This paper asks the question: Is now the right time to consider a statewide policy initiative to support increased access for Massachusetts community college students to paid internships that can help them improve their employment and earnings trajectory? Is this something that employers, colleges, and state leaders would see as a welcome…

This is the first in a series of Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) playbooks intended to assist companies, higher education institutions, private philanthropies, membership associations, professional societies, government agencies, and other stakeholders seeking to understand the potential value of investing in coordinated strategic,…

After careful review Workforce Strategy Center has articulated a policy assessment of President George W. Bush's Community-Based Job Training Grants initiative. WSC called the $250 million Community-Based Job Training Grants plan right on track by emphasizing: A Strong Role of Community Colleges in Workforce Development: All available research…

Wisconsin's school-to-work initiative is being led by citizens representing business and industry, education, organized labor, community groups, and governmental entities from all over the state. They share a vision for improving how students are prepared to become successful citizens, productive workers, and lifelong learners. This booklet…

The final report describes a study to develop a statewide teacher/industry exchange program in Wisconsin that would provide vocational-technical instructors with occupational experience opportunities. Three plans for implementing the program were developed: (A) swapping the positions of a business or industrial person with that of a vocational…

Wisconsin's statewide apprenticeship program is a model school-to-work transition program. In one cooperative endeavor, juniors and seniors work part time at local businesses and attend community college classes two days a week. After testing their community's receptivity, administrators should form a steering committee to target occupational…

To serve educators and administrators interested in planning curriculum articulation in vocational education, this resource guide addresses problems and procedures basic to that effort. It offers applicability and generalizability across vocational programs, from pre-vocational through college levels; to "external" resources, such as…

This publication is designed to aid teachers and administrators in preparing and teaching workplace mentors as part of the school-to-work program. The handbook is also a guide and workbook for teachers of mentors, self-educated mentors, parents, employers, and others interested in work-based learning and mentorship. The handbook consists of three…

The Southeastern Wisconsin Workplace Communication Project is a workplace English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) resource and outreach program involving a partnership of businesses and adult educators in a rural area that has experienced an increase in new speakers of English in the manufacturing workforce. The guide provides workplace educators and…

This is a description of Wisconsin's vocational, technical, and adult education (VTAE) system designed to provide delivery of occupational education through comprehensive districts. It is intended for use by legislators, vocational educators, and policy makers. The system plan, divided into five sections, provides in the first section the basis…

This instructional manual presents work experience program coordinators with special methods, competencies, and strategies for organization, implementation, and evaluation. The manual contains 13 sections: (1) assessing program potential; (2) philosophy development; (3) initial organizational steps; (4) student selection process; (5) job…

This guide provides ideas and recommendations from the business and education communities of Wisconsin to help provide an opportunity for all students to reach their fullest career potential. The first part deals with the need to restructure the educational system in order to concentrate on education for employment and on the procedures entailed…

Based on the practical training experience of sixteen school districts and two universities which comprise the Wisconsin Career Education Consortium, this report presents training strategies for a variety of community-school collaboration efforts. Eleven training strategies are presented: (1) providing an in-school visitation day for business…

In 1992, the U.S. Department of Labor and Council of Chief State School Officers awarded grants for the development of statewide systems to enhance school-to-work transition (SWT) through youth apprenticeship in eight states: California, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In June 1993, the programs were…

This document is intended to give Wisconsin teachers and administrators the background knowledge to understand the nuances of the various work-based learning (WBL) programs and determine whether they want to develop one or more new WBL programs in their district or enhance or otherwise customize existing WBL programs. Each of the first 11 chapters…