Many high school and two-year college vocational programs are exploring new ways to help students develop and document skills valued in the labor market. Over the past decade, some efforts to improve vocational programs have focused on reorganizing curricula around skill standards and assessments formulated by employers. One recent example of this…

As part of an effort to identify ways in which Midland College (Texas) and local businesses can respond to the economic needs of the community, these three papers by the Midland's Business and Economic Development Center offer various perspectives on the economic climate and labor market of the Permian Basis. The first report, "Midland's…

Prepared to help develop a vision for California's community colleges into the 21st century, this report presents data on the colleges' performance up to 1996 and estimations of trends up to 2005. Data presented focus on the issues of student access, outcomes, and funding. Selected findings include the following: (1) participation rates peaked in…

The Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union of Canada assessed literacy learning needs. In focus group discussions, members were asked their perception of such needs in the face of changes in the workplace and society; local union officers (LUOs) were asked how they saw the role of unions in supporting members' literacy learning; employers…

This brochure identifies key figures on vocational education and training (VET) and VET-related topics in Europe using harmonized data from Eurostat. Throughout, figures of candidate countries are compared to those of European Union (EU) member states. Background information on the education and training systems is as follows: increasing numbers…

This report describes apprenticeship system development in Australia and provides a quantitative macro-level analysis of apprenticeship, traineeship, and new apprenticeship trends. Following an introduction (chapter 1), chapters 2-3 trace its European origins and establishment in colonial Australia, development and evolution through the twentieth…

The demand for and supply of skills in the automotive repairs and service trades in Australia were examined to identify skill shortages in the industry. Special attention was paid to the following items: (1) the industry's demand for skills (employment levels; growth; and prospects); (2) the supply of skills to the industry's existing work force…