The need for high quality initial training and accessible, academically sound programs allowing workers to update their skills and advance in careers as their jobs change in a period of rapid technological advancement will be an ongoing challenge to postsecondary education. (MSE)

The author examines the present educational provision for unemployed adults, in the light of its relevance to their needs, and draws attention to the Open University's (Great Britain) work in this field. The author also discusses the effects of unemployment and assumptions about unemployment. (CT)

This document records the oral and written testimony of witnesses at a Congressional hearing on U.S. needs for training in high technology areas. Testimony was given by local officials, corporate officials, a union representative, and two professors of engineering from universities in Indiana. Testimony centered on jobs and job training, reforming…

Although plant closings and layoffs have been happening for a long time, today's recessions, major changes in the structure of the economy, and a tight job market have combined to make plant closings a more serious problem. Workers are faced with unemployment from both traditional labor-displacing changes, such as the increasing use of robotics;…

The current pressure to look seriously at the connection between the economy and the educational and occupational skills of adults is being driven by changes in both economic conditions and the makeup of the U.S. labor force. Manufacturing has declined, taking with it low-skill, high-wage jobs, and the work force has more immigrants, women, and…

This summary of a conference proceedings presents the main points and questions of a 1-day conference held to explore research and policy issues arising from the report of the Panel on Technology and Employment, "Technology and Employment: Innovation and Growth in the U.S. Economy." The meeting brought together more than 100 persons from…

In the middle of the 20th century, job training was largely unnecessary, since workers were desperately needed to labor in manufacturing and construction jobs. Skills were learned on the job, and even a high school diploma was not needed for most occupations. Workers received wages that allowed them to raise a family comfortably and then to retire…

American society is based on work. The industrial revolution exposed a growing proportion of the population to unemployment, underemployment, and dislocation. Early theoreticians believed that unemployment was a temporary labor market imbalance that would correct itself with downward wage adjustments. John Maynard Keynes, on the other hand, argued…

A study was conducted in Illinois to determine how effectively the vocational education system was meeting its responsibilities to train, retrain, and upgrade employed and unemployed workers in new skills for which there is a demand in the state, under the terms of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. Responses were received from…

New corporate practices and strategies, technological advances and rising job skill requirements are making postsecondary training a virtual necessity for a high-paying job. This is driving a wedge between the earnings of education "haves" and "have nots." Corporate restructuring is eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs,…

Today, this country is facing awesome challenges. Technology is changing all aspects of life, while work force requirements shift rapidly, swelling the numbers of workers who need to be retrained. At the same time, information technologies are creating changes in the automated office. Higher-level literacy is required for most workers in this…

These proceedings consist of summaries of the following papers and discussions that were presented at a conference designed to bring leaders from education, business, state and local government, and labor together to discuss Minnesota's need to address the issue of basic skills in the workplace. The volume begins with a foreword by Rosemarie Park…

This document, a transcript of a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on a Reagan Administration proposal, discusses consolidation of existing federal vocational and adult education programs, simplification of requirements for states and other recipients participating in federal vocational and adult education programs, authorization of…

This report focuses on the current dynamics and greater potential of linking postsecondary continuing education activities to the training and retraining of the American workforce. Four issues were identified as central to adult education as it relates to human resource development and the improvement of the nation's economy. These issues are (1)…

Technological, demographic, and competitive pressures have transformed the U.S. labor market and must be dealt with on a priority basis. The urgency of the problem can best be addressed by creating a national institution that is independent of government, business, and labor but that draws on all three sectors to develop a broad array of policies…