A study examined training and staff development initiatives in Australian industrial and commercial organizations. It was carried out using a questionnaire and structured interview technique with 24 organizations. Larger organizations had their own facilities and trained in-house whereas smaller organizations made more use of Technical and Further…

Manitoba, Canada, workplace stakeholder groups were interviewed to determine the issues they faced and their awareness of, and ability to deal with, workplace basic skills issues. Interviews collected the opinions of 78 employer representatives, 121 employees, and 5 union representatives in the 6 emerging economic sectors of health care products,…

Directed at persons who are not experts in program evaluation or workplace literacy, this handbook provides various options and processes that can be used for formal evaluation of workplace literacy programs. The handbook is organized in six sections. An introductory section acknowledges the weaknesses of any evaluation attempt. In the second…

Nine European Community Member States (Belgium, Germany, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and United Kingdom) conducted national studies that involved case studies of quality assurance in continuing education. Analysis of findings indicated that many firms regarded continuing training as a central instrument for achieving…

Recent Australian research provides a solid body of evidence that training investments can yield very high levels of returns for firms across a range of sectors. It highlights these important factors about returns on investment (ROI): ROI come in many forms; immediate ROI are highest when training is highly focused; measuring ROI is not always…

A study examined whether there were any differences in the performance of apprentices trained in off-the-job, on-the-job, or in-plant training programs. A 1984 apprentice intake sample of over 500 apprentices and information supplied by 16 in-plant training centers and 9 colleges were used to collect data on the job performance of apprentices in…

These four papers are from a symposium on human resource development (HRD) in the United Kingdom. "HRD and Psychological Contracts: A Case Study of Lifelong Learning" (Graeme Martin, Judy Pate, Jim McGoldrick) explores the influence of a lifelong learning program on employee perceptions of their psychological contracts in a longitudinal…

A research study in Australia examined the nature, extent, and methods of workplace learning for school students. Following a literature review that found that the proportion of school students who work part-time is increasing but that there is relatively little research on the learning outcomes of either work experience or work placements,…

The pilot Job Effectiveness Training (JET) workplace basic skills program, developed by Canada's Alberta Vocational College (AVC), Edmonton, for Stelco Steel during 1989-90, was evaluated in terms of impacts or changes from the perspective of the four major stakeholder groups: the students (12 Stelco employees); the employers (Stelco management);…

This publication presents case studies of two sites--one with and one without a history of involvement in Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL)-funded training programs. Case study 1, "Partnership, Flexibility, and Experience: Key Elements in Successful Training" (Jenny McGuirk), investigates a food processing company in New South Wales…

A research project determined the impact of workplace language and literacy inclusive training (LLIT) on key aspects of the workplace in regard to the process of workplace change. Over 500 respondents in more than 30 different Australian workplaces representing 13 industries across 5 Australian states took part. The study developed and used five…

This volume contains all statistical data from a research project that determined the impact of workplace language and literacy inclusive training (LLIT) on key aspects of the workplace in regard to the whole process of workplace change. The document presents the principal data on which the findings and recommendations are based. A general…

The Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) program is intended to provide Australian workers with the language, literacy, and numeracy skills needed to meet their current and ongoing employment and training needs. A research methodology based on the principles of naturalistic inquiry was used to examine the extent to which WELL projects…

Changes in the extent, pattern, and outcomes of young Australians' participation in firm-based training from the 1980s to the 1990s were analyzed by comparing data from the Australian Youth Survey (AYS) and the Australian Longitudinal Survey (ALS). In 1994, 46% of those in the AYS sample participated in formal training (at age 16-24 years) and…