This study responds to a national conversation about the role that Career Technical Education (CTE) might play in meeting workforce demand for soft skills. It is challenging for CTE programs to offer soft skills for several reasons. Both educators and employers tend to associate CTE with hard skills, or technical skills and therefore the programs…

In today's labor market, students increasingly need greater levels of postsecondary education and training to enter or advance in many industries. Meanwhile, employers are calling for the education system to better align with industry needs, as their demands for a skilled workforce continue to rise. In response to the increasing emphasis for…

In May 2016, Government funding of £80 million was awarded to establish five employer-led National Colleges in key growth sectors -- Creative and Cultural (NCCI), Digital Skills (Ada), Nuclear (NCfN), High Speed Rail (NCHSR) and Oil and Gas. This was alongside substantial investment from Local Authorities (LAs), Local Enterprise Partnerships…

One of the biggest challenges that states and local intermediaries face in setting up and scaling high-quality youth apprenticeships is gathering relevant, accurate and actionable data. High-quality data is an essential ingredient for a strong youth apprenticeship program because it equips state and local leaders to evaluate impact, monitor…

Despite the United Kingdom government increasing efforts to tackle unemployment, young people face a number of barriers to be employed. As a leading awarding body, City & Guilds launched the TechBac in 2014 to address some of these barriers and provide learners with a balanced programme of vocational study. This article is based on the initial…

The Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) publication, "External quality arrangements for Scotland's colleges," September 2008, specifies that HM Inspectors (HMIs) will produce a number of subject aspect reports over the four years 2008-12. These reports complement in a subject-specific context the generic evaluations of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate an innovative way to train adult apprentices for the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach: The paper emphasizes that, in order to address skills shortages for international construction, training methods must be improved. It looks at the example of an adult apprenticeship scheme in…

The Nigeria's oil industry has been criticized for some time now for its inability to render adequate services to the general public. This criticism is predicated on the fact that the standards of productivity in their services are low and that their facilities (i.e. the refineries) are not working up to capacity. This is evident in their…

In an effort to meet the need for a more comprehensive program evaluation, staff at Moraine Valley Community College developed a questionnaire and interview schedule to obtain feedback from employers concerning career programs. Questionnaires were sent to all employers who hired graduates of occupational programs between 1969-71; over 80% returned…

In response to requests by the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board for a systematic approach to student outcomes assessment, and in an effort to identify potential areas for improving the quality of community college education, the State Board for Community College Education conducted a vocational outcomes study in 1989. The study…

Employers look at Illinois junior college occupational education. (Editor)

The Tex-SIS Follow-up system Employer Follow-up Survey involved four Texas community colleges, providing a statewide composite of employer data on the competency of occupational/technical graduates. The mailing list for prospective survey participants was derived from occupational/technical graduates' responses to a survey conducted in 1975-76. A…

In a follow-up study of secondary school students who completed vocational education programs in the Roanoke City Public Schools during the 1975-76 school year, students and their employers were asked to rate the effectiveness of the vocational instructional programs in relation to twelve aspects of employment. Questionnaires were sent to 381…

To determine the effectiveness of a secondary vocational education program and to establish a pattern for evaluation procedures, a committee composed of five counselors and three teachers used questionnaires to gather data from students, graduates of the program, parents, teachers, and employers. To insure validity, followup telephone calls and…

A major problem faced in program evaluation of vocational education is the lack of a national manpower policy. This concern involves workers' acquiring and developing occupational skills which are needed by society and demanded by employers. Federal legislation specifications spell out program requirements which educators must keep in mind. (CT)