As the need for educated workers in the workforce grows at the national and state level, educating low-skilled adults is one way of addressing the skills gap. Adult education programs offer low-skilled adults an opportunity to increase basic academic skills and prepare for college and career. Today, transitioning students from adult education…

This report is part of a wider three-year program of research, "Vocations: the link between post-compulsory education and the labour market," which is investigating the educational and occupational paths that people take, and how their study relates to their work. In particular, this strand has been investigating the application of…

The narrative of the "skills gap," or the notion that the United States economy suffers because employers are not able to find job applicants with workplace-ready skills (e.g., American Society for Training and Development 2012), has become an influential rallying cry in higher education funding circles in recent years. It is with these…

This paper reports on a study that examined factors which had a direct impact on the quality of graduates from the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training (PAAE&T) in Kuwait. The study also examined the extent to which the graduates met the requirements of local employers. It consisted of a review of the literature; a questionnaire…

The purpose of this case study was to explore how low-skilled workers who participated in a health care training program learned to acquire the technical, cognitive, and developmental competencies they needed to gain skilled employment in higher-level positions in the field and thus advance their careers. The data methods used were: (1) in-depth…

Degrees in technical and further education (TAFE) are relatively new, but are likely to grow as a consequence of government policies that both seek to increase the percentage of Australians holding a bachelor degree and create a more unified tertiary education sector. There are ten TAFE institutes authorised to offer higher education in five…

The changes in teaching, learning, and assessment brought about by the introduction of the National Certificate in Scotland were assessed. Data were collected through interviews with and a survey of 511 teaching staff (398 responses) and 1,646 students (1,277 responses) in a number of colleges throughout Scotland and a survey of 344 employers (68…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on different ways of learning. "How Engineers Learn in the Face of Organizational Change" (Robert Reardon) reports on a qualitative study during which nine engineers described how they learned to perform their altered roles after a major reorganization. The study findings supported…

This document accompanies a narrative volume that reports a study of Pennsylvania's vocational education system. It contains the instrumentation, participant lists, and all other supporting documentation. Chapter 1 is a data analysis of the open-ended interviews and second Delphi questionnaire that were used to determine the strengths and…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined private-sector workforce training practices for information technology (IT) and non-IT professionals. Data were collected from the following sources: a literature review; discussions with academic and professional authorities; interviews with executives and managers at leading companies regarding their…

This guide presents information and materials to help youth programs manage program intake, design an individual service strategy (ISS) as mandated in the Workforce Investment Act, and manage case files. The materials are based on information obtained from staff working in seven successful youth workforce investment programs in Maryland,…

This document contains three papers on strategic human resource (HR) development. "Strategic HR Orientation and Firm Performance in India" (Kuldeep Singh) reports findings from a study of Indian business executives that suggests there is a positive link between HR policies and practices and workforce motivation and loyalty and…

This book explains how work organizations can create a workplace climate that encourages real-time, on-the-job learning and development of competent workplace learners, who are wiling and able to seize the initiative for identifying their own learning experiences and evaluating the results. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) the…

This symposium on adult learning and human resource development consists of three presentations. "Adult Learning Principles and Concepts in the Workplace: Implications for Training in HRD" (Margot B. Weinstein) reports on findings from interviews with restaurant employees who reported that training practices using adult learning…