In a competitive workforce it is not just having the right qualification or technical skills that will land an individual a job; it could very well be their interpersonal skills. How someone communicates is often the first impression an employer has of a possible worker. Yet, it is precisely communication skills that employers feel applicants are…

This paper discusses the importance of effective training and workforce development programs as part of a broader strategy to increase the competitiveness of American workers. Although rapid technological change and increasing global competition have delivered great economic benefits to the U.S. economy overall, the development of new and more…

To improve the employment rates and earnings of Americans workers, we need to create more-coherent and more-effective education and workforce development systems, focusing primarily (though not exclusively) on disadvantaged youth and adults, and with education and training more clearly targeted towards firms and sectors that provide good-paying…

Governments are currently mobilising their national workforces to compete effectively in a globalised economy where being export-effective and import-competitive are necessary to secure national economic and social goals. Australia is no exception here. Yet, in this country, as in others, similar mobilisations occurred in earlier times, most…

A brief history of how manpower policy has evolved and how it has interacted with education. (Editor)

Lower manpower quality and increasingly sophisticated equipment are creating training problems for both industry and the military. The training technology demanded by this situation must be delivered to and available at the job site, must be designed to motivate independent use by students rather than to encourage teacher acceptance, must be…

As a result of a seminar investigating the need for certification of trainers, a list of core competencies for training and development specialists was compiled. This checklist is organized into eleven areas of competency: (1) administration; (2) communication; (3) course design; (4) evaluation; (5) group dynamics process; (6) learning theory; (7)…

This paper reviews existing manpower training programs in light of the dual labor market theory, and discusses the implications for community colleges in addressing the needs of the unemployed within their service areas. The dual labor market theory postulates that there are two distinct spheres of employment: a primary labor market in which…

This report describes the development of a flexible model program of instruction that included curriculum elements, training objectives, instructional methods and procedures, and measures for evaluating both individual trainee needs and training achievement for Work Incentive Orientation Training. The research is part of an effort to prepare…

Designed for front-line training professionals, this book addresses the most pressing issues in the training and development field (T&D). "Introduction" (Lisa A. Burke) discusses the importance of viewing training as a subsystem of human resources, training as a systematic process, and indicators of high impact training.…

The approaches to employability being taken by United Kingdom employers were examined in a study that included three components: a literature review to develop a definition of employability and isolate its key elements; case studies of six organizations to identify employers' approaches to employability; and examination of related literature on…

This report, the first of a series on productivity and job security, presents five case studies to illustrate retraining to achieve worker's adjustment to technology. The first of seven chapters addresses the following issues: the availability of job training/retraining data, the desirability of informing workers in advance of technological…

This publication is part of the study materials for the distance education course, Adults Learning: The Changing Workplace B, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University. Section 1 looks mostly at male-dominated trades work and at some historical modes of the flexing of political muscle in struggles over the definition of work and skill. It…

This document contains three papers on key skills and competencies and human resource development (HRD). "Career Related Competencies" (Marinka A.C.T. Kuijpers) reports findings from surveys completed by Dutch employees who identified these issues: self-reflection is more important than career control; age and gender influence attitude…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined publicly supported training programs for employed workers, including low-wage workers. The GAO surveyed local workforce boards nationwide and received responses from 470 boards. Two-thirds of the responding boards provided assistance to train employed workers, including partnering with employers to…