WorkAdvance is a sectoral workforce development program designed to meet the needs of workers and employers alike. For unemployed and low-wage working adults, the program provides skills training in targeted sectors that have good-quality job openings with room for advancement within established career pathways. For employers in those sectors,…

This report contains four case studies on "skill ownership" demonstration projects that were conducted in Great Britain as part of the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) initiative. The aim of YTS is to develop a work force that is competent, flexible, and capable of adapting its skills to new and changing types of employment. The case studies…

The development and operation of the Federally funded Ventures in Community Improvement Demonstration Project (VICI) and its impact on participant youths and communities are summarized in this report. VICI's purposes were (1) to provide young, minority, inner-city, high school dropouts with intensive skills training in the workplace that could…

The Pacific State Hospital conducted a demonstration experiment with 12 severely and profoundly mentally retarded male adolescents, which concentrated on modifying disruptive, bothersome behaviors while developing basic work skills required for daily activity in sheltered workshops. The experiment provided an integrated program for an entire day,…

A study was conducted to determine what was happening in literacy programs as a result of the major welfare reform law passed in 1996, and whether basic skills instruction was part of the solution. A nationwide search for exemplary programs that are using basic skills instruction as a fundamental component of assisting welfare recipients in moving…

This document describes the AFL-CIO's Upgrading and Career Ladder Program (UCLP), which creates a system of structured, work-based learning integrating on-the-job training with related theoretical instruction. The UCLP has the following objectives: to meet workers' skill upgrading and occupational mobility needs; to encourage unions and employers…

The New Chance national demonstration project is designed to help disadvantaged 17- to 21-year-old mothers and their children achieve economic self-sufficiency and optimal physical and psychological development and thereby to curtail the perpetuation of intergenerational poverty. The New Chance model provides a variety of services to meet the…

As states implement new strategies to help more families make the transition from welfare to work, they will be faced with the challenge of designing programs that address the needs of an extremely diverse population of families. Some families will be able to make the transition to work with limited assistance, especially in a strong economy.…

A model manufacturing training program was created for Oregon's precision metals industry. The program, a cooperative venture among private industry, education, and government, focused on two main goals: to train entry-level employees and to upgrade the skills of current employees in response to technological changes. The program at Clackamas…

A program at Indian Hills Community College (Ottumwa, Iowa) consisted of a sex equity component aimed to prepare women to enter nontraditional occupations and a building trades component to enable electrical workers to upgrade their skills. Both of the targeted groups underwent assessment and upgrading coordinated through the college's SUCCESS…

This directory describes current and newly expired projects funded under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services' Secondary Education and Transition Initiative. An introduction describes the Transition Initiative and the role of the Transition Institute at the University of Illinois. A series of one-page case studies describes…

A demonstration project was conducted in Alabama to create a basic skills workplace curriculum that would assist a local corporation in improving work force productivity. During the 3-year project, a job-specific curriculum was written for Russell Corporation's Skills Training at Russell (STAR) program. The curriculum covered four topics: safety,…

In an effort to lessen the social and economic dysfunctions many California farm workers suffer because of the migratory and seasonal nature of their jobs, a three-phase study was conducted to research, develop, and implement a new career system for the farm worker. During the project's first phase, a job task analysis was conducted on four…

The demand for paraprofessionals trained to work in the special education of the handicapped is rapidly increasing, especially due to the impact of Public Law 94-192 which requires that individualized educational programs be provided for handicapped children. To help meet this need, a model program called PEG is being developed in New Jersey. Its…

This paper discusses the role of public policy in the skills development system of the United States. It further examines the implications of that policy for the skill development and career progression of black workers. The paper describes the current "system" for skills development as a two-tiered system composed of (1) the "first…