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…

The aim of establishing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) marked the development of the Bologna process since its beginning, while it exercised a decisive influence on the content of the higher education policy initiatives undertaken over the years. One of the most important goals of the relevant policy making was to bridge the…

This self-study guide provides state and local education agencies and schools with a tool to assess implementation of career readiness practices across a district or secondary school and to plan improvements. It is arranged by implementation areas that have been found to be important to career readiness efforts based on a review of the literature…

Cooperative and Work-integrated Education (CWIE) programs have been widely accepted as educational programs that can effectively connect what students are learning to the world of work through placements. Because a global quality standards framework could be a very valuable resource and guide to establishing, developing, and accrediting quality…

Continues a series outlining effective guidance services or programs developed by Canadian counselors/educators to meet the needs of students, educators or the community. Each project is described by those who originated or carried it out. Barrie Day outlines some findings about the identification and training of potential entrepreneurs.…

Focuses on school-based enterprises as a school-to-work option. These programs provide hands-on training for students with mild disabilities in for-profit ventures with the structure and supervision available in a school setting. Program development for operating for-profit enterprises is discussed and steps for getting the business started are…

Defines youth and adult apprenticeships as key elements in school-to-work transition. Describes key characteristics of apprenticeship programs and the nature of exemplary programs, including a table of characteristics of 12 model programs. Discusses current changes in such programs to meet employer and student needs. Offers suggestions for…

Ohio's Work SITE Learning Model is the product of a national demonstration project for the integration of academic and vocational learning, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The model is made up of three components: the connecting component, the school-based learning component, and the work-based learning component. This implementation…

This bulletin focuses on workplace mentors for all students involved in work-based learning as required in the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. It reviews these key issues that should be addressed in developing an effective mentoring component in a school-to-work system: a recruitment plan for mentors; eligibility screening for mentors and…

Many students in today's high schools choose courses and work experiences in an unplanned, aimless manner that often results in limited career options and undeveloped potential. Innovative educators across the nation have responded by restructuring schools around career pathways, which are integrated, multiyear sequences of career guidance,…

School-based enterprise (SBE) can be defined as any school-sponsored activity that engages a group of students in producing goods or services for sale to or use by people other than the students involved. The advantages of SBEs include the following: deeper understanding of academic subject matter through application in a practical context,…

This guide identifies the key steps that any work/education partnership program should take to achieve success and patterns of critical issues that such collaborations must address if they are to survive. It is rooted in the experiences of "The Partnership Projects," a network of 21 work/education partnership programs in cities around the country.…

This set of three case studies (fictional composites) is intended for use in training sessions with individuals who wish to start or improve a work/education partnership program. The case studies illustrate common experiences encountered by 21 work/education partnerships. Case #1 examines the beginnings of a work/education partnership in the city…

The guide, developed by the Secondary Transition and Employment Project (STEP) in Idaho, is intended for agency or school staff developing a community-based vocational training program for persons with mild, moderate, or severe disabilities. The guide is intended to be used with three available video tapes. The first module's goal is the…

This guide is a tool to assist educators in the development of high-quality work-based learning sites in New Hampshire as part of the state's school-to-work program. The guide is divided into two sections. The first section, Common Elements of Work-Based Learning, provides information and guidelines for addressing program design issues for all…