Current evidence suggests emerging shortages of nurses available or willing to fill some vacant positions in hospitals, nursing homes, and home care. The nationwide unemployment rate for registered nurses (RNs), which has been low for many years, has declined to 1.0 percent, the lowest level in more than a decade. Nurses report job dissatisfaction…

Continuous vocational training (CVT) in the road freight and passenger transport sectors in the member states of the European Community (EC) was examined to identify exemplary and significant practices across the EC and determine the extent of the transferability of the identified exemplary training between and among the member states. In all,…

Using recent literature, this paper examines current trends and issues in career education for all levels, kindergarten through adult. Some of the observations made about career education trends and issues are as follows: (1) career education is a viable construct; (2) career education, career guidance, and career development are distinct but…

The application of programmable automation (PA) offers new opportunities to enhance and streamline manufacturing processes. Five PA technologies are examined in this report: computer-aided design, robots, numerically controlled machine tools, flexible manufacturing systems, and computer-integrated manufacturing. Each technology is in a relatively…

Current evidence suggests emerging shortages of nurses available or willing to fill some vacant positions in hospitals, nursing homes, and home care. Total employment of registered nurses (RNs) per capita and the national unemployment rate for RNs have declined, and providers from around the country report growing difficulty recruiting and…

This publication presents 100 careers the U.S. Department of Labor and other sources project as the fastest growing through the year 2006. A shaded bar on the bottom of the title page of each article contains a listing of codes for three commonly used government classification systems. Shaded bars at the bottom of other pages provide quick facts.…

Demand for nurses is soaring to unprecedented levels while a variety of factors are limiting the number of available nurses. Some facts and figures related to the shortage are as follows: Indiana's per capita nurse employment decreased 2.4% between 1996 and 2000; the percentage of nurses under 30 decreased from 26% in 1980 to 9% in 2000; 1 in 5…

Research confirms anecdotal impressions of the following causes of high turnover among both home health and nursing home aides: low wages; inadequate benefits; excessive workloads; poor training, supervision, and working conditions; and job-related stress. Public policy initiatives can dramatically alleviate or exacerbate the crisis among…

A study examined key determinants of apprentice and trainee employment in small and medium-sized enterprises that play an increasing role in providing employment-based training in Australia. It used unit record data from four waves of the Australian Bureau of Statistics business growth and performance surveys 1994-95 to 1997-98, which sent…

The possible impact of technological and structural change on employment in the European Union (EU) over the next 20 years was examined through an exploration of the following alternative policy-driven scenarios: (1) business as usual; (2) concentrated technology policy (increases in innovation and research and development [R&D] efforts are…

The question of what the future of work in the United States will be is examined in this publication using current information on trends and issues related to work, the economy, and the labor force. The compilation intended to give an overview of selected aspects of the topic and provide information about other resources. In the first section,…

An examination of the changes that are likely to occur in work and productivity in the future reveals that, at least before the year 2000, Americans are not likely to see many new jobs created and will probably not be required to alter their skills greatly for existing jobs. It will be difficult to duplicate the sustained productivity attained…

This serial issue, which is devoted to the challenges that recent changes in the U.S. workplace pose for society and labor-management relations, contains nine papers focusing on the following aspects of building a new workplace for the 21st century: historical and current perspectives; workforce and workplace changes; education and training of the…

The Foresight Ageing Population Panel, which included representatives of business, government, the science base, and other experts from the United Kingdom, was charged with examining trends in the United Kingdom's population and the other drivers of change that will operate in the next 20-30 years. The panel discussed the likely impacts of the…

Ideas about what constitutes work, the ways work is organized, the tools used in work, and the relationship between work and the other components of life are all changing rapidly. The implications of these changes for vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and elsewhere were examined. The following issues were considered: (1) the…