To confront the growing proportion of disadvantaged children amidst the shrinking pool of future workers, Jule Sugarman (Washington State Secretary of Social and Health Services) has proposed a Children's Trust to fund existing and new programs for children. The program would be funded by a .3 percent payroll tax for both employers and employees.…

An automated succession plan can create smooth transitions when employees transfer or leave the company. It can also boost productivity and employee morale. (Includes a basic nine-step implementation plan that makes the process easy and relatively painless.) (JOW)

A further education college for adults used Britain's Investors in People program to improve staff development opportunities for part-time staff. The process necessitated balancing the tension between academic culture and the language of adult education on the one hand and the business/enterprise ethos of the IP program on the other. (SK)

Reviews changes in the workplace: shift from industrial to information society, drop in wages, loss of the "employment contract," and effects of technology on skill needs. Suggests steps to help students prepare for the changing workplace. (SK)

The Polytechnic Education System, part of Indonesia's higher education system, focuses on five areas of human resource development: apprenticeship, cooperative training for third parties, on/off campus direct training for companies, inhouse training for companies, and training of trainers. (SK)

According to the chief executive of the South London Training and Enterprise Council (TEC), the key factor in the creation of a dynamic and successful modern economy in Britain is the development of the workforce. Adult learning is the essential component of the modern economy. (JOW)

No U.S. school district is world class. Radical systemic reform must (1) recognize that learning in context works; (2) assert that noncollege careers have worth; (3) raise standards and expectations. Foundation skills needed include basic, thinking, personal, resource, interpersonal, information, technology, and systems. (SK)

This review of the history of education reform from "A Nation at Risk" to the report of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills concludes that what is needed now is national debate on the design of an ideal national system of school-to-work transition. (SK)

Four principles for improving the U.S. work force are (1) commitment to developing the skills of all; (2) understanding of the knowledge and skills required today and tomorrow; (3) guaranteed access to a wide range of education and training opportunities; and (4) belief in the economic importance and inherent dignity of all kinds of work and…

Quality assurance in vocational education is critical to the productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the work force. The process involves vision and mission, management commitment, standards, monitoring, and continuous improvement. (SK)

With very little change, existing structures can be used to implement a restructured national education agenda involving incentives to make learning a family priority. When parents become involved as coteachers and colearners with incentives to create a learning-valued home environment, the consequences for student learning will be dramatic. (MLH)

To develop codes of ethics for their profession, college human resources personnel must first understand their primary job-related responsibilities. These include being alert to evolving organizational needs; coordinating needed training of employees; appreciating the nuances of psychology, communication, and motivation; and observing employee…

Industry and education need to build trusting relationships through communication, networking, and a sharing of resources. That will increase the likelihood that the United States will have an effective work force for the twenty-first century. (Author/JOW)

Describes six key work force and workplace trends facing human resource managers and implications for training and development: technology, globalization, cost containment, speed of market change, importance of knowledge capital, and change itself. (SK)

A range of work-related training and education opportunities is being offered by employers and federal sources to meet the demand for continuous learning. They include one-stop career centers, Hope scholarships, lifetime learning credit, Pell grants, student loans, exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance, and America's Learning…