To meet workforce demand and the needs of working or place-bound students, Whatcom Community College developed an online version of its existing face-to-face Physical Therapist Assistant program which became a model for other lab-based health science degrees. This article describes research studies that support the program's practices and includes…

Purpose: The first purpose of this paper is to review the practical and theoretical distinctions between training and development in the organisational psychology and human resource development (HRD) literatures. Then the paper seeks to investigate how managers responsible for the training and development function conceptualise these activities in…

One of the most important components to the discussion of emerging careers is the recognition that the American economy will need an increasingly skilled workforce. According to the recent report, "Help Wanted: Projections of Job and Education Requirements Through 2018," the American workforce will be in need of 22 million new college degrees as…

President Barack Obama has touted the development of a new green economy as a tool to rebuild the American economy while creating new jobs. This new economy requires entrepreneurs and innovators to create new businesses and invent new technologies. It also requires technicians with specialized skills to build wind farms, operate renewable fuels…

This article features the 2009 Association for Career and Technical Education's (ACTE) Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo which was held in Nashville in November. Despite somber economic times, the Annual Convention drew thousands of attendees, more than 200 exhibitors, offered engaging sessions and speakers, and the new chief of the Office of…

This issues paper reports on the findings from the first year of a three-year program of research by the University of Sydney's Workplace Research Centre. The overarching aim of the research is to investigate how, if at all, vocational education and training can make a difference in improving productivity and workforce participation. The authors…

Recent years have seen a dramatic change in the composition of the workforce of schools in England and Wales. Policy initiatives associated with inclusion, tackling teacher workloads and the reformation of children and young people's services have resulted in a proliferation and diversification of roles in schools with the creation of new…

Comprehensive, integrated services for infants, toddlers, and families are essential for optimal child development, and collaboration across systems is increasingly important to maximize limited resources. The authors describe three successful initiatives in Oklahoma that use a collaborative systems approach to providing direct services to young…

Social capital has been receiving increasing attention in HRD research. However, the sources of social capital have received inadequate attention. Little has been done to reveal how people obtain their social capital in the workplace. This study investigated the effects of employees' altruistic citizenship behavior and job involvement on their…

This update reports the passing of Dr. Lane Murray, founding superintendent of the Windham School District in Texas and two time president of the Correctional Education Association. It also discusses the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). In hopes of informing deliberations aimed at the reauthorization of WIA, the prestigious…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the amount of training received by employees; the extent to which individuals are dissatisfied with the training they receive; and employee perceptions of the extent to which the skill levels they possess are higher than/lower than those required to do their jobs. Design/methodology/approach: A…

The best learning and development organizations support business initiatives tactically "and" help drive strategic change. Verizon did just that, earning it the No. 1 spot for the first time on the Training Top 125. Verizon and the other 2012 Top 125 winners continued to invest in training, collectively dedicating a mean of 4.52 percent of their…

In a competitive workforce it is not just having the right qualification or technical skills that will land an individual a job; it could very well be their interpersonal skills. How someone communicates is often the first impression an employer has of a possible worker. Yet, it is precisely communication skills that employers feel applicants are…

The United States has been underproducing college-going workers since 1980. Supply has failed to keep pace with growing demand, and as a result, income inequality has grown precipitously. From 1915 to 1980, supply grew in tandem with demand. But, starting in 1990, the share of college-educated young people in the workforce rose very slowly. If the…

In recent work, the author has estimated the rate of return for several workforce development programs in the State of Washington, including secondary and postsecondary career and technical education (CTE; Hollenbeck, 2008). The returns are based on estimates of the net impact of CTE on individuals' labor market experiences and government income…