Many employers report difficulty finding qualified candidates for jobs, while millions of American workers are under- or unemployed. At the core of this issue is a startling perception gap involving the skills needed for workplace success. Postsecondary educators -- including those at community colleges -- who prepare workers live on one side of…

The authors present lessons learned from six case studies that offer considerations and directions for integrating education and work. Lessons are on the topics of (1) how to establish productive partnerships, (2) perceptions and involvement of the community in economic development, and (3) how to integrate education and work to serve adult…

The authors discuss such societal changes as aging of the population, women and minorities in the labor force, decline of industry and growth of service jobs, and creation and elimination of jobs by technology. Within this context, they present strategies to integrate education and work to cope with change. (CH)

Identifies the characteristics of collaborative programs focusing on community development, institutional development, and business development. Points to factors which determine the effectiveness of these programs; i.e., organizational mission, the level of leadership responsible for the project, and the depth of institutional involvement. (DMM)

Education financed by employers is seen as a largely unexplored area for enrollment increases and beneficial partnerships with the private sector. Employment-based tuition assistance programs can become a building block for the full range of successful higher education relationships with employers and unions. (Author/MLW)

The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that has no institutionalized school-to-work transition system for helping young people move from education to employment. The Academy for Educational Development's National Institute for Work and Learning (AED/NIWL) undertook a 4-year study of school-to-work transition education…

Partnerships between postsecondary education institutions and employers, unions, professional associations, and other groups are discussed. The majority of examples are based on projects of the Education and the Economy Alliance, a program supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Partnerships and joint, or…

Postsecondary education's responses to economic change are discussed, based on 22 projects supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). After identifying common themes of the FIPSE "Education and Economy Alliance" projects, new directions for postsecondary education are considered, along with policy concerns.…

Results of a large set of interviews and discussions conducted by the National Employer Leadership Council showed that approximately 23,000 businesspeople were involved in school-to-career partnerships in Colorado, as of January 1997. Colorado employers identified 12 lessons essential to efforts to build school-to-career systems: (1) recognize,…

The Lansing Area Manufacturing Partnership (LAMP) is an academically rigorous, business/labor-driven school-to-career program in Lansing, Michigan, that includes business, union, school, and parent partners and emphasizes work-based and project-based learning, team teaching, and opportunities for staff and students to establish close and ongoing…