these problems and deliver an important postqualifying interprofessional training for those working with people with serious mental illness - the Thorn-based 'Diploma in Integrated Approaches to Serious Mental Illness'. This collaborative initiative represents a good model by which practitioners of all disciplines can be trained to a high standard and meet the requirements of the National Service Framework for Mental Health. This paper describes the initiative and identifies the extent to which the course has, by mirroring the practice it is seeking to generate, 'pulled together' to ensure interprofessional, intersectoral and professional/user collaboration. The key challenges associated with interprofessional working (with people with serious mental illness and with others) and with course implementation and how these were met are discussed and further opportunities are identified.

[No abstract available]

We used meta-analysis to review 55 evaluations of the effects of mentoring programs on youth. Overall, findings provide evidence of only a modest or small benefit of program participation for the average youth. Program effects are enhanced significantly, however, when greater numbers of both theory- based and empirically based "best practices" are utilized and, when strong relationships are formed between mentors and youth. Youth from backgrounds of environmental risk and disadvantage appear most likely to benefit from participation in mentoring programs. Outcomes for youth at-risk due to personal vulnerabilities have varied substantially in relation to program characteristics, with a noteworthy potential evident for poorly implemented programs to actually have an adverse effect on such youth. Recommendations include greater adherence to guidelines for the design and implementation of effective mentoring programs as well as more in-depth assessment of relationship and contextual factors in the evaluation of programs.

The potential significance of employers' collective action for economic performance is widely acknowledged, but has not been complemented with corresponding theory-guided research on the probability of collective action and the conditions for effective action. This article examines the nature of, the conditions for, and the consequences of employers' collective action on further training, a crucial component of a successful high-skill strategy for industries and nations. The collective action perspective shares the core assumptions of human-capital theory, but integrates the possibility of collective action as a solution to some of the market failures associated with investment in transferable human capital. This alternative view also predicts in what labour-market settings such action is likely to occur, building on Olson's work and theories of employers' collective action. We suggest that employers' collective action is more likely to succeed in ensuring transferability and encouraging employee investment than is the use of sanctions against employers to promote employer-financed transferable training.

Objectives: The objective of this controlled intervention study was to quantify the efficacy of skin protection (SP) measures and ultraviolet B (UVB) hardening in the prevention of hand dermatitis in bakers' apprentices. Method: SP measures were compared against UVB hardening in a controlled clinical trial of 94 apprentices. The apprentices were assigned to the intervention arms class-wise. Bakers' apprentices involved in a previous follow-up study served as additional controls representing no intervention. The apprentices were interviewed and examined in a standardised was at the beginning of the training and at 4 monthly follow-ups. Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was measured at the back of the hands. Results: Demographic profile and atopy criteria were equally distributed in the two intervention arms and the control group. Point prevalence of hand dermatitis after 6 months was highest in the controls (29.1%) followed by the UVB (19.4%) and the SP group (13.3%). UVB hardening and SP measures reduced hand dermatitis prevalence by 9.7% (95%CI: -8.5 to 28.1) and 15.7% (95%CI: -2.4 to 33.9), respectively. Application of SP measures reduced the odds ratios (ORs) for hand dermatitis 0.8-fold (95%CI: 0.17-3.70) and 0.33-fold (95%CI: 0.09-1.23) compared with the UVB group and the controls, respectively. These clinical trends were confirmed by statistically significant differences in TEWL values. TEWL values were consistently higher in the UVB group than in the SP group (P = 0.002). Conclusions: This study provided evidence, based on significant differences in TEWL levels, that general SP measures may be more effective than UV light hardening of the skin, which in turn was more effective than no intervention. This trend was supported by the frequency of development of clinical hand dermatitis, although differences did not reach statistical significance. A multi-centre trial is recommended to confirm the efficacy of SP measures in a larger randomised study. © Springer-Verlag 2002.

During the VT year the VDP and the trainer could choose to progressively check and complete each of the competencies listed and using the skills evaluation document make the appropriate record. Any areas of further training needs would be identified and a learning plan implemented. The whole process would be supervised by the VT advisor group who could be the resource for further training or support in conjunction with the VDP and trainer. This would be a self evaluation with external validation by the trainer and advisor group similar to the AEGD model in the USA.5, 6 This would be an assessment that was valid reliable and feasible as indentified by Freeman.8 The use of a skills evaluation procedure would be similar to a LEP which would support the validity of the process.10 A record of completion of each key skill (competency) could be made using the supplied paper work and presented periodically as a log of achievement to the VT Advisor group. Of course the whole process also relies on the fact that the trainers need to be competent themselves in using practice based assessment, and an appropriately resourced pilot programme will be needed to make this an effective tool in assessing the overall competency of new graduates in vocational training.

This article explores the use made of humour in three different private sector organizations. It draws on observations of managers working towards a management qualification and, from the jokes they exchange, it argues that studying humour may offer insights into sentiments not easily articulated in 'serious' conversation. Humour's ambiguity enables contentious statements to be made without fear of recrimination. Equally, constructing jokes by juxtaposing two different frames of reference provides a glimpse of alternative (and shared) perceptions of 'reality', This sensitivity to complexity makes humour a particularly appropriate vehicle for conveying ambitions, subversions, triumphs and failures and this article considers some of the 'serious' messages underlying the jokes.

An action research study using a series of staged focus groups with senior house officers (SHOs) and educational supervisors (ES) was used to identify the perceptions of the strengths and challenges in the SHO training programme and to indicate areas for improvement. The basic findings were not entirely surprising, with SHOs wanting more detailed feedback from educational supervisors and educational supervisors challenged (by time constraints and competing clinical and research responsibilities) in meeting the expectations of the SHOs. However the novel approach of using staged focus groups enhanced the educational supervisors' perception of the SHOs' view of their training and the SHOs' perception of the challenges faced by educational supervisors. Thus a culture of dialogue was created which supported change and innovation. This process was able to directly inform and influence the development of a new induction programme for SHOs and provide valuable insight into the use of the portfolio of learning and the provision of study opportunities. These findings may only be of local interest, however the method employed can be transferred to other contexts to support a grass roots approach to change. Indeed, since this study has been completed, the method has been replicated in a medical setting.