Apprenticeship is engrained in America's history -- three of the Founding Fathers started their careers as apprentices. Apprenticeship is a model employers can trust, helping to ensure talent is prepared for in-demand opportunities while also providing a quality postsecondary path for young Americans who are questioning the traditional four-year…

Workforce development programs and job satisfaction were topics that were well-studied in traditional groups of workers and it was known that these programs had a positive effect on the contributions and outcomes of today's organizations. The research problem addressed the lack of focus on non-traditional groups of workers and the associated lower…

Many adult learners have employment goals, from preparing to enter the workforce to improving skills that can lead to a better job. Resources in the Workforce Competitiveness Collection--research-based products and materials, and research papers--can help readers expand and improve work-based basic skills classes offered to adults. This paper…

Organizational life evokes joy, hate, anger, despair, curiosity, and esteem, yet as far as management is concerned, emotions are disruptive, dysfunctional, and derailing. In spite of managerial reluctance to embrace the emotional self as a relevant aspect of the worker, emotion makes everyone human, and organizations weigh on workers' emotional…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on motivation for learning and performance that was conducted as part of a conference on human resource development (HRD). "A Holistic Approach towards Motivation To Learn" (Constantine Kontoghiorghes) reports on a study that identified the following key variables within and outside…

The first two chapters of this report recount the history and organizational goals of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and then list challenges and barriers to adult training and education. Chapter 3 describes characteristics of programs that would respond to the skill-building challenge: (1) provide opportunities to all…

The education policies of governments have become increasingly directed towards economic ends, including the development of workforce skills. UK governments have been particularly committed to such policies and have adopted some quite distinctive tools, relying heavily on targets and emphasizing certificated rather than uncertificated learning.…

Three alternative views of adult development can serve to distinguish competing schools of thought regarding the research, theory, and practice of human resource development (HRD). These views are as follows: (1) the person-centered view, which aims at self-realization of the individual and is grounded in humanistic psychology and liberalism; (2)…

The purpose of this book is to equip trainers to perform with excellence. Chapter 1 focuses on how adults learn and interact, examines the impact instructors have on learning, and introduces the instructor performance system. Chapter 2 details the requirements of the instructor's job. Chapter 3 outlines the system that enables training managers to…

These four papers are from a symposium on integrating learning and performance. "Identifying the Skill Requirements and Performance Needs of Small Manufacturers" (Julie A. Furst-Bowe) reports a survey to identify needs of small manufacturers in northwestern Wisconsin and to determine whether a university-based performance improvement…

A study to explore organizational conditions that facilitate workplace learning involved 35 resource development consultants in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and line staff from 22 organizations in a 9-hour participatory research workshop using Appreciative Inquiry--a technology emphasizing the positive or "life-giving" forces which…

This paper promotes the adoption of the lifetime learning targets that form part of National Education and Training Targets (NETTS) for Lifetime Learning in the United Kingdom. Section 1 defines NETTs as goals for levels of participation in education and training. Section 2 considers the characteristics and current profile of adult learners.…

This handbook introduces a new training model that reflects the complexity of organizational life, changes in the human resources (HR) function, and the need to involve line management. Part I outlines the new context in which training must be delivered. It discusses the changing organizational requirements for training and the changing position…

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) evaluated the feasibility of individual learning accounts (ILAs) as an approach to workforce development. Thirteen federal agencies volunteered to participate in the initiative. Together, they conducted a total of 17 pilot tests. Some pilot tests included all employees in the agency. Others targeted…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on adult learning in the workplace. The first paper, "Measuring Critical Thinking: Is There a Single Instrument?" (Patricia K. Leitsch, Carol A. Lentz), examines two issues: the relationship between tests measuring critical thinking and those measuring readiness for self-directed…