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Original Articles

The unbearable lightness of skill: the changing meaning of skill in UK policy discourses andsome implications for education and training

Pages 353-369 | Published online: 10 Nov 2010

Keep up to date with the latest research on this topic with citation updates for this article.

Read on this site (38)

Leesa Wheelahan, Gavin Moodie & James Doughney. (2022) Challenging the skills fetish. British Journal of Sociology of Education 43:3, pages 475-494.
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Hannu Räty, Katri Komulainen, Carita Harvorsén, Anna Nieminen & Maija Korhonen. (2018) University students’ perceptions of their ‘ability selves’ and employability: a pilot study. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy 4:2, pages 107-115.
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Aniek Draaisma, Frans Meijers & Marinka Kuijpers. (2018) The development of strong career learning environments: the project ‘Career Orientation and Guidance’ in Dutch vocational education. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 70:1, pages 27-46.
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Nanda Lodders & Frans Meijers. (2017) Collective learning, transformational leadership and new forms of careers guidance in universities. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling 45:5, pages 532-546.
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Deirdre Hughes, Bill Law & Frans Meijers. (2017) New school for the old school: career guidance and counselling in education. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling 45:2, pages 133-137.
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Aniek Draaisma, Frans Meijers & Marinka Kuijpers. (2017) Towards a strong career learning environment: results from a Dutch longitudinal study. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling 45:2, pages 165-177.
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Jim Hordern. (2017) Technical degrees and higher vocational education. Research in Post-Compulsory Education 22:1, pages 87-106.
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Ryosuke Fujinuma & Laura A. Wendling. (2015) Repeating Knowledge Application Practice to Improve Student Performance in a Large, Introductory Science Course. International Journal of Science Education 37:17, pages 2906-2922.
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Helena Rehn & Eva Eliasson. (2015) Caring disposition and subordination. Swedish health and social care teachers’ conceptions of important vocational knowledge. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 67:4, pages 558-577.
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Hongxia Shan & Andreas Fejes. (2015) Skill regime in the context of globalization and migration. Studies in Continuing Education 37:3, pages 227-235.
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Jim Hordern. (2015) An unfinished experiment: ambiguity and conflict in the implementation of higher skills policy. Research Papers in Education 30:2, pages 248-265.
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Jim Hordern. (2015) Higher apprenticeships and the shaping of vocational knowledge. Research in Post-Compulsory Education 20:1, pages 17-34.
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Ewart Keep & Ken Mayhew. (2014) Inequality – ‘wicked problems’, labour market outcomes and the search for silver bullets. Oxford Review of Education 40:6, pages 764-781.
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Alex Standish. (2014) What is global education and where is it taking us?. The Curriculum Journal 25:2, pages 166-186.
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Jim Hordern. (2014) How is vocational knowledge recontextualised?. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 66:1, pages 22-38.
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Joe Painter. (2013) Regional Biopolitics. Regional Studies 47:8, pages 1235-1248.
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Ross Fergusson & Nicola Yeates. (2013) Business, as usual: the policy priorities of the World Bank's discourses on youth unemployment, and the global financial crisis. Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy 29:1, pages 64-78.
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Rob Strathdee. (2012) The social composition of VET in New Zealand. Globalisation, Societies and Education 10:1, pages 53-76.
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Dean Stroud & Peter Fairbrother. (2008) The importance of workplace learning for trade unions: a study of the steel industry. Studies in Continuing Education 30:3, pages 231-245.
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Caroline Lloyd. (2008) Recruiting for fitness: qualifications and the challenges of an employer‐led system. Journal of Education and Work 21:3, pages 175-195.
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Manuel Souto Otero. (2007) Further education provider specialisation: international experiences and lessons for England. Research in Post-Compulsory Education 12:2, pages 193-207.
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Nigel Spinks, NicholasL. J. Silburn & David W. Birchall. (2007) Making it all work: the engineering graduate of the future, a UK perspective. European Journal of Engineering Education 32:3, pages 325-335.
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Michael Watts & David Bridges. (2006) The value of non‐participation in higher education. Journal of Education Policy 21:3, pages 267-290.
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Simon McGrath, Salim Akoojee, Anthony Gewer, Mahlubi Mabizela, Nimrod Mbele & Jennifer Roberts. (2006) An examination of the vocational education and training reform debate in Southern Africa. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 36:1, pages 85-103.
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Jill Sanguinetti, Peter Waterhouse & David Maunders. (2005) Pedagogies on the edge: researching complex practice in youth and adult community education. Studies in Continuing Education 27:3, pages 271-287.
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Anthea Taylor . (2005) What employers look for: the skills debate and the fit with youth perceptions. Journal of Education and Work 18:2, pages 201-218.
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Ian Cornford. (2005) Challenging current policies and policy makers' thinking on generic skills. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 57:1, pages 25-45.
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Harm Biemans, Loek Nieuwenhuis, Rob Poell, Martin Mulder & Renate Wesselink. (2004) Competence-based VET in the Netherlands: background and pitfalls. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 56:4, pages 523-538.
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Denis Gleeson & Ewart Keep. (2004) Voice without accountability: the changing relationship between employers, the state and education in England. Oxford Review of Education 30:1, pages 37-63.
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Caroline Lloyd & Jonathan Payne. (2003) The political economy of skill and the limits of educational policy. Journal of Education Policy 18:1, pages 85-107.
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Caroline Lloyd & Jonathan Payne. (2002) Developing a Political Economy of Skill. Journal of Education and Work 15:4, pages 365-390.
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Sue Clegg & Katie McNulty. (2002) Partnership working in delivering social inclusion: organizational and gender dynamics. Journal of Education Policy 17:5, pages 587-601.
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Dean Stroud, Luca Antonazzo & Martin Weinel. “Green skills" and the emergent property of “greening”. Policy Studies 0:0, pages 1-20.
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