Examines the significance of reclassification in public welfare, focusing on the Michigan plan of reclassification as a case study. The National Association of Social Worker's (NASW's) current strategy in addressing reclassification is evaluated and several alternative strategies and policies for the organization are considered. (JAC)

Discusses declassification, the reduction in standards of education and experience required for social service jobs. Describes factors contributing to declassification of social work positions and offers a set of strategies for future action, including lobbying, arousing public awareness, and disseminating information. (JAC)

Trends shaping the workplace are increased skill requirements; more educated, diverse work force; continued corporate restructuring; change in size and composition of training departments; instructional technology advances; new training delivery methods; focus on performance improvement; integrated high-performance work systems; companies becoming…

This brief examines trends in the retail trade, especially in grocery stores, from an international perspective. A comparison of recent national studies finds the following: (1) significant differences in structure and organization exist, especially in the role of traditional small shops versus large chain grocery stores; (2) increasing store size…

Since the 1960s there has been a major expansion in the number of people in Australia holding post school educational credentials and the proportion of the full time work force with those credentials. The penalties of not holding credentials, in terms of the incidence and duration of unemployment, are increasingly severe. At the same time, there…

This book investigates how workers use computers and how they learn the needed skills, based on a study of 140 occupations in which computers are currently used. Its main finding is that relatively few workers need a lot of computer-related training. Chapter 1, the introduction, discusses the rapid growth and spread of computers across a wide…

A series of roundtable discussions, designed to bring together employers and educators in small and informal sessions to discuss youth employment and related issues, was held in Birmingham, Hartford, Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago. The discussions yielded policy implications in five major areas. These are access to the private sector,…