During CONFINTEA VII's Panel 4: "Preparing adults for the future of work" and throughout the conference, participants grappled with crafting a "transformative agenda," where adult learning and education (ALE) prepares adults for future workplaces, education is viewed as an individual right and a common good, and sustainable…

Given changes in the 21st century workplace and expectations of employers, the notion that a bachelor's degree is the sole pathway to sustainable employment and a middle-class life in the United States has become obsolete. Many (e.g., Fleming, 2016) have argued that employers are now seeking employees with technical skills, digital literacy, and…

Vocational and workforce education provide economic opportunity but often exclude or limit the participation of women. Here, we lay the foundation for developing workforce programming from a feminist perspective and building inclusion efforts within academic institutions for vocational education students and practitioners. Based on a systematic…

The U.S. workforce is increasingly comprised of older adults, women, and minorities who lack basic skills and are unable to acquire these skills through traditional educational and training programs. New approaches are needed to provide effective training to the adult learner and flexible support for nontraditional students who must balance…

Green jobs are currently a much-discussed topic in political, economic, and educational forums. Millions of Americans would be very glad to have one. But what are they exactly? Or more pointedly, what should they be and how can the field of adult education support their development? From the perspective of a community educator who has worked in…

Throughout the 1970's and 80's, rapidly advancing technologies, mergers and acquisitions, industry deregulation, emergence of new capital markets, and the shift to an increasingly competitive, global marketplace sparked new training needs for workers. In aerospace, auto, health care, steel, telecommunications and transportation industries, unions…

Purdue University--Mechanical, Engineering, and Technology (MET) faculty and Purdue Technical Assistance Program (TAP) staff partnered with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to create a new workforce training program and certificate exam in the field of green manufacturing. This article describes how the body of knowledge for the…

This article examines policy reports that advocate for new green jobs career pathways to help grow the green economy and create new opportunity structures in the green labor market. The reports are based on a series of propositions about the nature of green jobs and the existence of the political will to invest in new green education programs to…

With high unemployment and structural changes to industry, workforce development in the United States is a growing concern. Many semiskilled workers lack knowledge, skills, and abilities to be competitive for reemployment to green jobs. Nebraska's syNErgy research grant was introduced to address the training needs of unemployed and underemployed…

To provide equitable access to formal, nonformal and workplace learning, experts urge community, business, education and government partnerships. While membership in unions continues to decline and "opportunities for entry-level workers to become skilled workers is lessening," the partnership described in this article shows that it is…

Many organizations, whether private or public, invest extensively in training and development. Such investment in training and development does not guarantee that the organization is perceived as a learning organization. This study examined law enforcement adult educators' (training facilitators') perceptions of their organization promoting…

Over the past two decades, inner-city communities have witnessed double-digit joblessness among an increasing number of residents who are relegated to the status of the "permanent" unemployed or the permanent underclass. These residents cannot hope to be competitive in a changing and evolving labor market. Relying on public assistance, low-wage…

A survey of 333 Fortune 500 firms received 81 replies indicating that (1) two-thirds formally recognized the value of human resources; (2) most had changed corporate policy regarding human capital; and (3) most training was provided in the ares of new employee orientation, current job needs, customer relations, personal development, and…

The U.S. Secretary of Labor outlines the roles of the essential partners in work force development: employers, unions, educational institutions, and government. Her human resource agenda places high priority on workplace literacy and basic skills training. (SK)

Industry and education need to build trusting relationships through communication, networking, and a sharing of resources. That will increase the likelihood that the United States will have an effective work force for the twenty-first century. (Author/JOW)