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Work factors affecting the career intentions of young construction workers in structured traineeship programs are not well understood despite the increasing use of such programs as pathways to career entry. To address this gap, work factors affecting the career intentions of participants in a construction-related traineeship program were investigated.

A questionnaire comprising measures of organisational fairness, organisation inclusion, time for life, job characteristics, and intention to pursue a career in construction was administered to 136 Australian trainees. Bivariate and logistic regression analysis explored the relationships and combined effects of work factors on career intention.

Trainees’ perceptions of the needs-supplies component of person-job (P-J) fit were a strong and significant predictor of their intention to pursue a career in construction on completion of the traineeship program. Specifically, the greater the extent to which trainees perceived a job in construction would satisfy their needs, desires or preferences, the more likely they were to indicate they would pursue a career in construction.

Findings provide new insights that can help to improve the industry’s ability to attract and retain school leavers in employment which is especially critical in light of the skills shortage facing the Australian construction sector.

The instrument used to measure subjective needs-supplies (P-J) fit enabled a fine-grained analysis of job characteristics considered important by trainees and their perceived availability in construction. Job characteristics relating to having work-life balance and health and wellbeing were of high importance but were perceived to be low in availability in construction jobs.

This chapter introduces the seven stages of business growth and development and looks at business transformation and how to develop a transformation strategy. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also discussed and is broken down into four main types of responsibility: ethical/human rights social responsibility, philanthropic corporate responsibility, economic corporate responsibility and environmental corporate responsibility. Business owners are asked to consider how their businesses are responsible and where there is room for improvement. This chapter goes on to explore accountability, from what it means, to the benefits of accountability and how to create a culture of accountability.

What does the relationship between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and human rights look like in practice at the local level? With Los Angeles as a case study, we focus on the partnership between universities and the Mayor’s Office in the localization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The co-creation of student “Task Forces” with city officials and the evolution of the use of the Goals in planning over time demonstrate how localization created opportunities to identify and act on human rights issues through SDG implementation at the city level.

International trade and its effects on the environment are increasingly discussed both in academia and by policymakers. To counter negative effects of international trade on the environment, so called environmental provisions have been integrated in trade agreements aimed at businesses and economies. However, as both the intent and effectiveness of these provisions are controversial, this paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of research and identified key factors influencing their effectiveness.

The authors conduct a systematic literature review of 44 papers on the effects of environmental provisions in international trade agreements on the environmental performance of businesses, as well as economies from 1992 to mid-2024.

The integration of environmental provisions into trade agreements generally has positive effects on the environment while their effectiveness is influenced by their design and several boundary conditions. Alongside the importance of effective enforcement mechanisms, reputation concerns of businesses and lobbyism are discussed as intermediary factors in the design and impact of environmental provisions.

The insights can benefit policymakers to optimize future environmental provisions and advance the effectiveness of policies aimed at balancing the effects of trade liberalization with environmental protection.

Social sustainability is increasingly relevant for creating more sustainable trade policy while societal mechanisms seem to be an adequate tool to ensure effective enforcement of ecological provisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first of its kind to provide a systematic overview of the literature on the effectiveness of environmental provisions that combines the micro-level of businesses and macro-level of economies, although the importance for trade in general and environmental protection, in particular, has been recognized in the academic literature.

In light of the expanding prominence of work-integrated learning (WIL), the pedagogical model that integrates work experiences into an academic curriculum, this paper presents a systematic review that uncovers little-explored students’ reflections of quality (RoQ).

Drawing on the concept of wayfinding rocks and Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory, the “students’ RoQ (pronounced [ROK]) WIL model” offers guidance for future research, policy development and educational interventions aimed at optimizing students' experiences of WIL.

This paper highlights RoQ WIL through student voice. The outcomes offer a model, contributing insights for institutions, employers and students involved in WIL experiences.

While the study addresses specific limitations such as the use of specific search terms and potential biases, future research is needed to explore cultural capital’s influence on WIL quality. A focus on broadening the scope of data collection to include a more comprehensive range of student perspectives is needed.

The paper suggests practical implications for institutions, employers and educators in designing WIL programs that prioritize student perspectives, ultimately enhancing the quality of WIL experiences.

By focusing on students' RoQ in WIL, this paper fills a significant gap in the literature and provides a foundation for future research and practice in optimizing WIL engagement and outcomes.

Why and how should scholars, students, and practitioners engage the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help reframe and refresh how human rights is taught, understood, and lived? This chapter, and indeed all the chapters in this edited volume, answer this question from a variety of perspectives. Binding them together is the belief that business as usual is not working; while international and national legal frameworks are necessary, they are not sufficient for delivering justice, particularly when it comes to addressing socioeconomic gaps. Getting all this right is more than an academic or UN-driven exercise. Closing these gaps is essential to democracies delivering and requires paradigm shifts. In an era of doom and gloom, the good news is that innovations in higher education, another binding theme, can help grow the next generation that will deliver human rights and sustainable development well beyond 2030.