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The paper seeks to disclose the features and implications of the neoliberal VET and employment policy agendas for the social and institutional VET ecosystems and the integration of at-risk youth in the labour market in the Baltic countries.

The research is based on the comparative policy analysis approach with reference to the theories of social and skill formation ecosystems and the historical institutionalism perspective.

The research has revealed three interconnected and alternately/simultaneously applied development pathways in the skill formation and vocational education of at-risk youth in the Baltic countries: (1) the market-oriented approach based on fostering immediate employability based on the momentary skills needs in the economy; (2) the state-assistance approach based on ensuring equal access to the VET and employment services by the state and (3) the approach of systemic support to socially disadvantaged or at-risk young people in developing their capabilities.

The originality of the paper lies in a new, holistic and comparative perspective in analysing the implications of the “Baltic neoliberalism” for the development of skill formation systems, VET and employment of at-risk youth in this region.

In this paper, the author analyses the different patterns of learning one can find in the organisations of two contrasting economic fields representing different contexts for learning. The analysis concentrates on two different occupational groups at the medium skills level: specialists in the IT sector and skilled workers in the timber and furniture (T&F) sector. One of them belongs to the “new” and another to the “old” economy. He explains some of the reasons for the emergence of different patterns of learning and consequences they might have on the development of the organisations and individual workers. Also treats workplace learning as a means to overcome the gaps between the skills and competences “required by the job” and the competence workers have. The author tries to argue that learning, competence development and identification in cases of IT specialists and skilled workers in the T&F sector with one's work is mutually closely connected, and “space of work values” determined by the identification patterns can be a factor as facilitating as well as limiting the learning and competence development in these cases.

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the implementation of educational reform processes by applying the concept of social innovation. The paper proposes a model of social innovation and test its applicability in the context of Estonian vocational education reform using two case studies of the school re-organization as an example.

A case study approach has been applied in the empirical study. Different data collection methods have been used including semi-structured interviews with the various change actors, observations and analysis of written documents.

The integrated model of social innovation proved to be a fruitful analytical tool. By focusing on five central aspects – the trigger of change, central change agents, social mechanisms facilitating the adoption of change, implications and social gains – it was possible to explain two school re-organization processes and the reasons behind their success or complications.

The analysis of the cases outlined some lessons that can be learned for the future planning and implementation of school reforms. School changes are more easily adopted if actors experience it as useful and rational, school staff are involved in the process as early as possible and the adoption is facilitated by building certain social mechanisms and network structures into the policy implementation process.

The paper makes a contribution to the literature on educational reform by applying the concept of social innovation. Up until now, the concept of social innovation has remained rather underused to explain the process of implementing and adopting reforms, and in particular, it is rarely used in the context of analyzing educational reforms.

Information technology (IT) is a new service sector characterised by an intensive dynamic that puts high demands of learning, flexibility and mobility on IT specialists. This article identifies two features that are decisive for the formation of work identities of employees working in the sector: first, an “entrepreneurial” employment model that transfers responsibilities for skills acquisition, professional development and risk management to the individual; and second, a conflict between a strong identification with IT‐related technology and flexibility requirements. The article analyses the implications these features have in terms of the role of initial and continuing vocational training, skills demands and the professional development of employees working in the sector. It also discusses how boundaryless career paths, characterised by ambiguity and uncertainty, influence work‐related identities of IT specialists.

This study explores the segregated context of Estonian education systems, where Estonian and Russian medium schools coexist. Using the underrepresented theory of liminality in sociology, the author examines the vulnerable positions of teachers in Russian-medium schools.

This study employs a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews as the main method, the snowball sampling technique of data collection and a hybrid thematic analysis. The sample includes 27 teachers from around Estonia.

The findings reveal that these teachers experience different forms of liminality, shaped by self-defined, socially constructed and ontological constraints. These liminal moments foster teacher reflexivity, serving as a catalyst for their transformations while navigating the state of “in-betweenness.”

Practically, as Estonia continues to navigate its educational reforms and cultural shifts, recognizing and addressing the liminality of Russian-medium school teachers is crucial for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the nation’s educational landscape.

The study brings theoretical novelty to the anthropological theory of liminality, combining it with a new empirical case of the Estonian parallel education system, which had been under-explored from the side of the Russian-speaking community (particularly the Russian-medium schools).

The aim of this paper is to analyse the factors associated with the perception of the value honesty among Russian organisational members from selected former Soviet countries: Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Using the Rokeach Value Survey, the respondents were asked to rank their own values and to speculate on how their co‐workers would rank the same values. The following analysis focused on the importance of honesty, its concurrence with speculations about co‐workers, the impact of other personal values and socio‐demographic characteristics.

One of the most important findings of this study is that value honesty is amongst the most important values for Russians, while the importance of this value was not similar for Russians living in Russia and the Baltic States. Value consensus tells us the most about how important honesty is for the focal person. Results also reveal that other personal values, namely, family security, comfortable life, imaginative, capable and broad minded help to predict the assessment of honesty.

The results of the study imply that societal influence prevails over cultural influence when the importance honesty is assessed among Russians. Also, we show that individually, value honesty is socially construed and can therefore be manipulated via changing his/her perception of social consensus rather than directly.

The originality of the paper lies in the focusing on the Russians living in different countries of former Soviet Union by analysing the importance of value honesty which plays a role in business and societal culture.