A principal area of conflict exists between the full employment and improved jobs goals of government employment policy and de jure and de facto immigration policies. Reconciliation of these differences is vital as the number of immigrants continues to increase. (SK)

Labor force development is crucial to economic growth in India. Improvements in the higher education system, especially funding mechanisms, are needed to increase the nation's competitiveness. (SK)

Finds little evidence of a paradigm shift in capitalism or a trend toward a high-skills knowledge economy. Points out problems in demand-side proposals. Concludes that it is necessary to recognize the centrality of conflict, power, and exploitation in capitalism and outlines a radical political economy of skill. (Contains 104 references.) (SK)

Compares two models of vocational education policy in England: the traditional Learning and Skills Council approach relying on institutional change and increased skills supply and the Performance and Innovation Unit's focus on skill demand. Outlines weaknesses in the supply-side approach but suggests that demand-side policy must overcome…

Examines the concepts of soul and spirituality and how they apply to the human resource development field in terms of values, beliefs, and motivators. Considers ways to nurture the soul of the field. (SK)

Describes the implementation of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) at many educational institutions across Canada. Suggests that PLA should be incorporated into every skills training and upgrading program. (JOW)

Describes distinctions between learning, training, development, and education and illustrates how different models of human resource management/development influence their meaning. Concludes that training, development, and education are an integrated whole linked by the concept of learning. (SK)

Organizations learn when they embed new practices and values and make real changes. Organizational learning must address group tendencies toward helplessness and conformity. Individuals still bear responsibility for monitoring what is learned. (SK)

Examined whether higher education degree production in a particular state actually affects its stock of college-educated workers. Found that the effect of degree-granting (which varies across states) on the relative concentration of a given state's university-educated workers is modest. (EV)

A participant-observation study in a South African mining company that used self directed work team training identified organizational constraints that hindered training effectiveness: lack of materials, machinery breakdown, decentralized budget, and imposed standards. Miners more often used improvisation and initiative to solve daily problems,…

Discusses how higher education institutions are an essential part of workforce development and are increasingly designing programs to meet the demands of constantly changing economic conditions. Explores such higher education initiatives in New Hampshire and how consortia can play an important role as facilitators and conveners. (EV)

We are creating an educational meritocracy in which education and training are the only paths to success. More and better vocational education is needed to help people develop specific job skills and adapt to workplace changes, participate in management decisions, cooperate with one another, and develop a flexible, entrepreneurial outlook.…

Vocational education can help small business by (1) broadening the type and scope of skills taught; (2) helping prevent labor shortages by preparing disadvantaged and underrepresented groups for employment; and (3) helping small businesses determine their training and development needs. (SK)

Reviews the third report about the plight of the U.S. workforce. "America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages" deals with workers without a college education and non-college bound youth, a group called frontline workers who are ill equipped to meet employers' needs and ill prepared for the rapidly approaching high technology, service-oriented…

The economic development goals of 12 South Asian countries and the means used to meet them through higher education are examined. It is concluded that the trend has brought greater educational opportunities, growing university involvement with the world outside academe, and possible over-reliance on the Japanese model. (MSE)