A large-scale evaluation was conducted of Jobs-First GAIN, a strongly employment-focused mandatory welfare-to-work program. Its main features were an unusually intensive program orientation; high quality job clubs; job development activities; strong encouragement to take entry-level jobs and combine work and welfare in the short-term; and…

Interviews with young workers, their parents, and their employers in seven communities (Birmingham, Alabama; Salinas, California; Esterville, Milford, and Terril, Iowa; Lawrence, Massachusetts; and Detroit, Michigan) show that today's young workers--the 20 million 16- to 24-year-olds who do not plan to go to college--do not receive the support…

A study examined the school-to-work transition of a group of 16-year-olds from two mining communities in Nottinghamshire, England. During the study, the 174 school leavers were interviewed within 6 months prior to their leaving school. Nine months later, 103 of the original 174 youths were interviewed again. Finally, the youths were asked to…

A study of the employment experiences of recent education graduates of the University of Alberta (Canada) suggested that teaching jobs were in short supply. Only 62 percent found full-time employment, although 86 percent sought teaching jobs. Job location, age, and extent of job search emerged as important influences on employment status.…

A recent study showed that many adolescents cannot effectively navigate the labor market. They do not know how to obtain a job nor how to leave one gracefully. In this study on the school-to-work transition, interviews were conducted with 25 adolescents over a one-year time span. Researchers observed the youths at work and interviewed their…

This book explains how individuals can contract their way to jobs or careers in the 21st century workplace. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) how the workplace has changed (looking for work instead of a job; hidden employment opportunities; reasons contracting makes sense; making it easier to get hired; the need for…

The Adolescent Worker Study was designed to provide an in-depth analysis of the job experiences and related life histories of out-of-school working youth. To do this, a team of investigators first identified work sites across a range of industrial sectors that were currently engaged in hiring young workers between the ages of 17 and 21. Then, the…

This book is intended to serve as a career coach to individuals interested in setting a career goal, formulating a career path, and identifying and using strategies to follow the path to the career goal. The book is designed to be used in conjunction with the author's career coaching Web site, which is referred to throughout the book and which…

This book examines the factors responsible for the difficulties being experienced by many young Canadians trying to find permanent jobs in a growing economy and explains how Canadian youths can make the best use of the opportunities offered by academic and other programs to find a satisfying life in the workforce. The following are among the…