America is facing a skilled labor shortage in the construction industry. Predictions, like those from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, are that things may get worse. Retiring construction workers must be replaced if this industry is to grow. The estimate is around a quarter of a million replacements are needed each year.…

The development and operation of the Federally funded Ventures in Community Improvement Demonstration Project (VICI) and its impact on participant youths and communities are summarized in this report. VICI's purposes were (1) to provide young, minority, inner-city, high school dropouts with intensive skills training in the workplace that could…

The report describes a study of industry-sponsored upgrading programs for journeymen in construction unions. Interviews with union and training officials, as well as 405 journeymen and 99 contractors, revealed that upgrading activities were concentrated in electrical work, carpentry, and the pipe trades, and that both the number of programs and…

The Crystal City Independent School District Bilingual Vocational Training Program was designed to provide business/printing education, auto mechanics, and industrial construction competencies to trainees exhibiting interest in these training areas. The participants were adults who were underemployed or unemployed in the community of Crystal City,…

Part of a project to expand and improve the occupational options of low-income women, this program model (one of thirty nationwide) describes classroom training and work experience in the building maintenance skilled trade areas (maintenance and repair of electrical machinery, construction carpentry, plastering, painting, and papering). Part I, an…

When deciding how to compete in the new global economy, employers can opt for "low-road" strategies such as low wages and no job security. Alternatively, they can choose the "high road" and compete by offering quality goods and services, innovation, and value. Fourteen successful "high-road" partnerships were examined…