Increasingly, companies are dropping four-year degree requirements in job postings, favoring skill-based requirements--such as communication and writing--instead. These types of nonacademic "soft skills" are viewed as essential for employment--employers consistently cite these abilities as among the most valuable in job applicants, yet…

This guide offers a framework for action for employer associations to help their members develop school-to-career programs that reflect the needs of today's workplace. The framework for action covers three areas: (1) identifying the major constituents; (2) understanding the constituents' needs; and (3) helping employers effect change. The…

This packet contains a series of five brochures that discuss workplace literacy program development. Each brochure deals with a specific aspect of such programs and reflects the expertise of several successful program developers and instructors. The brochures cover the following topics: (1) gaining management support; (2) working with management…

This monograph, written for persons interested in promoting company-funded workplace basic skills programs, addresses the following 13 key issues: (1) companies' rationale for investing in workers' basic skills; (2) the factors that need to be in place for a workplace basic skills program to be adopted; (3) who in the company makes the decision to…

Explores the difficult transition from campus to workplace and what employees can do to successfully enter an organization. Describes twelve steps which help make sense of this very critical career state, avoid costly mistakes, build solid foundation for advancement, and get a fast start. Steps are helpful in setting priorities and guiding…

This manual was developed as a guide for setting up a workplace education program. Based on the Workplace Education Project (WEP) in Peterborough, Ontario, the manual contains nine chapters that provide details of the WEP and suggestions for implementing the process in other locations. The first chapter provides a rationale for a WEP program, and…

A two-year research project was conducted to determine the skills employers consider necessary for the workplace. Recent changes in the economy have made employers begin to realize that they must assist their current and future workers in achieving competency in workplace basics if they are to be competitive. Employers have come to realize the…

Alternative schools in public school districts and private institutions offer a choice of more than one educational option to students. These schools usually have some of the following characteristics: voluntary participation, distinctiveness, nonexclusiveness, comprehensive objectives, and a supportive learning environment. Instructional styles…

Employers need training, want it, and are willing to pay for it providing it is relevant to their requirements, results in improved product quality, and fosters increased productivity. Firm characteristics make a difference not only with regard to the kinds of skills wanted by employers but also with regard to how training can best be delivered.…

Employee development programs (EDPs) are workplace adult education programs which focus on encouraging personal growth and improving confidence and self-esteem through the provision of leisure-based programs. EDPs are determined by employee needs, offered free of charge, and conducted outside working hours. EDPs were first implemented in the…

This selective list of resource materials focuses on education and training for employment of the learning disabled, to be used as a basis for modifying and developing attitudes, programs, materials, and resource libraries. It aims to assist the learning disabled in the transition from school to work, assist employers and employment agencies in…

This project was begun to explore the feasibility of instituting a personnel exchange program for vocational education--at both the secondary and postsecondary levels--and business and industry in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Following a literature search for other programs and interviews with representatives of business and industry and of…

The Work-Education Consortium Project involves more than thirty communities which have formed local councils to improve the relationship between the educational system and the employment system in their areas. The councils, each autonomous, are loosely organized and funded under the Department of Labor's Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects…

The Bethlehem Area Chamber of Commerce, using a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, developed a model program to demonstrate the effectiveness of a business-based network to improve the literacy level of the local work force. The project involved increasing business member awareness of literacy needs, creating linkages among…

The Prince George's County (Maryland) Public Schools and Prince George's Private Industry Council worked together to provide workplace literacy classes at worksites for employees of 10 different employers. Over 300 employees participated in classes in English as a second language or basic skills. Businesses in need of literacy and basic skills…