This paper provides a summary of four projects currently funded through Australia's National Center for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), including what they propose to achieve and their preliminary findings to date. After an introduction, an overview of preliminary findings from the four projects is presented. The following barriers to…

A research study, based on a survey of the literature, sought to: (1) analyze recent economic, technological, and sociological trends in Japan; (2) analyze how those trends have or have not had an impact on Japan's historical and currently famous approach to the management of its human resources; and (3) based on findings, present arguments for or…

The completion of the single market by the end of 1992 will remove internal obstacles to the free flow of goods and services within the European Community. The implications for education and training, and in particular for those colleges selling customized updating and similar courses to companies and organizations, are far-reaching. This bulletin…

A project was conducted in Dudley Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands, England, to determine needs for engineering training in the face of declining industry and to halt the decline in industry and enrollment in the three colleges in the area. A project leader was chosen and a team trained in 3 weeks of workshops on market research, training…

This publication describes six Framing the Future (FTF) staff development projects that use work-based learning with different project teams and learning activities varying from general awareness to specific skills development in Australia. "The Center for Human Services--Working for Its People" describes a project that introduced a…

Nine European Community Member States (Belgium, Germany, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and United Kingdom) conducted national studies that involved case studies of quality assurance in continuing education. Analysis of findings indicated that many firms regarded continuing training as a central instrument for achieving…

This paper, on the returns on investment (ROI) in training, introduces some practical examples for enterprises or organizations wanting to find out whether the money they have spent or intend to spend on training is necessary. It provides strategies for researchers who would like to undertake research in this area. The paper begins by examining…

This publication reports on a forum on competency based training (CBT) research in Australia. Section 1 contains biographies of presenters and panel members. Section 2 presents an overview of the research and highlights key findings. Summaries follow of each of the five key projects. "The CBT Decade: Teaching for Flexibility and…

This literature survey analyzes the process of industrial restructuring as it is occurring in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, and the United States. It looks in particular at how various agents of education and training in these countries--the school system, public and private education and training institutions and firms--are responding…

A pilot study on the hotel, catering, and tourism sector was conducted in the Burgundy region of France, Northwest region of the Czech Republic, and Podravje region of Slovenia. Three main kinds of factors of change were brought out. The first, evoked in Slovenia and the Czech Republic, concerned the opening of borders. Typical trends were…

This monograph on the vocational education and training (VET) system in Spain is one of a series on VET systems in the European Union Member States. Chapter 1 provides this background information: political and administrative structures, population, Spanish economy, and employment. Chapter 2 describes the current education system. Chapter 3 covers…

A survey of 456 further education (FE) colleges in England and Wales identified the FE sector's activities in providing effective training and development to smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Of 120 colleges that responded, 87.5 percent provided direct training to SMEs; 79.2 percent were developing or acquiring teaching or training…

Transformations in the French metalworking industries have given rise to numerous studies on employment and job content in metallurgy over the past decade. One study related technical transformations to changes in the skills content of certain categories of workers. Although automation results in the elimination of certain know-how belonging to an…

This report compiles information from a study tour to identify the current status, development, and issues of nonprofit organizations with voluntary boards of management that provide adult and community-based education (ACE) in Australia. An overview of the community-based ACE sector covers organizations in South Australia, Western Australia,…

This book studies how structural factors may contribute to determining both the volume and the composition of educational activities for adults. It then examines results or outcomes from work-related training. Part I outlines the agenda of the book. Chapter 1 introduces the metaphor of the shadow educational system, which describes an educational…