This report explores the crucial transformation of the United States from an industrial to a post-industrial economy, with a particular focus on the shifting skill levels and incomes of American workers. It shows the increasing value of postsecondary education in today's economy and examines how workers have fared as the nation's focus has shifted…

A project examined changes in the workplace and in employment in four states that were broadly representative of the United States--Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, and Missouri. It identified common concerns and issues across the four states, including graduated awareness of the vast changes in the workplace, the ambivalence of business leaders'…

The California Postsecondary Education Commission is currently producing a series of policy briefs examining the nexus between workforce development and postsecondary education. The research question "How does California's postsecondary education system contribute to the needs of the state's economy and its future?" will serve as the…

This paper examines the economic impact of Walker Technical Institute (WTI) in Georgia on its local economy. In 1994, the annual report by Georgia's Department of Technical and Adult Education found a 77% increase from 1985 in the number of students participating in classes. State financial support for the Department of Technical and Adult…

This document contains action plans for four states (Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, and Missouri) involved in the Jobs for the Future program designed to enhance states' ability to handle economic change. The first section, "A Call to Action," discusses what Colorado's public and private sectors must consider doing to meet the…

Jobs for the Future undertook a program designed to enhance the ability of four states--Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, and Missouri--to manage economic change is described in this report. An analysis of what was happening in the state economies, especially the kinds of jobs that were being created, was carried out. The research portions of the…

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…

This document contains five papers from a seminar devoted to the rise in the level of diplomas across the labor market. "Diploma and the Labour Market: Results and Questions Stemming from European Research" (Louis Mallet) discusses the findings of a recent study of six European countries in an attempt to explain the enormous growth in…

This document describes the essential elements of jobs for the Future's (JFF) four-state work force preparation policy proces. It begins with a brief outline of the following five steps: (1) use information to clarify necessary action; (2) create regional and community forums; (3) educate and empower the citizenry; (4) assess employer practices…

We are witnessing an historic shift in our approach to employment policy that will have profound implications for vocational educators. This shift is most recognizable in the waning influence of demand-side economics and the ascendence of supply-side economics. Recent indications are that public policy is no longer firmly committed to maintaining…

The unprecedented economic growth sustained in the period following World War II to the early 1970s in the world, in Australia, and in particular, in South Australia fostered the growth of liberal education and emphasis on self-development and excellence of the individual. However, the growth in inflation from the modest levels of the early 1970s…

In the Republic of Korea, technical and vocational education (TVE) programs in the formal education system are provided at senior secondary schools and postsecondary institutions (junior colleges). Out-of-school vocational training is provided as nonformal education. Since the early 1960s, the TVE system has been restructured in response to…