This essay seeks to illustrate the broad contours of federal assistance for vocational education and training by describing the wide range of federal programs that support occupational education and training. (SSH)

In the early 1990s, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) recognized the importance of addressing economic opportunity as a key component of a larger set of strategies needed to create family economic success for low-income families. Joblessness and lack of family sustaining income have devastating consequences, not only for families, but also for…

It's a truism of the workforce field that getting a job is much easier than keeping one. The advantages of retention are fairly straightforward to both job seekers and employers: for workers, staying on the job leads to greater opportunities for wage gains and promotions at work as well as increased overall stability in their lives, while…

This January 2004 issue of "Federal Literacy Facts" contains the following sections: (1) "HRDC splits into two"; (2) "Paul Martin's Promise: Is it good news for literacy?"; (3) Busy months ahead: expect a Throne speech, a federal budget and an election this spring!"; (4) "Finance Minister Ralph Goodale:…

The Right Jobs provides workforce policymakers and directors of workforce development programs with a structured approach to: (1) Identifying the most promising employment opportunities within reach of low-skill workers; (2) Determining the postsecondary training and career preparation routes that will yield results for their clients; and (3)…

The recruitment and development of reviewers for the Academy of Human Resource Development's (AHRD) research journal, "Human Resources Development Quarterly" (HRDQ), was examined at an innovative session of the 2002 AHRD conference. The session was conducted by five members of HRDQ's editorial board. The session objectives were as…

Many high school and two-year college vocational programs are exploring new ways to help students develop and document skills valued in the labor market. Over the past decade, some efforts to improve vocational programs have focused on reorganizing curricula around skill standards and assessments formulated by employers. One recent example of this…

Theory suggests that protege and mentor characteristics influence the development and process of mentoring relationships. This study investigates the role of one variable that is a joint function of protege and mentor characteristics: the nature of the reporting relationship between proteges and their mentors. Results suggest managers who report…

This study examines key theoretical principles of learning-oriented evaluation for HRD programs. Practical guidelines for the implementation of learning-oriented evaluation are also developed based on the related literature. This study suggests that evaluation should be a learning process in which information and knowledge are socially constructed…

Using data from a national sample (n=716) of American business associations we examine the prevalence of workforce development activities among associations. This study examines the relationship between the level of workforce development services provided in the organization, organizational characteristics, economic development and partnerships.…

We explore training and development through the lenses of scholars and practitioners who have provided definitions and frameworks for exploring this area which is essential to human resource development (HRD). Thirty-five definitions of training and development are identified and analyzed. Themes from the analysis are explored, conclusions…

This study investigated virtual team members' and leaders' perceptions of the role of the leader, and hindering and helping forces within virtual teams and their host organizations for developing leaders of such teams. It addresses the expressed need of virtual team leaders for the field of HRD to guide leadership development for this emerging…

Lifelong learning through a strong, policy-supported information technology (IT) infrastructure is critical to the success of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies. There is a great need to upgrade the quality of skills within the workforce, and there have been unprecedented investments in infrastructure and advanced…

The human resource development (HRD) profession needs to continue to develop its core theories and to understand that theory building is a scholarly process. Theoretical constraints affecting HRD are that HRD is a relatively young academic field of study and that most academic fields are applied and draw upon multiple theories in articulating…

This bulletin is a continuation of the author's inquiry into the conceptual problems of national development as initially presented in "Education and the Development of Human Technology." It is based on a paper prepared by the author as background for a Consultant Seminar on Human Resources Development in August 1962. The purpose of both…