Project Refocus, the University of Missouri Kansas City's long-term, cross-sector collaborative project brings together business, labor, government, and higher education to address changing employment needs and retraining of laid-off workers. The program's 15-year evolution, activities, achievements, and lessons learned are described. (Author/MSE)

The displaced worker is an individual who has been laid off from a job and has little or no hope of returning to that particular position. The number of displaced workers is large and is apt to increase. Displaced workers are typically male, older, not highly educated, and are union members with several years of seniority and above-average wages.…

This book presents the results of a study of the British work camps that were initiated in the 1920s as a result of the political need to reduce unemployment among ex-servicemen and that evolved in 1929 into a national system of residential centers to "recondition" long-term unemployed men by exposing them to hard physical labor. The…

This three-part report describes the development and operation of Project Care III, an interagency effort involving area colleges, unions, and industry, and state agencies in the retraining of 500 tire builders laid off in August 1978, when the Mansfield Tire and Rubber Company (Mansfield, Ohio) was shut down. Part I outlines the historical…

This document is the first issue of a National Alliance of Business publication designed to present proven solutions, cutting-edge strategies, and comprehensive reference materials and to examine in depth in each issue a critical issue related to public/private employment and training partnerships. This first issue addresses one of the most…

This career education project achieved four goals; to (1) identify roles and functions for persons responsible for local school programs; (2) determine personnel performance competencies; (3) develop methods to bring personnel to operational confidence levels; and (4) establish a career education personnel training center. The center, which served…

This guide, one in a series of three publications for vocational program developers and others to use in planning and developing a community-based response to worker dislocation, provides a generic approach to program development. Discussed first are the causes, future, and impact of worker dislocation. The next chapter is devoted to various…

This report of a project to begin to develop a plan for research, development, and instruction in adult vocational education in Illinois has two specific goals: (1) to identify the current status of adult vocational education in Illinois and (2) to recommend key directions for state actions. It presents information collected through a…

A project was conducted at Indiana Vocational Technical College to (1) identify unemployed or laid-off persons who required vocational guidance and/or training in order to reenter the work force; (2) ascertain realistic occupational goals, competencies, and potential job markets; and (3) develop and implement a counseling program with written…

Faced with worker displacement stemming from a changing economy, states are acting to soften the economic impact of displacement on affected individuals and businesses. Key strategies and practices are as follows: (1) anticipating layoffs by analyzing economic and labor market trends (using data to anticipate layoffs; developing an early warning…