In this second annual summary of the their work, the Investing in Community Initiative provides practical advice for community leaders and policymakers around four critical issues. First, how should local needs be defined? Chapter 1 argues that data about local economies can show whether communities are best served by creating new jobs,…

Researchers asked 17 participants in a job-training program to describe their personal struggles following an economic restructuring. Examined through a critical theoretical lens, findings indicate that the learners enrolled in the program to reclaim security, dignity, meaningful work, and caring relationships. Program planners at community…

The staff of the Young Adult Training Center, Columbia, Missouri, used Canfield's Learning Styles Inventory to select enrollees for its training programs and to modify instructional strategies based on learner needs. The three vocational skill training programs involved were retail sales, building trades, and data entry. (CT)

Products and materials are provided from an Oregon project to define "new" and "changing" occupations for which training programs are needed and to determine guidelines to document "evidence of need." The legislative reference is addressed and pertinent literature is reviewed. Developed to establish the level of need…

This bulletin aims to identify good practice in the adoption of a strategic approach to developing short courses in work-related nonadvanced further education (WRNAFE) in Great Britain. The focus is on vocational updating and retraining aimed principally at those in employment, usually at full cost to employers/sponsors. The bulletin discusses…

An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of determining the reading demands of navy jobs, using a methodology that identifies both the type of reading tasks performed on the job and the level of general reading skill required to perform that set of reading tasks. Next, a survey was made of the navy's job skills training…

This report describes a project that adopted a curriculum development approach to meet the education and training needs of the unemployed and other disadvantaged groups in Birmingham, England. Chapter 1 gives the project's purpose. Chapter 2 sets the project in its context--an outer city area. Chapter 3 describes the processes of analyzing needs…

The model described here was developed for use as a program planning guide by teachers recruited from business, industry, and the professions who offer courses to employed adults seeking additional skills or improvement of their skills and job performance. Ten features of the model are listed: (1) The purpose is to improve the competencies of the…

The author focuses on training practices in Nigeria. Discussion centers on the general approach to management and supervisory training, with particular attention to (1) characteristics of training programs for small, medium, and large companies and (2) the procedures used to arrive at training plans and needs. Evaluation practices are also…

This handbook is intended as a management resource for postsecondary and adult vocational education programs. Its uses include assessment of the effectiveness of current programs; identification of the need for new or expanded programs; development of an action plan for initiation, improvement, expansion, or termination of programs; and the…

Analysis of data pertaining to the nature, scope, and effectiveness of business involvement in employment and training programs reveals that private sector experiments in employment and training, such as the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) Title VII and the Skill Training Improvement Program (STIP), have produced results superior…

This model was developed to assist Oregon community colleges in making a planned response to the needs of business and industry for retraining/training of their employees. The model offers a streamlined process for making needs assessments in business and industry through sequential steps for converting needs data into instructional programs. The…

The European Training Foundation's Advisory Forum established four working groups, one of which was to conduct activities relating to new National Vocational Education and Training (VET) Standards. The 1995 working session accepted definitions of VET Standards and described three models. The 1996 working session decided on a checklist of steps to…

A Performance Analysis for Training (PAT) Model was developed and validated for use in analyzing an organization's performance needs that can be solved with training. The PAT Model incorporated the perspectives of both theorists and practitioners on training needs assessment. Three training needs assessment experts evaluated its content and face…

This manual provides guidelines for needs assessments based on training and development programs designed and used by business and industry. The guide defines needs and needs assessments and describes how to implement the process, using an eight-level needs assessment. Information is provided on stages of needs assessment, the process of assessing…