The UAE's labour market policy of Emiratisation is intended to replace expatriates with local workers by imposing restrictions on the employment of expatriate workers in the public sector and enforcing the private sector to employ nationals in certain types of jobs. This policy has been focused rather narrowly on administrative jobs in the finance and oil sector, and has not addressed the newly emerging ICT sector which is a cornerstone of the government's long-term economic growth strategy. Moreover, strategies such as the Emiratisation policy and investment in the ICT sector are not currently taking place within the context of a proper analysis of labour market needs and problems. The main aim of this study is to make a significant contribution to the knowledge base from which a sustainable national human resource policy in the UAE can be developed, by exploring the current barriers to successful working environments, and by assessing how the Emiratisation policy can be redesigned to focus more on new high-growth sectors, especially the ICT sector. The study also contributes more generally to the field of knowledge about how human capital supply can be improved through policy interventions and technology implementation. Furthermore, by adopting a conceptual framework based on established labour market and social network theories, the study is expected to improve understanding of the UAE economy and potential solutions to current labour market problems, thus offering considerable practical value to UAE decision-makers and policy officials. The study employs a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the relationship between human capital and ICT with special emphasis on harmonization. This is a mixed-methods study consisting of both quantitative and qualitative primary research data collection, as well as a review of literature. The quantitative research method used a semi-structured online questionnaire survey targeted at managers in the Oil/Gas and Banking/Finance sectors, future job-seekers (students), and other UAE labour market stakeholders and experts. This was followed up by in-depth interviews with ICT expert informants, to provide qualitative data. The results of the quantitative and qualitative components were integrated in a process of triangulation, to draw out their overall significance. The principle finding of this research is that the mismatch between the supply and demand sides of the labour market in terms of skills and expectations is the main barrier to emiratisation. High percentages of Emirati students do not enter the labour market following graduation. UAE nationals have high job and salary expectations, and mainly focus on the public sector. Employers surveyed believe that the types of skills and qualifications they need are in short supply among UAE nationals, especially in relation to managerial and professional jobs. The cultural importance of contacts makes the recruitment process inefficient on both sides. Emiratisation can be expensive for organisations, would be more sustainable if compliance were better enforced by the UAE government, and needs to be better supported by a good education/training system which prepares UAE nationals for the needs of the labour market. The study concludes by advocating a gradual shift towards the knowledge economy as a way of rebalancing the labour market, proposing potential further research on the ICT field within the UAE's private sector, with close attention to indigenization. On the demand side, more detailed nationally representative data might be collected on the skills requirements of private sector jobs in a range of sectors, so that the UAE education system can be better designed to meet the needs of the economy through human resource development.

International schools and the concept of an international education are a relatively new phenomenon, but their growth is almost unparalleled by any other service industry. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of international schools has risen over the last forty years from less than one hundred to close to, if not exceeding, two thousand today. At the same time, organisations like the International Baccalaureate are seeing the curriculum programmes they offer, being taken up by national and international schools, as they seek to educate tomorrow’s citizens in the face of ever increasing globalization. However, the growth and increased accessibility of international schools has brought with it a more discerning customer. This study, with the use of segmentation theory, will show that international schools are fully aware of the ‘wants and needs’ of their ‘customers’ and deliberately recruit teachers who will satisfy certain predetermined criteria and, in doing so, ensure their own continued success. Using data drawn from a well established international schools’ recruitment agency and supplemented by information drawn directly from a number of international schools, this study will show that the majority of international schools, whenever possible and finances allowing, look to employ Western trained, English speaking teachers who preferably have previous experience of the curricular being offered.

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We examine the dynamics of Canadian labour markets using data from the Survey of Employment, Payroll, and Hours and the Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada from 1961-2014. Using univariate, and multivariate Vector Autoregressive methodology, we estimate Impulse Response Functions and perform Granger non-causal tests to explore the relationships between wages, employment, and unemployment. We demonstrate the difference in analysis gained from regional definitions and assumptions regarding the heterogeneity of provinces within the Canadian regional context. Transitory labour supply shocks propagate different directions and magnitudes in wage growth in Quebec and unemployment growth in Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia when estimating Impulse Response Functions in the provincial trivariate VAR framework. We also find that there are statistically significant differences in the estimated parameters of regional multivariate VAR model specifications and corresponding restricted models, though these tests are not exhaustive. / Graduate

This Thesis examines recent trends in flexible forms of employment and how those forms of employment influence and at the same time are influenced by the economic, structural and regulatory environments in the different countries of the European Union, as well as their diverse labour market regimes. Those interactions are used as the basis for an analysis of the likelihood of convergence or divergence in European ways of work organisation; and for a consideration of how much influence decision makers are capable of exercising on this process. The Thesisis divided into four parts. The first part starts by discussing theories of societal development, presenting a model of firms flexibility, and deals with methodological issues involved in relating firms strategies with national employment environments. The second part examines the characteristics of the various European labour markets using data from the European Labour Force Survey (ELFS, 1984 - 1994) and the New Forms of Work and Activity Survey (NFWA, 1989/90). Firm specific data from the NFWAis used to explain variance in firms use of new forms of employment with other firm features. The study argues that European labour markets are still distinct and that differences in the usage patterns and meaning of new forms of employment can not be explained by firm characteristics alone; differences in national labour market regimes have also to be considered. The third part relates the findings of the previous part to the national employment systems and compares various aspects of the findings in three sample countries (Spain, United Kingdom and Germany). It shows that the various systems function in different manners, and possess competitive advantages / disadvantages in different areas. Conditions needed for one system to work are distinct from those needed for the other systems. Interchanging some features known from other systems to increase for example flexibility in the short run, might have effects contrary to those sought and might destroy a system's foundations in the long run. The fourth part looks into possible converging / diverging trends in European ways of work organisation, given the different starting positions. The evidence presented suggest that in the short term gains can be made through a cost cutting strategy, however this will make in the long run the creation of the wanted high trust, high wage, high quality economy in Europe even more difficult. To overcome short term thinking, which could bring about a convergence towards a economy competing only on costs, co-ordination on a supranational level is needed. As the situation of the national systems is still distinct, decision making on this level is increasingly prone to gridlock. However, recent developments on the company level towards transnational information and work councils on a European level might have important effects, even when such arrangements still lag behind the swift developments towards economic and monetary union.

This essay is constructed around an empirical relationship which it attempts to interpret in terms of concepts and propositions of economic theory. This interpretation is necessary because the conceptual variables which enter the relationship as well as the method of their empirical measurement and the hypothesis of "causal" relation between them were not originally derived from economics, theoretical or applied. The principal concepts involved are called 'time-span of discretion1 (TSD), 'felt fair pay1 (FFP) and 'capacity1 (C). They are an original discovery, in a field where concepts and theory are scarce, of Elliott Jaques and the team of researchers who subsequently formed the Glacier Institute of Management. These three concepts are the principal elements of the structure for a theory of the evolution of organisational institutions. It is inside these institutions that the reality of work and payis found in present industrial society . . .

The thesis focuses on the employment structures and employment trends within the EU Member States using the ICSO-88 classification for the detailed analysis of the German and Czech labour markets. The aim of the thesis is the prove the readiness of the Lisbon process to fullfil its main goal - to kepp the high employment rates eitihin the EU.

Although human capital investment is often proposed as a solution to improve the labour market prospects of individuals who reach adulthood without obtaining a post-secondary credential, little is known about whether skills upgrading actually pays off. Using three national cross-sectional surveys on adult education as well as longitudinal data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (1992-2005), I analyze how returning to school affects the earnings trajectories of men and women who enter the labour force with low levels of initial education. There are two major findings related to the earnings and advancement question. First, although both Canadian and American adults with low levels of initial education are significantly less likely than their more educated counterparts to participate in education and training, when they do participate, they are more likely to report it helped them increase their earnings. Second, these perceived gains are matched by substantial gains in actual earning growth. While the opportunity cost of returning to school is quite high – returnees experience a sharp drop in annual earnings during the years while they are in school – for both women and men, this investment yields a significant increase in earnings in the post schooling period. In addition, I address the question of why – if the earnings gains are so substantial – do so few less educated adults return to school? There are three key findings related to the participation question. First, even after accounting for a rich set of covariates, the effects of family of origin socio-economic status on educational attainment persist over the life course. Second, despite these enduring effects, current family and labour market dynamics matter as well. Consistent with the human capital model, I find evidence that, educationally disadvantaged individuals return to school to improve their labour market prospects. Taken together these results demonstrate that at least for some educationally disadvantaged adults, human capital investment is an effective strategy for labour market advancement. This conclusion challenges the standard ‘cumulative disadvantage’ view of adult education as simply another mechanism that serves to reproduce inequality.

Although human capital investment is often proposed as a solution to improve the labour market prospects of individuals who reach adulthood without obtaining a post-secondary credential, little is known about whether skills upgrading actually pays off. Using three national cross-sectional surveys on adult education as well as longitudinal data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (1992-2005), I analyze how returning to school affects the earnings trajectories of men and women who enter the labour force with low levels of initial education. There are two major findings related to the earnings and advancement question. First, although both Canadian and American adults with low levels of initial education are significantly less likely than their more educated counterparts to participate in education and training, when they do participate, they are more likely to report it helped them increase their earnings. Second, these perceived gains are matched by substantial gains in actual earning growth. While the opportunity cost of returning to school is quite high – returnees experience a sharp drop in annual earnings during the years while they are in school – for both women and men, this investment yields a significant increase in earnings in the post schooling period. In addition, I address the question of why – if the earnings gains are so substantial – do so few less educated adults return to school? There are three key findings related to the participation question. First, even after accounting for a rich set of covariates, the effects of family of origin socio-economic status on educational attainment persist over the life course. Second, despite these enduring effects, current family and labour market dynamics matter as well. Consistent with the human capital model, I find evidence that, educationally disadvantaged individuals return to school to improve their labour market prospects. Taken together these results demonstrate that at least for some educationally disadvantaged adults, human capital investment is an effective strategy for labour market advancement. This conclusion challenges the standard ‘cumulative disadvantage’ view of adult education as simply another mechanism that serves to reproduce inequality.