New ways to learn at work draw upon workers' previous experiences, link concepts and practices, and encourage reflection and the transfer of knowledge from one situation to another. Action, situated, and incidental learning are three current approaches. Action learning is a systematic process through which individuals learn by doing. It has been…

In a high performance work organization (HPWO), employee basic skills are just one of many components. HPWOs feature the following: they have flatter organizational structures, have work done by teams of highly skilled workers, and have a focus on quality, customer service, and continuous improvement. The collaborative approach to workplace…

Training and development professionals play a unique role in helping people improve their performance by using all aspects of the work environment to make those improvements occur. These professions are currently debating the existence of an integrated theoretical framework and how it might support practice in their field. Human performance…

This digest summarizes in a question and answer format a full length report of the same title. It addresses the importance of recruiting minority students for diversity at institutions of higher education. Noted are increasing numbers for these groups along with the current low education levels found among minorities and the potential shortage of…

The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report challenged schools, parents, and businesses to help all students develop competencies in the basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities required for work in the current and future workplace. In response to this challenge, vocational-technical programs were…

Until very recently, with the exception of adult religious education, spirituality has been given little attention in mainstream academic adult education. This may be because spirituality is difficult to define and can be confused with religion. The subject of spirituality is currently a theme in workplace and human resource development…

The community college's role in economic development has expanded beyond providing traditional vocational education and job training to include activities as diverse as management and technical assistance for new and small businesses, tech prep programs with high schools, cooperative education programs, partnerships with state agencies, and…

Most teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) face a number of challenges: large and heterogeneous classes, specialized student needs, and poor funding and employment continuity. Many work part time, often in more than one program and serving simultaneously as administrator and teacher. While most have college degrees, their training is…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 authorized a comprehensive workforce improvement program that will significantly impact rural areas. Local schools can help shape implementation of WIA because of its principles of local participation, increased skills for workers, and improved youth programs. This digest focuses on WIA's major elements,…

The increasing emphasis on work force development as a policy goal is bringing to the forefront a continuing debate over which of two roads--work force education or literacy development--the field of adult education should take. The recent shift in the welfare reform policy from emphasis on investing in basic and job skills to emphasis on quick…

The numbers of women with low literacy levels, the increased labor force participation of women, and increasing literacy requirements on the job make the case for the inclusion of a literacy component in employment programs for women. Such programs should strive to be comprehensive, learner-centered, flexible, standards-based, and linked to…

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 has ushered in a new era of welfare reform. A work-first approach emphasizes self-sufficiency designed to move welfare recipients into the workforce as quickly as possible. The first of two issues related to the current context of welfare-to-work…

The challenge of preparing young people for employment and facilitating the smooth transition from school to work has spurred the enactment of the federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA), in May 1994. The intent of STWOA is to establish a national framework in which states can create work- and school-based learning systems that include…

In many respects, career education has never been needed more than it is today. The need to keep abreast of technological change and to participate effectively in today's high-performance workplace requires each worker to possess a set of basic competencies and a foundation of skills and personal qualities. The competencies, foundation skills, and…

This digest describes cultural considerations and effective approaches for limited English proficient (LEP) individuals' workforce development, including the impact of recent training legislation. LEP persons often come from both a different language background and a very different cultural background; so English-language instruction must provide…