Humanities majors are used to answering the question, "So, what are you going to do with that degree?" The common misconception is that students in humanities programs don't learn any useful skills for the real world. In "Major Trade-Offs," sociologist Corey Moss-Pech argues that not only do humanities majors learn real-world…

By 2020, the global need for information security professionals is expected to reach six million and the shortfall in meeting that need is expected to be over one and a half million. Not only is there a shortage of cybersecurity professionals but those who are graduates of a cybersecurity program are not adequately skilled to assume significant…

Vocational education can help small business by (1) broadening the type and scope of skills taught; (2) helping prevent labor shortages by preparing disadvantaged and underrepresented groups for employment; and (3) helping small businesses determine their training and development needs. (SK)

This is a report on 18 months of work done in an experimental and demonstration project designed to develop ways to meet in-plant skill needs by upgrading the job skills of entry level (mostly minority group) workers and by improving capacity for better employee-supervisor relationships. Project activity took place in three cities--Newark,…

Belying the stereotypes, vocational schools, with the help of business, are developing better-trained, more productive workers. Improved vocational education programs can make academics relevant, reduce the dropout rate, encourage postsecondary education, provide jobs, and retrain older workers. (SK)

Over the past few decades, the economic prospects for workers possessing relatively few skills have worsened as the demand for skills in the labor market has increased. Even in jobs that might be categorized as low-skilled, workers require a diverse set of skills to succeed. Many of these skills can only be obtained through schooling or job…

The National Job Analysis Study (NJAS) originated from the work of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills and was designed to provide research necessary to identify and establish a taxonomy of workplace skills. Phase 1 identified an initial set of core behaviors common across occupations. The process began by identifying task…

This guide is designed to assist in the development of high technology training programs for secondary youth in conjunction with business and industry. The guide communicates issues and potential barriers to success encountered when planning and implementing a cooperative demonstration program. The following summary expresses lessons learned by…

Profound changes in the economy and the labor market have an effect on the role of employer-sponsored training in preparing and educating the country's work force. On the demand side of the labor market, these changes include the increase in international trade, the changing economic status of the United States relative to its trading partners,…

A study of business and labor was conducted to define the performance skills expected of those entering the workplace in the 1990s and beyond. Survey respondents were 1,120 business people and 26 labor representatives in Illinois of whom 90 participated in follow-up roundtable discussions. Respondents identified and rank ordered nine basic skills:…

The importance of a skilled and highly educated workforce to economic well-being is widely recognized, and the relationship between skills and income is becoming stronger over time. Largely as a result of growing demand for skilled workers, state-level training programs are becoming increasingly important as complements to federal programs.…

North Carolina employers were asked to evaluate the skills possessed by graduates of the state's educational institutions. The study also profiled any problems employers had in finding qualified applicants for positions. Baseline data were collected to profile education and training programs provided by employers. A random sample of 2,334…

The Tech Prep Associate Degree (TPAD) program must be clearly focused on technician-level occupations, which are expected to have the greatest occupational growth. Generally, the preparation required to enter the work force at the technician level is completion of an associate degree program that includes 50 percent theory and 50 percent applied…

This research study attempts to determine how teenage workers develop their employability skills in their first formal jobs. Case studies were carried out in 12 Australian enterprises of varying sizes and drawn from different industry areas. In each case study the following staff were interviewed: senior managers and/or human resources management…

Seventeen small and mid-sized employers from Annie E. Casey Foundation Jobs Initiative sites addressed the challenges of recruiting, retaining, and promoting frontline workers. Employers shared collaboration experiences with Jobs Initiatives sites to develop effective, efficient strategies to prepare and support low-income residents. Firms relied…