UNESCO-UNEVOC Logo

Logo UNESCO-UNEVOC

UNESCO-UNEVOC Logo open menu
 

About Us

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre: Who We Are | What We Do | Working With Us | Get in Touch


Our Network

The UNEVOC Network: Learn About the Network | UNEVOC Network Directory
For Members: UNEVOC Centre Dashboard


Skills for Work and Life

Thematic Areas: Inclusion and Youth | Digital Transformation | Private Sector Engagement | SDGs and Greening TVET
Our Key Programmes & Projects: BILT: Bridging Innovation and Learning in TVET | Building TVET resilience | TVET Leadership Programme | WYSD: World Youth Skills Day
Past Activities: COVID-19 response | i-hubs project | TVET Global Forums | Virtual Conferences | YEM Knowledge Portal


Knowledge Resources

Our Services & Resources: Publications | TVET Forum | TVET Country Profiles | TVETipedia Glossary | Innovative and Promising Practices | Toolkits for TVET Providers | Entrepreneurial Learning Guide
Events: Major TVET Events | UNEVOC Network News


Further reading on "Skills"

UNESCO-UNEVOC has compiled a short selection of academic or professional articles that might help to clarify the signification and the use of the term "skills". It goes thus beyond the definitions stored in TVETipedia while not pretending to offer an exhaustive bibliography on the topic.

Do you know about relevant resources that could be added to the list ? Please contact us or share it on our e-Forum!




A European skills framework? – but what are skills ? Anglo-Saxon versus German concepts. By Linda Clarke; Christopher Winch.

This academic article, written 2 years before the implementation of the European Qualifications framework, highlights how crucial the definition of skill is for projects demanding global cooperation: In order to assess skill differential between European countries, the term "skill" has to be defined and translated. But can "skill" be translated ?

In the selected quote, the authors presents the "conceptual structure of skill" and its connotations in English, ending-up concluding on its ambiguity.


The Meaning of Skills in Global Reports,By Peliwe Lolwana

Global reports offer excellent illustrations of the ambiguity of 'skill'. This recent paper (2013) presents striking examples from EFA, OECD and Mckinsey transcripted through the 3 selected quotes.


What Skills are we Talking About? Comparing the Global Monitoring Report 2012 and South African Skills Development By Lesley Powell

Global reports' definition of skills might appear irrelevant when brought to the national scale. This paper gives an interesting (and critical) insight through the case of South Africa.

In the selected quote, the author highlights the limits of "foundation skills" as defined by the GMR, when confronted to the reality of the south African labour market.


Can we avoid another vague skills goal, By Robert Palmer

"The immense difficulty in crafting wording around a skill goal" is well explained by this blog article(Norrag), as well as what is at stakes here: The post-2015 discussions have started, raising strong interest among stakeholders. But "where is this apparent interest heading in terms of a technical and vocational skills goal or target?" asks the author.

In the selected quotes, he mentions the example of "life skills" before suggesting paths of improvement.


This article is an element of the TVETipedia Glossary.




Share: Facebook   Twitter


 

unevoc.unesco.org

Data privacy notice | Contacts | © UNESCO-UNEVOC