This digest explores various ways in which businesses have partnered with educational institutions to improve vocational education efforts. It begins the article with an acknowledgment that vocational education has undergone consistent reform in the last decade to satisfy the demands of public, corporate, and government sectors that hold community…

Work-based learning (WBL) includes a range of activities that extend beyond traditional cooperative education, such as job shadowing, service learning, internships, and apprenticeships--all of which provide career and technical education (CTE) students with valuable experience in the world of work. Several issues are involved in developing…

The challenge of preparing young people for employment and facilitating the smooth transition from school to work has spurred the enactment of the federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA), in May 1994. The intent of STWOA is to establish a national framework in which states can create work- and school-based learning systems that include…

Work-based learning may occur in the following forms: contracted instruction; cooperative education; school-to-apprenticeship; registered apprenticeship; career exploration; service learning; career internships; career academies; school-based enterprises; and clinical experience programs. The following are key components of work-based learning…