The report asserts that U.S. and Wisconsin schools and workers are being used as scapegoats for the nation's and the state's social and economic problems. The propositions that U.S. students are not globally competitive and U.S. schools failures are "complete hoaxes." The report further asserts that a third big hoax being perpetrated on…

Observations of schools and the economies of various countries and regions (including the Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States) suggest that the following generally accepted principles may be called hoaxes: (1) great numbers of new emerging jobs of the future will require much higher skill levels for workers; (2)…

Issues concerning experiential and postsecondary education are considered in six articles. In "Experiential Education for the Community College Student," Sheila Gordon considers the links between experiential and vocational education and suggests that experiential education is especially relevant to the learning styles and objectives of the…

Federal funding for career and technical education (CTE) should move from a state grant program to a competitive grant approach in order to disrupt an entitlement mentality and instead support the creation of high quality CTE programs with improved student outcomes. Funds should be used to develop and expand CTE programs to begin in 9th grade and…

The problems facing young people in Australia's current labor market and the effectiveness of Australia's educational system in preparing young people for the labor market were examined. Particular attention was paid to the following issues: the reshaping of work in the modern labor market; skill development in the modern labor market; the impact…

Wisconsin's welfare reform program, which is called Wisconsin Works or W-2, emphasizes work over education. Wisconsin's welfare reform policy caused the numbers of Wisconsin welfare recipients attending college to shrink by thousands in the mid-1990s. In contrast, increasing numbers of states are coming to realize how much flexibility they really…

In this report, employment retention and advancement under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was examined by reviewing research findings regarding labor market development since 1996. According to the research, most of those moving from welfare to work have found employment in low-wage jobs and experienced frequent job losses and…

This paper examines the personal and societal choices that will shape the kind of country Canada will become. It is argued that Canadian policymakers' current approach to work, family, and urban life is based on patterns and associations that were developed in an earlier time and no longer reflect Canadians' experiences in the 2000s. Recent trends…

Despite their highly divergent situations, young people largely share the same values, ambitions, and difficulties. Despite the more complex social and economic context in which young Europeans are currently living, they are well equipped to adapt. National and European policymakers must facilitate this process of change by making young people…

In the era of globalization, Malaysia's ability to remain economically competitive depends on the skills of its workforce. The policies and practices of Malaysia's vocational education system must be revised to do more to give the country's disabled citizens the training they need to find employment and become taxpayers. More concerted efforts are…

Surging demand for workers, growing income inequality, and passage of welfare reforms have made work force development one of the United States' key national concerns. Public/Private Ventures has been working with various states to design work force development strategies that seek to address the concerns of many work force development specialists…

The new emphasis on welfare reform, self-reliance, and individual accountability and the new time limits imposed by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program have resulted in large numbers of people between the ages of 18 and 24 entering the work force. The three main career options for youth in transition from school to work are…

This document reports on how key stakeholders in work force preparedness nationwide are responding to pressures of the skills race. Part 1 presents an overview of the skills challenge and the economic and social consequences of failing to meet the challenge. Part 2 examines the impact of the skills shortage on major stakeholders and explains how…

The role of Ohio's community and technical colleges in educating low-wage workers was examined. Ohio's community and technical colleges were shown to be uniquely positioned to serve as bridges to growth and opportunity by helping the state and its workers make the transition to a knowledge-based economy and help low-wage workers gain the footing…