This document describes the AFL-CIO's Upgrading and Career Ladder Program (UCLP), which creates a system of structured, work-based learning integrating on-the-job training with related theoretical instruction. The UCLP has the following objectives: to meet workers' skill upgrading and occupational mobility needs; to encourage unions and employers…

These proceedings of a symposium on literacy include precis of six speakers' comments and a directory of the participants. "The Hidden Education Problem" (Paul Simon) addresses the need to provide all citizens with the opportunity to learn to read and write. "The Role of Government in Literacy" (Jean-Jacques Noreau) describes…

The Bethlehem Area Chamber of Commerce, using a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, developed a model program to demonstrate the effectiveness of a business-based network to improve the literacy level of the local work force. The project involved increasing business member awareness of literacy needs, creating linkages among…

Mercer County Community College (New Jersey) and six small businesses used federal grant money to develop a model program of workplace literacy that would assist 600 adult workers with inadequate basic skills in performing their jobs. In analyzing the overall skills of the work force, the literacy audit identified these basic skills/literacy…

A demonstration project was conducted in Alabama to create a basic skills workplace curriculum that would assist a local corporation in improving work force productivity. During the 3-year project, a job-specific curriculum was written for Russell Corporation's Skills Training at Russell (STAR) program. The curriculum covered four topics: safety,…

This volume, Interim Report No. 2 in a 3-year study, establishes the need for job-linked literacy programs that respond to technological and organizational change, outlines the character of successful programs, and demonstrates these programs' potential value. The volume is divided into two parts: report and case studies. The introduction to the…

This volume, Interim Report No. 1 in a 3-year study, recommends that employers who want to enlarge the pool of applicants for entry-level career-oriented jobs give serious attention to "vestibule training." The volume is divided into two parts: report and case studies. The report suggests that vestibule training programs can provide job candidates…

This volume, Interim Report No. 3 in a 3-year study, considers literacy programs designed to qualify employees for promotions or professional advancement. It adopts a multidimensional definition of moving ahead, one that extends to monetary rewards, career development, and employment security. The volume is divided into two parts: report and case…

The U.S. work force is unready for the new jobs, unready for the new realities, unready for the new challenges of the 1990s. Across the board, jobs are demanding better reading, writing, and reasoning skills and more math and science. Statistics define the scope of the problem: 25 percent of young people drop out of high school; 70 percent of all…

This document introduces community leaders and practitioners to innovative approaches to improving workforce literacy by building accessible lifelong learning systems to prepare adults with the array of skills needed to prosper in the new economy. The introduction defines literacy and workforce literacy and outlines the challenges that education,…