The impact of national education policies on programme design practice in post-compulsory education tends to be marginalised in scholarly literature. This paper reviews and analyses the literature to explore how neo-liberalist discourses introduced in tertiary education and qualifications policies in New Zealand since 1989 continue to influence…

Postsecondary noncredit education has become increasingly common; many community colleges now enroll more noncredit than credit students. Much of the growth has occurred in workforce instruction and contract training, programs are noted for their role in meeting shifting workforce demands and providing skills in a way that is flexible and…

The Western Job Training Partnership Association (WJTPA) supports the periodic evaluation of the scope and effectiveness of national, state, and local work force preparation and work force education programs. The WJTPA believes that future programs must correct the problems inherited from earlier work force preparation programs, such as the…

Great Britain's New Deal is designed to provide unemployed individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 years with an array of counseling and guidance services called the Gateway. It will include access to independent career advice and a specialist assigned to help them overcome their particular barriers to employment. Key elements of the Gateway are…

U.S. high school students' lack of preparedness has serious implications for the economy and prosperity. For most of the nation's history, manufacturing workers with modest formal education could earn decent wages. For roughly 60 percent of the jobs in today's labor market, at least some postsecondary education is needed, and that percentage is…

A study analyzed the role of state governments in implementing federal education and job training policies and in designing and implementing their own policies. A framework was developed for understanding policy instruments used to promote education and training objectives: mandates, inducements, capacity-building, and system-changing. Each type…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 requires that workforce investment areas establish individual training accounts (ITAs) that provide vouchers customers can use to pay for training. The United States Department of Labor is supporting the ITA experiment, during which new customers determined to be eligible for training will be randomly…

For many youths, the early years in the labor market are characterized not by an absence of jobs but rather by a "churning" process that often delays the benefits of high school educational experiences for several years. Youth apprenticeship programs should be designed to serve as a strategy/vehicle of school reform, function as a labor market…

In July 2000, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 officially replaced the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). WIA requires individual assessment of skill levels and service needs and development of an individual service strategy for each youth participant. WIA requires all youth programs to make 10 program elements available to all…

The first of three papers from this symposium on cross-cultural human resource development (HRD), "Determinants of Supply of Technical Training Opportunities for Human Capital Development in Kenya" (Moses Waithanji Ngware, Fredrick Muyia Nafukho) reports findings from interviews of technical training institute department heads in Kenya…

In response to the need of military leaders to be better prepared to plan, support, and conduct joint (multi-service and multi-national) operations, Congress enacted the Goldwater- Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. Positive steps were taken to implement provisions in the Act that address the education, assignment, and…

This document contains 21 papers and an introduction on work force preparation in a global context. The following papers are included: "Introduction" (Johanna Lasonen); "Access of Girls and Women to Vocational Education: Implications for the Workplace in Swaziland" (Comfort B. S. Mndebele); "Intersectoral Approaches to…