A questionnaire was distributed to 1,305 companies to study the basic skills training provided. Of 62 responses, 41 companies had basic skills training programs. Respondents represented these types of companies: communications and utilities, finance and insurance, manufacturing, wholesalers, retailers, health and hospitals, and mining, and had…

Literature describing the scope and characteristics of employer-based training (EBT) in the United States and the evidence to date about the effectiveness of such training was reviewed in order to help categorize the types of programs or strategies that show promise in terms of improving skills or increasing productivity. For the review, training…

This document contains in-depth descriptions and assessments of 17 exemplary employer-based training (EBT) programs that were studied as part of an examination of EBT programs. The case studies are based on site visits to each firm, during which interviews were conducted with company management, supervisors of workers in training, individuals…

This instructor's guide contains 11 lesson plans for inplant classes on workplace skills for employees in a cement plant. The 11 units cover the following topics: goals; interpreting memoranda; applying a standard set of work procedures; qualities of a safe worker; accident prevention; insurance forms; vocabulary development; inventory control…

A review of the literature on employer-based training (EBT) and case studies of 17 exemplary EBT programs (9 of which were Job Training Partnership Act [JTPA] programs) were used to determine best practices in EBT and make recommendations for effective strategies for implementing EBT programs. Some of these strategies included the following: (1)…

This handbook was designed to help adult literacy education teachers to understand the plastics industry, develop a curriculum, and teach basic skills classes in a plastics company. The book contains four main sections. The first section, on the basics of plastics, contains a brief history of the industry, an elementary description of the…

A project investigated the integration of key competencies into workplace training in Australia. Part 1 of the project researched the work of personnel engaged in on-the-job training (OJT) curriculum development in five industries to find out how key competencies were being incorporated into OJT curricula and to suggest models to guide this…

This guidebook was designed to be a practical guide in developing workplace education programs. The handbook includes the following three sections: (1) background information, including details and supporting information about workplace education; (2) workplace education worksheets that adult education supervisors can take to the worksite to use…

This guide provides information on basic skills needs and programs in the workplace and issues affecting basic skills provision from a British perspective. Section 1 aims to provide a context for workplace basic skills provision. Sections 2-7 provide practical suggestions and advice on the following topics: (1) marketing; (2) contacting employers;…

A study sought to determine how and why small businesses invest or do not invest in basic skills instruction for their workers. Data were gathered through a national mail and telephone survey of a random sampling of 11,000 small (50 or fewer employees) and medium-sized (51-400 employees) firms, a targeted mail survey of 4,317 manufacturers, a…

Changing employer-based training represents one strategy that U.S. firms are adopting to confront recent transformations in the global economy. The new competitive conditions place new and different demands on workers, more of whom are being called upon to use technical, conceptual, and communications skills. Approaches to training in particular…

Workplace education (WPE) has a significant role to play in solving basic skills problems and in other training requirements. In addition to the benefit of a more able, adaptable work force, WPE leads to more contented workers, encouraged by better employment opportunities. In addition, employees benefit by being more confident both within the…

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,…

The Job Enhancement Training (JET) Program was a partnership between Pensacola Junior College (PJC) and Armstrong World Industries (Florida). The partners implemented a workplace literacy training program at the company's Pensacola plant using a five-phase social context curriculum model. The curriculum, based on job analysis, used small-group…

A project was conducted for the following purposes: (1) improve the productivity and efficiency of 21 companies by providing workplace literacy instruction to workers lacking basic skills required for their jobs; and (2) improve the capability of educational providers to meet the basic skill needs of the manufacturing and financial services…