Immigrants and refugees come to Canada for many reasons and are often risk-takers. Some ethnic groups follow identifiable patterns of distinctive economic development, while others meld and blend into Canadian society so that no discernible pattern can be identified. This publication provides an overview of the contributions made by seven…

A study combined results of a survey of employers in 18 European countries to establish the extent to which they are currently using eWork with European official statistics to develop models, estimates, and forecasts of the numbers of eWorkers in Europe. These four types of "individual" eWork were identified: telehomeworking;…

Using the UK Labour Force Survey, this paper considers whether graduate employment is more important in the small and medium-size enterprise (SME) sector in Northern Ireland than in other regions of the UK. The authors disaggregate their analysis by gender, occupation and industry to provide a detailed breakdown. The issue of whether graduates are…

In France, a "Very Small Enterprise" (VSE) is defined as a legally independent company with fewer than 10 salaried employees. VSEs are characterized by a great deal of movement in the creation, transformation, and disappearance of jobs and the extent of turnover, which seems tied with intensive use of public employment programs, notably…

A study examined the training needs of women working in moderate-sized enterprises owned by their husbands. Information collected from interviews with spouses of business owners in Belgium, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, and Italy confirmed the original hypothesis that in the kind of enterprise studied it is the man who owns the…

This document contains 11 papers on technological entrepreneurship, with particular focus on the following topics: the context of technological entrepreneurship; value creation and opportunity recognition in turbulent environments; venture capital in technological entrepreneurship; and managing in turbulent environments. The following papers are…

A conference examined the socioeconomic challenges of technological and educational change throughout the European community. One hundred fifty representatives from a cross section of countries and agencies involved in education, training, and employment gathered to discuss the following themes: the transition from initial training to employment…

The trend of couples starting their own businesses and partnering in self-employment ventures has been dubbed "copreneurship." Copreneurship is the fastest-growing segment of family-based businesses. Husband-and-wife teams constitute the most visible and most researched category of copreneurs. According to a 1997 study, 30% of family…

Electronic work (E-work) in Ireland was examined through a comparison of survey results from 301 Irish companies with 50 or more employees with averages for the 18 European countries, including 62 in the knowledge sector, and a subsequent survey of 100 smaller companies. Findings from other Irish surveys examining e-work were also considered.…

This document, which was developed on the basis of recent research and testimony of small business owners, managers and employees, and training providers, is a basic practical manual for those owners and managers of British small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who want to initiate or improve staff training and development activities. The…

In the classic employment contract, especially at large companies, wages were not strongly responsive to the labor market. Instead, individual companies had distinctive company wage levels and patterns. An exhaustive study of employers and employees in the United States and Japan examined whether the "old employment contract" has been…

A study examined key determinants of apprentice and trainee employment in small and medium-sized enterprises that play an increasing role in providing employment-based training in Australia. It used unit record data from four waves of the Australian Bureau of Statistics business growth and performance surveys 1994-95 to 1997-98, which sent…

This document contains eight articles from German newspapers that feature women who have achieved career success in very diverse economic sectors, while simultaneously highlighting the discrimination and other problems (including lower income, fewer promotions to executive positions, and smaller pensions) that many other German women continue to…

Evidence from North American pay practices was used to examine the question of whether the "old employment contact," according to which employees promised to exchange hard work for job security, has truly been replaced by a "new employment contract" based more on market forces. The study analyzed data from the following…

Recent research on Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system and women in small business was synthesized to identify ways of making VET more responsive to the needs of women in small business. Special attention was paid to the following topics: key issues affecting public policy (globalization, economic development, industry…