The impending retirement of the baby boom cohort represents the first time in the history of the United States that such a large and well-educated group of workers will exit the labor force. This could imply skill shortages in the U.S. economy. We develop near-term labor force projections of the educational demands on the workforce and the supply…

From auto mechanic to HVAC technicians, many occupations require repair skills. For jobseekers with the right skills, there are many advantages to a repair career. Repair work provides millions of jobs throughout the United States. Wages are often higher than average. And in many occupations, the employment outlook is bright. Plus, most repair…

The U.S. workforce has undergone significant changes in the past few decades. Increasingly sophisticated technology, changes in the structure of the economy and the growing global marketplace have resulted in employers putting a higher premium than ever on educated workers. Much has been said about the importance of increasing the labor supply for…

While concerns for skill shortages within the world of trades workers have been a focal point of a variety of recent studies and reports, the reactive alarm has not been sounded in the modernized registered apprenticeship program. Registered apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job learning (OJL) and related classroom and shop instruction. A…

One of the major developments in financing undergraduate education in the United States in the past 20 years has been the introduction of broad-based merit-aid programs by state governments. The typical program waives tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for state residents who have attained a respectable grade-point average…

In today's job market, middle and high skills jobs--jobs that require some education and training beyond high school--comprise the majority of job openings and typically provide the best wages and opportunities for advancement. And almost every day, there is an article or news story discussing the "skills mismatch" phenomenon, the…

Is the United States in danger of losing its competitive edge in science and technology (S&T)? This concern has been raised repeatedly since the end of the Cold War, most recently in a wave of reports in the mid-2000s suggesting that globalization and the growing strength of other nations in S&T, coupled with inadequate U.S. investments in…

Lists occupations that have been approved as apprenticeable since 1978 by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor. (JOW)

One result of accelerating globalization is the competition for human capital. On one hand, nations are investing more and more in their educational systems to create their own human resources; on the other hand, these nations are struggling to effectively and efficiently utilize their existing human capital. Additionally, there is a massive wave…

Findings from municipal government wage surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics are presented. Pay comparisons tend to show city clerical workers earning more, and skilled maintenance workers less, than their industry and Federal counterparts. Among 24 cities, no consistent pay leader emerged for 19 occupations studied. (Editor/TA)

Includes "Higher-Level Skills in the UK" (Connor); "US and UK Labour Markets for New Grads" (Court); "Contribution of National Laboratories to the European Scientific Labour Market" (Smith); and "Recruitment of Nontraditional Scientists and Engineers in Europe" (Court, Jagger). (SK)

Skill Training Improvement Program (STIP), a Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program, provides up to eighteen months of training in highly skilled industrial jobs. Discusses STIP guidelines and describes several STIP projects being conducted in various communities. (EM)

Today, many high-tech, professional jobs are being sent overseas. According to TechsUnite.org, more than 150,000 technology jobs have been lost to offshoring since 2000. In this article, the author asserts that American colleges and universities are uniquely poised to help confront this economic challenge by providing basic and applied research…

A debate which is concerned with skill upgrading versus downgrading of occupations in the United States and relationships to schooling and vocational preparation is reviewed. The article summarizes major position, surveys the evidence on skill changes, and discusses research and policy implications for general and vocational education. (Author/DWH)

This booklet is a guide to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (also known as the Wage-Hour Law) which apply to minors employed in nonagricultural occupations. The content is as follows: coverage of the child labor provisions (covers employees in commerce, the production of goods for commerce, an enterprise engaged in commerce, and an…