A study identified innovative and exemplary state and local practices linking economic development and job training through community colleges and other institutions of higher and community education. The project reviewed the literature of national economic development activities and local government practices to stimulate economic development and…

In a nation where only about half of high school students go on to 4-year postsecondary institutions, vocational-technical education plays a critical role in preparing thousands of people for their first work experience and in retraining thousands more to take full advantage of new job opportunities. As part of the educational reform movement of…

As a result of a report from the National Commission on Excellence in Education recognizing the crisis in science, math, and technology training, and the increasing need for skilled manpower critical to economic growth and national defense, the federal government has proposed several bills for educational advancement. The President has signed into…

Research and development help employers work better with schools to the extent that there is connectivity from one to the other. Project SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) Integration has been implemented by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Germany. These U.S. schools, teachers, and students are situated in…

This document contains four papers presented at a symposium on practitioner states moderated by Kay Bull at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "The Effect of Locus of Control and Performance-Contingent Incentives on Productivity and Job Satisfaction in Self-Managing Teams" (Bonnie E. Garson, Douglas…

This paper discusses the role of public policy in the skills development system of the United States. It further examines the implications of that policy for the skill development and career progression of black workers. The paper describes the current "system" for skills development as a two-tiered system composed of (1) the "first…

This document contains four symposium papers on work force development. "Effects of Two Different Learning Paths on School-to-Work Transition" (Esther Van Der Schoot) discusses a Dutch study documenting that the following items make a difference in the school-to-work transition: learning path, curriculum characteristics, individual…

The U.S. work force is unready for the new jobs, unready for the new realities, unready for the new challenges of the 1990s. Across the board, jobs are demanding better reading, writing, and reasoning skills and more math and science. Statistics define the scope of the problem: 25 percent of young people drop out of high school; 70 percent of all…

The Learning Enrichment Foundation (LEF) in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) offers 12 targeted training programs that have successfully helped "hard-to-serve" clients return to the workforce. Compared with traditional training, targeted training has a much narrower focus and adapts quickly to industry trends to meet employers' changing…

Recent labor market and economic trends have spotlighted the need for work force development systems and policies to simultaneously serve employers seeking qualified workers and individuals who want to find work and advance toward self-sufficiency. This need has in turn led to the development of labor market intermediaries that can perform a wide…