By Ben Collins. HSBC has put out a report which found Australia is the most expensive country for overseas students to live, and study in. While it costs around US$38,000 per year, the country is still really popular with overseas students, and HSBC said the falling Australian dollar will see this increase. According to the research, Australia’s average annual cost of US$38,000 was followed closely by the US, with total costs over US$35,000, and the UK, third with $30,000. Read more...

Business and Engineering are the top two most popular degrees amongst university students in the UAE according to new global research developed by HSBC, which looks at higher education across major countries in developed and emerging market economies. HSBC's research looks at the factors driving higher education choices in eight key markets around the world. It examines the most popular university courses, the cost of studying and comparisons between different social and economic factors driving these choices. Read more...

Opening the frontiers of continuing vocational training. By Isabelle Marion, Martine Möbus, Michel Théry. Training and Employment, n° 71, 2006, 4 p.
In France, adults have generally undergone continuing vocational training during their working hours so far and the aim has not usually been to obtain a diploma. The way the educational system and the labour market are set up has resulted in a sharper divide occurring here than else wherein Europe between the age at which people undergo their studies and that at which they pursue their careers. In 2004, however, the French continuing vocational training (CVT) system underwent some major reforms. The measures adopted, which focused for example on individuals' right to vocational training and "professionalizing periods", have transformed the relationships between learning and working. Will these measures suffice to shift the frontiers of continuing vocational training and set France on the lines initiated by the European Union with a view to creating a continuum of lifelong education and training ? Télécharger la publication.

Across-the-board support required for VAE procedures. By N. Beaupère, G. Podevin. Training and Employment, n° 102, 2013, 4 p.
VAE procedures are frequently perceived to be protracted,but their length is not the only reason why withdrawals areso frequent. Evaluation of an aims and means contract (AMC )for VAE in Brittany highlights the importance of across-theboardsupport, from initial guidance to the post-assessment period. It also emphasises the need for economic actors to beinvolved if VAE procedures are to succeed. Télécharger la publication.

Raising awareness among science students of their future careers and employability. By M. Baslé, J.-M. Dubois. Training and Employment, n° 105, 2013, 4p.
Long sheltered from unemployment, science students today have to give some thought to preparing for their entry into working life. The French Science Insert project, selected from among the projects funded by the Fonds d’expérimentation pour la jeunesse/Fund for Experimental Youth Projects, is equipping them with the tools they require for this purpose. The method adopted to evaluate the project, the so-called double difference method, can be used to show that the awareness-raising measures developed in the course of the project are appropriate. Télécharger la publication.

Making the transition from higher education to work: the variable effects of vocational courses. By Julien Calmand, Virginie Mora. Training and Employment, n° 97, 2012, 4 p.
Young people who left higher education in 2007 have found it more difficult to find employment as a result of the economic crisis, as the 2010 survey of 2007 cohort of HE leavers shows. However, although unemployment has increased, job quality has, on average, been maintained.Moreover, while vocational bachelor’s degrees are proving successful, the other vocational qualifications do not all offer the same level of protection against the crisis. Télécharger la publication.

Training older workers: a policy in need of updating. By Christine Fournier. Training and Employment, n° 92, 2011, 4 p.
Training older workers to keep them in work? The idea is very much in vogue. Nevertheless, concentrating efforts on older workers is not necessarily a panacea. After all, age merely reinforces the strong link between access to training and level of qualification. The less well-qualified workers are, the more important it is to intervene early in order to improve access to training. Age 50, or even 45, has proved to be much too late for many. Télécharger la publication.

Applicants for VAE are unequally supported. By Chantal Labruyère, Nathalie Quintero, avec la collaboration d'Anne Delanoë. Training and Employment, n° 87, 2010, 4 p.
Applicants undertaking VAE procedures are not all on an equal footing. 70% of those applying for level 5 qualifications (ISCED level 2) are employed in the field of healthcare and socialwork. The associations in this sector provide a particularly favourable context for making VAE applications, thanks to the active policies they adopt. They provide their employees with support and cover the cost of accompanying and even training them. Completing the procedure successfully depends on acomplex set of factors. The main challenges ahead are reducing the drop-out rates and simplifying the whole procedure. Télécharger la publication.

Leaving university without a degree : four types of early leavers. Par Nathalie Beaupère, Gérard Boudesseul. Training and Employment, n° 86, 2010, 4 p.
Students who leave University without obtaining degrees are not all poor attenders. Many young people enrol at University after ruling out other options, and when they start off, they have to learn the job of being a student, which is not an easy task. Four types of early leavers were defined on the basis of two subjective criteria: the value students attach to University degrees and their ideas about their future transition to work. If these categories of students could be spotted using properly established and recognized criteria, it might be possible to reduce the drop-out rates. Télécharger la publication.

Recognition of higher education graduates' competences on European labour markets. Par Christine Guégnard, Julien Calmand. Training and Employment, n° 83, 2008, 4 p.
The number of students attending higher education institutions has more than doubled in Europe during the last twenty-five years. The resulting flow of graduates on the labour market may justify the doubts expressed about these young people's career prospects, given the present economic and social trends. In this context, the European Union has opted for increasing the level of education, and the wager seems to have paid off. In a survey conducted in fifteen European countries, it was established that the graduates questioned quickly obtained long-lasting employment and that they were satisfied on the whole with their occupational situation. Télécharger la publication.