A training department revamp is a huge, but not impossible, undertaking, and a chore that may be inevitable every now and then. Taking the plunge and deciding to rebuild one's training structure can offer a sizable return on investment to one's senior executives, and a more effective learning strategy for employees. The tricky part is ensuring the…

When a company name means "giving life," the bar for learning and development programs is held high. In this article, the author describes what it takes to graduate from DaVita Academy, the soft skills training program dialysis services company DaVita offers all its employees. DaVita's chief executive officer, Kent Thiry, states that the Academy…

In 1998 a group of American adoptive parents led by Jenny Bowen created Half the Sky Foundation (HTS) to provide nurturing care and education for children living in Chinese orphanages (known as children's welfare institutions). Jenny, a former screenwriter and film director, and her husband Richard wanted to ensure that the children still waiting…

In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), one of the German states, catchment areas for part-time vocational schools were abolished in 2008. With the intention to foster competition between schools in order to improve school quality, training companies now may freely choose the school of their choice. NRW is the first German state to take this step. In the…

Describes legalistic education of trainees and their parents in senior-level technical training schools in areas of crime prevention and civil and labor law. Resource persons such as jurists, personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, physicians, sociologists, and cultural figures lecture and give seminars. Describes evaluation methods of…

Describes the job training programs at the Hampden District Regional Skills Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, financed under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973. The center trains 650 persons at a time and places more than 800 trainees a year in jobs through involving industry in the planning and training. (MF)

The article describes the design and implementation of a community-based training program for mentally retarded adults. The program focuses on job preparation, training, and placement, with a secondary emphasis on functional independent living skills. (PHR)

Part of the former Boston (Massachusetts) Navy Yard is now a job training center where Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) participants are trained as welders, pipefitters, electronics technicans, mechanics, and other marine workers. About half the program graduates use their transferable job skills in other industries. (MF)

This first in a series highlighting Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977 (YEDPA) programs describes a guidance and placement program in Williamson County, Tennessee, to ease students' transition from school to work through career counseling, job training at Yates Vocational Center, job placement, and community liaison services.…

Describes how Oklahoma women are training for and successfully working at nontraditional jobs (such as machine shop, carpentry, and auto mechanics) as a result of training funded by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), and the changing attitudes of employers toward women in nontraditional jobs. (MF)

To relieve the increasing shortage of skilled workers in the United Kingdom, the government established boards to stimulate and regulate private industry's training efforts and also provided direct training services in Skillcentres (formerly Government Training Centres). The article describes the Skillcentres program, training objectives, program…

Describes the Public Assistance Comprehensive Education (PACE) program, a vocational training program established for individuals receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The PACE program was designed to assist public assistance recipients with many financial and personal problems in obtaining education and jobs. (TE)

Describes the organization and planning by labor unions, government agencies, and vocational educators from schools, colleges, institutes, and skill centers in Mansfield, Ohio to provide vocational counseling and retraining for more than 900 unemployed rubber workers. Includes information on other retraining programs and reflections on the need…