Bringing together writings of prominent British research into vocational preparation in Britain in comparison to the other advanced economies. The book, first published in 1991, documents aspects of inadequacy in British practice at the time, concentrating upon intermediate skills, which are of crucial importance for economic performance.

Notes on Contributors. Preface. Introduction: Comparative Research on Vocational Education and Training. Part 1: Uses and Methods 1. The Grass Looked Greener – Some Thoughts on the Influence of Comparative Vocational Training Research on the UK Policy Debate Ewart Keep 2. Scotland v. England: The Place of ‘Home Internationals’ in Comparative Research David Raffe 3. Prospective Evaluation through Comparative Analysis: Youth Training in a Time-Space Perspective Richard Rose 4. Institutional Incentives and Skill Creation: Preconditions for a High-Skill Equilibrium David Finegold Part 2: VET, Products and Skill Utilization 5. Productivity and Vocational Skills in Services in Britain and Germany: Hotels S.J. Prais, Valerie Jarvis and Karin Wagner 6. Training Strategies and Microelectronics in the Engineering Industries of the UK and Germany Adrian Campbell and Malcolm Warner 7. Japanese Engineers, Lifetime Employment and In-Company Training: Continuity and Change in the Management of Engineering Manpower Resources Kevin McCormick Part 3: VET Comparisons in the European Community 8. Interactions in the Markets for Education, Training and Labour: A European Perspective on Intermediate Skills Robert M. Lindley 9. Interventions in Market Financing of Training in the European Community Keith Drake Part 4: VET and Labour Market Structure 10. Institutional Structures and the Provision of Intermediate Level Skills: Lessons from Canada and Hong Kong David N. Ashton, Malcolm J. Maguire and Johnny Sung 11. Initial Training, Labour Market Structure and Public Policy: Intermediate Skills in British and German Industry David Marsden and Paul Ryan. Index.