Analysis of the Project ALERT (Adult Literacy Enhanced & Redefined through Training) Workplace Literacy Project produced a description of the needs assessment process, steps, and instruments that can be used for needs assessment in other workplace education projects. The data for the needs assessment were collected through the following methods: a…

A collaborative project involved Collins and Aikman, Inc., Pitt Community College, and the U.S. Department of Education in an effort to improve the literacy level of the company's work force in order to increase productivity. A pretest of about 400 of the company's 513 workers in 1 division uncovered educational needs in reading and mathematics…

Workplace literacy programs have been viewed as the way to raise workers' basic skills so they could perform more effectively in increasingly complex work environments. As these programs have proliferated, so have the number of issues associated with workplace literacy. Some issues are related to assumptions underlying the need for workplace…

The role of vocational education and training (VET) in the context of the dynamic and changing demands of the world of work is explored through a more comprehensive approach to the overall system of human resources development (HRD). HRD is the concern of both educationists and economists. To an educationist, HRD should first be human and then…

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…

A search of recent research on group training apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia found that group training companies (GTCs) are making a strong contribution to Australia's apprentice and trainee system. Key findings include the following: (1) group training apprentice and trainee numbers doubled over the period of 1995-2000; (2) over…

This annotated bibliography describes 42 documents dealing with work force and workplace literacy. Annotations are provided for 17 how-to guides and assessment tools, 19 policy reports and research papers, and 6 surveys. The following are among the topics covered in the individual documents described: job-related literacy training, basic skills in…

A party of vocational educators from the United Kingdom (UK) traveled to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to observe the role of industrial tutors in providing technical training to German workers. During their study, the investigators focused their attention on the role of the meister in the vocational education and training system in…

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…

Workplace basics are those basic skills that enable adult employees and prospective employees to learn and perform tasks on the job and in the training environment, thus increasing the likelihood of their being hired, advancing on the job, and participating in more advanced training opportunities. This manual provides a holistic, global definition…

A party of vocational educators from the United Kingdom (UK) traveled to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to observe current experiments with the first year of apprenticeship training or, as it is called in Germany, the Berufsgrundbildungsjahr (BGJ). During its study, the visiting party focused its attention on the objectives, design,…