NEEDS ANALYSIS: HOTEL RECEPTIONISTS’ USE OF ENGLISH

Needs analysis is critical in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) development of teaching and learning because it decides learners' goals, needs, or deficiencies in the environmental situation. Learners are often taught and led in educational practices by textbooks authored by native speakers Ministry of Education and Training (MOET, 2008). However, Vietnam received a record of over 18 million of international arrivals in 2019 arrivals (VNAT, 2022). An analysis must evaluate real-life conditions to find difficulties met when working as a hotel receptionist. This research looks at the lives of eighteen hotel receptionists in Can Tho, Vietnam. A quantitative approach is used in this research to find out in what ways hotel receptionists use their positions and the obstacles they experience on the job. The study results show that hotel receptionists employ four skills, but speaking and listening are significantly more critical in this sector. Furthermore, hotel receptionists need help with these abilities when speaking with non-native visitors. The findings imply that, besides textbook resources, educators and curriculum designers could include distinct accents from non-native English speakers into a curriculum for ESP learners. Practical markets, particularly in Asia, now have implications for real-world tourism development practices.  Article visualizations

Revisiting the role of the ‘expert other’ in learners’ acquisition of workplace competence

Skills development policies in South Africa and further afield consider learning in and from the workplace as critical to the training of artisans at intermediate level, bringing together theoretical learning undertaken in formal institutions and practical, on-the-job training for the purpose of achieving occupational competence, demonstrated ultimately in the prescribed trade test. Ellstrom (2001) asserts that “in spite of a widespread belief in the importance of integrating learning and work, little is known about the conditions that promote such integration” (p.421). While apprenticeship training has a long history in South Africa, and historical anecdotal accounts exist of the workplace experiences of trainee artisans, there are only a few recent local empirical studies that have advanced our understanding of this domain. This research thus sought to investigate learning in the workplace from the perspective of the candidates: the methodologies, practices, and affordances for learning which they perceived to be available to them, and employed a qualitative approach for exploring how candidates in engineering trades experienced the ‘real world environment’ of learning and engagement in the workplace. The juxtaposition of complementary theories that lent themselves to explaining workplace learning phenomena, in particular the works of Engeström (1987); Vygotsky (1978); and Lave and Wenger (1991), formed a richly informative system for the data which showed that candidates experienced diverse learning modalities and affordances in their workplace settings. However, the central role of the expert artisan as a quintessential didactic practitioner in moving candidates towards competence was a significant finding, pointing ultimately to the need for collective effort in harnessing the teaching potential of this ‘expert other’.DHE

Exploring the relationship between course pedagogy and learning in workplaces: the case of the National Diploma in Environmental Education Training and Development Practice

This case study research provides insights on course pedagogy in the National Diploma in Environmental Education Training and Development Practice as registered with the South African Qualifications Authority. The study draws its findings from interviews, observations, and document analysis of course materials and workshop processes. The two case studies of employees working in a municipal and a provincial context in South Africa provide rich insights into workplace practices and its implications for pedagogical approaches in work-integrated courses. The role of scaffolding, reflexivity and situated learning in creating learning experiences that learners have a reason to value emerge as significant approaches to be considered in pedagogy for work-integrated courses. Critical open-ended questions supported by course material design, dialogue, participation in cooperative learning situation underpinned by reading and the use of case studies and real situated experiences emerge as important pedagogical approaches enabling scaffolding and reflexivity to support a “critical mode of being”. The significant role of pedagogical approaches in maintaining relevance to workplace practices are seen as important in developing capabilities of participants to value what they do on courses. Linked to the insights gained from this study three important recommendations are made. The first recommendation suggests that a pedagogical approach, which involves learner-practitioners and workplace representatives in the curriculum design, would help to maintain relevance of the assignments to the workplace. The second recommendation suggests creative and innovative pedagogical approaches to capture workplace practices in real authentic and meaningful situations for assessment. The third recommendation suggests that pedagogies used in workplace courses need to consider social-ecological sustainability competencies that transgress job tasks across occupations which foster appreciation and imagination of new possibilities in the work learner-practitioners engage in

Employment Program Components: Considerations for Modifying Programming for People Experiencing Homelessness

Employment programs typically include assessment, job search assistance, work readiness training, occupational training, job placement, and retention services. Research and experience suggest that programs can best meet individual needs, strengths, and interests by modifying these elements to ensure flexible services that support each individual's personal and developmental needs as they transition to employment. This best practice brief highlights a menu of enhancements and examples that programs may consider in providing supportive, flexible services for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness

Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works

Considering the education-to-employment system as a highway with three critical intersections -- enrolling in postsecondary education, building skills, and finding a job -- this research has determined places where students take wrong turns or fall behind, and why. With increased data and innovative approaches, employers, educators, governments and youth can create a better system

Small Nonprofits Solving Big Problems

There are over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States. Of those, three-quarters (almost 1.2 million) have annual budgets under $1 million, and most are even smaller. These "small" organizations respond to localized needs and are staffed by people with deep knowledge and caring for the communities where they live and work. They are small in budget size only; their impact and community engagement are crucial to building just and vibrant neighborhoods and cities. They provide after-school programs, community centers, creative outlets, job training, food pantries, and much more.As a result of the 2008 recession and the ensuing economic fallout, increasing numbers of Americans have suffered serious financial woes. As unemployment rose, so did the number of people living in poverty and the need for social services. At the same time, credit became harder to obtain, and funding began to decline, especially from government sources. These conditions have persisted and are now particularly challenging for small "safety net" social service organizations that rely on government funding. These organizations, which always run lean, are now stretched even further and in danger of reducing services or even closing their doors.The following report draws on Nonprofit Finance Fund's experience working with 22 nonprofits through the Capital and Capacity for Economic Recovery (CCER) program in Greater Philadelphia, as well as our 30 years of work with small social service organizations nationwide. It highlights these nonprofits' common financial challenges and offers suggestions for how they and their supporters can enact financially stabilizing practices in response. We draw on real-life lessons from nonprofits that used small capacity grants and financial training opportunities to create positive programmatic and infrastructure shifts for the benefit of their clients

Supporting Second Chances: Employment Strategies for Reentry Programs

The Second Chance Act supports a range of reentry programs around the country, designed to help those returning from jail or prison make a successful transition to life on the outside. In 2008, the Annie E. Casey Foundation commissioned Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) to create a resource that would be useful for Second Chance Act grantees as they develop employment strategies, by distilling lessons from research on a range of employment programs. "Supporting Second Chances" offers concrete suggestions for practitioners, based on a review of relevant literature and P/PV's own extensive experience with reentry and workforce development research and programming. The guide explores strategies in three major areas:Services aimed at helping people find immediate employment;Services that provide paid job experiences to participants; andServices that help people gain occupational skills.For each area, we provide: an overview of the approach, including its history and a brief definition; a high-level summary of the most recent and rigorous research available about the approach; an example of the approach in action; key "takeaways" for Second Chance Act grantees and other programs serving formerly incarcerated individuals; and where to go to learn more.Since the ultimate success of an employment strategy may hinge on a range of additional supports, the guide also features a section called "Beyond Getting a Job," which presents three approaches to help formerly incarcerated individuals get the most out of their paychecks and move into better jobs. The final section synthesizes lessons drawn from across the studies reviewed for the guide

Knowledge Transfer Needs and Methods

INE/AUTC 12.3

The Economic Development and Workforce Development Systems

Provides an overview of current U.S. strategies for and challenges in ensuring economic growth with adequate employment opportunities and preparing disadvantaged people for careers. Also summarizes goals, key stakeholders, and the policy environment

Getting Real: Time to Re-Invest in the Public Employment Service

In this paper, NELP advocates for renewed focus on our nation's public reemployment services. First, we recommend significantly increasing the amount of federal funding for the Employment Service that is a part of the nationwide system of One-Stop Career Centers. Doing so would provide more workers with improved job placement services, in-person job search assistance, and pre-training counseling. Second, we recommend placing programmatic priority on unemployment insurance recipients who are most likely to have trouble finding a new job