The changed dynamic between tertiary students and universities has resulted in much discussion about consumer rights and obligations. Whilst some consider the change from students to clients to be simply an accurate reflection of changing times, others believe the trend to be a covert blueprint for radical change imposed by forces external to the…

Traces the development of continuing education and contract training in publicly funded postsecondary institutions in British Columbia, Canada. The first section describes the changing orientation over time, while the second half considers themes across all categories of institution. The appendix describes each institution individually. This…

Postsecondary noncredit education has become increasingly common; many community colleges now enroll more noncredit than credit students. Much of the growth has occurred in workforce instruction and contract training, programs are noted for their role in meeting shifting workforce demands and providing skills in a way that is flexible and…

Describes the now widespread community college involvement in contract training, explaining how this involvement arose and analyzing its impact on the community college. Information comes from national data on contract training and from case studies of the forms contract training takes in community colleges in five states servicing five very…

Describes contract training whereby industries arrange with community colleges, technical institutes, and vocational schools to prepare employees for specific job assignments. Indicates that industrial training performed under contract with public institutions should be encouraged in favor of expansion of training that industry performs for…

The Washington State Job Skills Program (JSP) was established by the legislature in 1983 as an economic development incentive to provide customized, quick-start training to meet the employment needs of new or expanding businesses in the state. Funds are granted to public and private educational institutions to train people for new jobs, prepare…

This report presents a summary of findings from the Emerging Pathways project, which seeks to identify the diverse needs and characteristics of adult learners, understand patterns of enrollment in credit and non-credit-bearing courses and offer advice to postsecondary institutions and policymakers committed to adult learners' success. Among its…

This manual provides guidelines for promoting adult vocational programs in order to obtain increased funding, expand program offerings, attract more students, and develop and conduct customized training. The publication is organized in seven chapters. Chapter 1 discusses briefly the history of adult vocational training, reviews its purposes,…

This manual offers guidelines for vocational educators who want to develop and conduct short-term training programs for business and industry. The guide is organized in six chapters. Chapter 1 reviews some of the opportunities in short-term training, discusses commonly applied principles of competency-based training, and suggests a practical model…

This document is intended to assist individuals responsible for managing staff development in adult and community learning (ACL) in the United Kingdom. The guide presents step-by-step advice for designing and implementing an approach based on the belief that staff development should do the following things: (1) relate holistically to the…

This guide is intended to help two-year colleges create viable linkages with business, industry, and labor and design and offer training programs for and in cooperation with business and labor. The first part covers the following aspects of linkages: business and industry perspectives on linkages and cooperative programming, organized labor…

Since September 11, 2001, New York City (NYC) has lost over 130,000 jobs, unemployment in the boroughs is around 9% and unemployment benefits have run out for many. NYC has long neglected workforce development, viewing it as a social service to distribute federal funds and train entry workers for dead-end jobs. To create a workforce system from…

Successful employer engagement requires that colleges in the United Kingdom secure employers' involvement in the design, development, management, and delivery of post-16 learning so that the skill needs of employers and the workforce will be met and the increased productivity, competitiveness, and efficiency of individual organizations and the…

Australian employers' appraisal and use of vocational education and training (VET) qualifications were examined through case studies of 15 small, medium, and large organizations in 8 of Australia's "old" and "new" economy industries. Data were collected through interviews with management/employer representatives, middle…

Australia introduced User Choice nationally in January 1998 to develop a national training system that is more responsive to clients' needs. User Choice is based on nine principles, including the following: (1) clients can negotiate their publicly funded training needs; (2) User Choice operates in a national training market not limited by state or…