Who is interested in retail education?:The (mis)match between the leading universities’ offerings and job demand in UK

Purpose. Retail management have acquired the attention of scholars and practitioners, with many international and prestigious journals specifically relating to the topic. Also, top-tier journals in other disciplines have proposed special issues on the new advances in retailing, with emphasis on the role of new and smart technologies. On the one hand, the research in retailing seems to be prolific, on the other hand, the interest in retail education (from a research and university perspective) seems to be more limited. The aim of this paper is to capture the (mis) match between the leading universities’ offerings and job demand in UK. In this way, the paper identifies opportunities for educators and researchers in order to educate future career-ready professionals in retailing, and improve research in retail education. Design/Methodology/Approach. The research evaluates the offer of UK retail education in terms of programmes/courses, focusing on the Russell Group universities for the academic year 2020/2021 (September starts), and the demand of certain skills and competences by the largest retailers in UK. The study utilizes secondary data based on the courses/programmes specifically related to the retail sector, and on the job opportunities through the leading UK grocery retailers. Findings. Findings reveal the extent of the gap between the university educational offerings and the requirements from retailers. Originality/value. To the best of our knowledge this research is the first attempt to capture and compare multiple evidence bases related to academic curriculums and employers’ requirements for specific retail competencies

HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE CHANGING WORK ENVIRONMENT OF INDUSTRY 4.0

The analysis of surveys conducted in Bulgarian companies proves that the quantity and quality of human capital to the greatest extent determine the long-term potential for sustainable organizational development. Aware of the need for investment in human capital, more and more company leaders and managers are focused on creating value for their business through training and development of their employees; building knowledge, skills, competences and motivational attitudes towards the changing working environment in Industry 4.0. The article examines flexible forms of work and creative approaches to increasing the satisfaction and engagement of employees in the implementation of strategic company goals

Labour market and skills in the Western Balkans

This book presents research into the role of the labour force skills in underpinning future economic growth in the Western Balkans. It sets out the most recent thinking on the relation between skills and the labour market and between education systems and skill formation. This book, written by members of the LSEE Research Network on Social Cohesion in collaboration with the Foundation for the Advancement of Economics in Belgrade has been conceived in response to a growing need for policy recommendations related to labour markets and skills mismatch in the region

Information technology for competitive advantage within logistics and supply chains: a review

This paper offers a systematic review of the literature on the use of information technology (IT) in logistics and supply chain management to achieve competitive advantage. While IT has revolutionized traditional logistics and supply chains to achieve numerous benefits such as increased efficiency and responsiveness, it is not still clear to what extend IT has contributed to competitive advantage within logistics and supply chains. This paper contributes to this debate by: (i) reporting the literature on the role of IT in achieving competitive advantage within logistics and supply chains based on the linkages between ‘adaptation’, ‘alignment’, and ‘agility’, (triple A’s) (Lee, 2004), and (ii) discussing managerial implications and identifying future research directions

Social Effectiveness of Tertiary Education for Adults in Mid-life

No abstract available

Industry 4.0: from theory to practice. An empirical analysis of the factory of the future

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Skills for self employment

This small scale, explorative research study looks at the hitherto relatively under-researched question of the role of skills and training in the development of self employment. It draws on a literature review, data analysis from the Labour Force Survey, and a series of expert interviews. We summarise here the main findings from the research and, where appropriate, we highlight possible policy implications of those findings, although given the small scale, exploratory nature of the study, some of these issues would benefit from further investigation(and the report highlights possible avenues for new research to fill these gaps: see section 6.7). In thinking about policy we do not, for the most part, recommend specific interventions. Rather we highlight the kinds of considerations that policy-makers should be aware of when designing interventions" -- page i (Evidence Report). "This Annex presents an analysis of Labour Force Survey data, to provide descriptive statistics on the nature and extent of self-employment in the UK" -- page 1 (Annex)

A Tactical Demand-Supply Planning Framework to manage ‎‎Complexity in Engineer-to-Order Environments: Insights from an in-‎‎depth ‎case study

The challenging demand-supply balancing in engineer-to-order (ETO) environments\ua0is often attributed to complexity. This study expands the understanding of managing\ua0complexity to obtain demand-supply balancing, focusing on the tactical planning\ua0logic of the order fulfilment process. An in-depth single case study was conducted\ua0and data describing the order fulfilment process at a construction company were\ua0collected and analysed. Findings suggest a tactical-level planning process framework,\ua0incorporating nine key decisions and three crucial activities, and their potential\ua0complexity-reducing and complexity-absorbing impact. The study contributes to the\ua0theoretical discussion of complexity in management practices, linking demandsupply\ua0balancing as a performance measure. The findings guide practitioners in ETO\ua0settings on anticipating potential medium-term consequences of key decisions on\ua0capacity. This emphasises the need of proper IT support to apply knowledge\ua0generated from previous projects and conduct comprehensive and robust scenariobased\ua0analyses

Skills Needs of the Civil Engineering Sector in the European Union Countries: Current Situation and Future Trends

The construction sector has always occupied a strategic place in the European economy. The European construction industry suffered during the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, and today the sector is undergoing a recovery process. Among all the construction subsectors, civil engineering has the highest growth rate. Currently, the sector has to face profound industrial changes emerging with digital transformations (Industry 4.0), sustainability, climate change and energy efficiency. To promote the growth of the civil engineering sector and accelerate the recovery, we need to create a highly qualified and competent workforce that can handle the challenges coming up with the technological progress and global competitiveness. The main condition to achieve this capable workforce is to define the expected evolution of skills requirements. For that purpose, our work focuses on identifying current and near-future key skills required by the civil engineering occupations. To achieve this, we developed an automated sectoral database for the current and near-future skills requirements of the selected professional profiles. It is our belief that this sectoral database is a fundamental framework that will guide the sector through the future changes. We also believe that our research can be used as a key tool for construction companies, policy-makers, academics and training centers to develop well-designed and efficient training programs for upskilling and reskilling the workforce.This research was partly cofunded by: the European Union through the Erasmus Plus Programme (Grant Agreement No. 2018-3019/001-001, Project No. 600886-1-2018-1-DE-EPPKA2-SSA-B), Accenture, Inzu Group, Fundación Telefónica and Fundación BBK, partners of the Deusto Digital Industry Chair