This study examines manufacturing employer perceptions of postsecondary credentials, the ways in which they find them valuable, and explores the barriers employers identify which prevent employees from enrolling in employer sponsored continuing education programs. In total, 14 staff members were interviewed representing five manufacturing…

Educational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational approach to tackle the lack of applicable…

This report describes a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Task Force on the Work of the Future to understand how community colleges are adapting their workforce programs to changing skill demands, diversifying pathways to certificates and degrees, and grappling with…

Introduction: Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) is an initiative convened by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It investigates the efficacy of coaches in helping primary-care practices improve the care of patients with diabetes and asthma. Most IPIP states use coaches who have a health care background, and are trained in quality…

Manufacturers in the United States are struggling to recruit and hire high-skilled workers needed to maintain productivity and to compete globally. While the total number employed in the manufacturing sector is shrinking, the demand for high-skilled workers has increased. Community and technical colleges have traditionally been an important source…

On a pleasant September day, 400 high school students and 40 teachers converged on the Careers in Technology, Engineering, and Manufacturing Day at the IGNITE manufacturing industry trade show, held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). These weren't students getting out of school for a day to go…

In February 2009, Macomb Community College held an unusual student "graduation" in a suburban office building. There were 25 "graduates"--all males, many of whom had 10 to 15 years of experience as auto body designers working for original equipment manufacturers (OEM's) and their suppliers in the Detroit metropolitan area. They…

Data from 841 Michigan manufacturing firms indicates that employee participation programs contribute substantially more to business performance in unionized than in nonunionized firms. Profit and gain sharing had more impact on performance in nonunionized firms. (SK)

A survey of 498 firms that applied for Michigan Job Opportunity Bank-Upgrade grants received 157 responses, including 66 grant recipients. Data showed receipt of grants associated with large, significant (though one-time) increase in training hours and lasting reduction in product scrap rates. (SK)

While other studies of local efforts to promote small town growth have generally shown negative results, this study of 88 small northwestern Michigan towns during the 1970s focused on external ties and contacts of local influentials and tended to support the growth machine hypothesis. Extensive metropolitan contacts increased population/program…

Focusing on the occupational clusters of natural resources and manufacturing, this unit entitled "Baking Industry" is one of four grade 2 units which are part of a total set of twenty-seven career development curriculum units for grades K-6. This unit is organized into four sections. Section 1 identifies one career development-centered…

In June 1985, a survey was sent by the Industrial Technology Institute to 397 Michigan automobile supplier firms concerning their industrial training in modern manufacturing technologies. The purposes of this survey were to investigate the training needs of Michigan automobile suppliers, with particular emphasis on how they met their training…

Focusing on the occupational clusters of clerical, business, sales and trades, and manufacturing, this unit entitled "Manufacturing" is one of four grade 5 units which are part of a total set of twenty-seven career development curriculum units for grades K-6. This unit is organized into four sections. Section 1 identifies one career…

Developed by an advisory board of industry and education representatives to raise issues for the consideration of policy makers, community college administrators, labor leaders, and managers in Michigan, this report discusses the increasing significance of training to industry; the challenge to public education and, in particular, to community…

A discussion is provided of how breakthroughs in the application of computers in the manufacturing of automobiles affect the development of community college programs, with particular emphasis on how Michigan community colleges have developed a capacity to respond to changes in this field. First, the paper explains what computer-based…