For southern New England, the middle-skills gap is projected to become acute by 2020, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Historically and currently, the middle-skills labor pool in Massachusetts has been significantly below national rates and has been recently experiencing a decline. Closing the middle-skills gap depends on improving…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become a policy priority in many countries. A growing body of research recognises that it provides a wide range of benefits, including social and economic benefits, better child well-being and learning outcomes as a foundation for lifelong learning, more equitable outcomes and reduction of poverty, and…

In an effort to inform preschool policy in California, an interdisciplinary team of RAND researchers conducted a multiyear study of preschool education known as the California Preschool Study. One of the recommendations from that study was the need for a more in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of the early care and education (ECE) workforce…

Employers are looking to career and technical education (CTE) programs to supply a workforce possessing academic and employability skills to complement the technical component. In Kentucky, the state has instituted assessment standards to ensure that CTE programs are working to increase student achievement. The program assessment standards bring…

An evaluation of the Multiple Wage Earner (MWE) discretionary grant program and Enhanced Skills Training (EST) program developed by the Department of Health and Human Services is reported. The EST program was intended to reach hard-to-employ refugees through improvement of the quality of jobs available to refugees experiencing difficulties…

This study was conducted to: (1) evaluate the Occupational Upgrading Project (OUP) and the Model Neighborhood High School Equivalency (HSE) Project's first year of operation, and (2) create baseline data from which future and more conclusive evaluation can be undertaken. Data were gathered by conducting open-ended interviews with the…

The study, conducted in Dayton, Detroit, El Paso, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., investigated efforts to create municipal career employment and training opportunities for those who cannot meet traditional entrance requirements. It also examined the impact of programs on municipal services, and ways in which such programs can…

Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) conducted a survey of local employers in spring 1999 to obtain feedback on the college's program offerings and graduates. Surveys were sent to 1,200 businesses, governments and schools in the four-county Region 2000 business/industrial community. Respondents returned 312 surveys for a response rate of 26…

This essay deals with a series of methodological issues involved in assessing training priorities in developing countries. It is argued that the present methods of arriving at these priorities leave much to be desired, and a number of suggestions are made that might lead to more informed policy decisions on education and training. (CT)

THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF 1965, THE PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED, AND THE NEW DIRECTIONS THE MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING ACT (MDTA) PROGRAMS ARE TAKING TO MEET THE MANPOWER CHALLENGES THAT LIE AHEAD ARE THE SUBSTANCES OF THIS REPORT. CONTENTS INCLUDE (1) PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS, (2) EXAMPLES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF EXPERIMENTAL AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS,…

This report presents the study of a project conceived as a means of developing and testing a model Career Development Program. The project was designed to contribute significantly to the opening of nontraditional occupations to young women of low socioeconomic status and varying race and ethnic backgrounds. Three major goals were: (1) To assist a…

This publication provides a model curriculum with a focus on welfare-to-work, school-to-work, and first-time employees. It emphasizes the basic competencies most valued by employers for the current and future domestic and global work force. Section 1 presents an overview of LifeWork, a performance-based transitional program that uses the…

This document is intended to help literacy practitioners and others in South Carolina promote workplace literacy and basic skills development programs. The introduction examines the following topics: South Carolina's current workforce and its outlook; the definitions of literacy and workplace literacy; the need for workplace literacy and basic…

This book, which is intended for practicing or aspiring instructors, curriculum developers, and others engaged in work force development at the secondary and postsecondary levels, contains eight papers explaining how to plan education and training for work. The following papers are included: "Determining the Market Demand for Skilled Workers"…

This document, which is intended as a guide for workforce preparation program providers, details the Illinois occupational skill standards for programs preparing students for employment in the meeting professional occupational cluster. It begins with a brief overview of the Illinois perspective on occupational skill standards and credentialing,…