Christopher Vas

Framing the Policy Analysis of OECD and Australian VET Interaction: Two Heuristics of Policy Transfer

Abstract This article considers the recent refurbishment of Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy and highlights the substantial, though unacknowledged, influence of OECD ideas thereupon. It claims that this case study strengthens policy transfer analysts’ understanding of the role of international organizations in the policy transfer process. The article argues that the influence of the OECD can be articulated as a channel of policy transfer via two connected perspectives: first, the OECD’s use of peer review mechanisms induces ideational competition and conformity between member states; and, second, by virtue of the OECD’s expertise and resources in select policy areas, it operates as a form of epistemic community that privileges some policy options over others.

An incubation perspective on social innovation: the London Hub – a social incubator

In the context of incubators, particularly those that are driven to achieving social objectives, this paper investigates core processes that support the development of social innovation. Social innovation, as this paper argues, is underpinned by a new form of social collaboration and engagement built upon strong forms of sharing knowledge and learning. Coupled with this is the element of social capital reinforced by entrepreneurship and leadership that promotes sustainability in the community. These factors drive innovative thinking and ways of engaging among stakeholders in order to create new forms of socio-economic impact. Such value-creating activity occurs in firms that operate within incubators involving a wide range of stakeholders who work through networks to co-create and meet social challenges. Through a case study of a social incubator and an incubatee, we demonstrate the core processes that irradiate the argument on social innovation. The contribution of this paper is threefold: First, social innovation is an emerging area of research, of which there is a dearth in terms of examining the processes empirically. We address the gap in this field by demonstrating the value of social collaboration and engagement using different innovation models. Second, we establish links between social innovation and incubation using the concept of social capital. This allows us to achieve our third contribution: exemplification of a dyadic value-based partnership and collaboration processes between an incubator and an incubatee, through activities driven by social innovation that aim to have social impact. The paper concludes with practice implications and suggests directions for future research.

The challenges of state intervention in Singapore’s youth labour market

Purpose This paper assesses the efficacy of the policy measures to encourage young Singaporeans to pursue employment in the manufacturing sector while at the same time discouraging the sector’s traditional dependence on low cost foreign labour. In doing so, the paper sheds light on the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SME) as well as the less than optimum impact the policy rhetoric has had on redirecting the aspirations of young people away from tertiary qualifications attainment and towards vocational skills development. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on primary survey data of 222 manufacturing firms and in-depth interviews with 20 SME leaders in Singapore. Findings The paper argues that despite the Government’s policy efforts to encourage the employment of young Singaporeans in the manufacturing sector the impact has been negligible. Even with moves to increase the transaction costs of employing foreign workers, the findings indicate that SMEs have not changed their staffin...

The Transition from Graduation to Work: Challenges and Strategies in Singapore

While historically Singapore has not experienced an employability problem, in recent years the reduced availability of foreign labour, and the political–economic imperative to increase domestic labour force participation has underscored issues surrounding work-readiness, skills and competencies and the transition from education to employment. On the demand-side, the government has responded to this by encouraging small- and medium-sized businesses (particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors) to automate and mechanise to the extent possible through generous grants and subsidies for investing in technology. On the supply-side, the government has introduced reforms to upskill and expand the competencies of the domestic workforce. This chapter explores all these issues and presents several innovative case studies which illustrate how Singapore is addressing these issues.