This report distills hundreds of indicators from both domestic and international sources to determine how the United States compares to other countries and to its own past performance in competitiveness. It attempts to establish a baseline of some key education and training indicators that, taken together, show where the nation stands and where it…

In 2000, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), in cooperation with local development districts, nonprofit organizations, and many small municipalities, expanded programs to help Appalachia's distressed counties become economically competitive. The effort calls for increased funding for technical assistance and capacity building in distressed…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 authorized a comprehensive workforce improvement program that will significantly impact rural areas. Local schools can help shape implementation of WIA because of its principles of local participation, increased skills for workers, and improved youth programs. This digest focuses on WIA's major elements,…

This document contains three papers on ethics and integrity in human resource development (HRD). "Redefining Human Resource Development: An Integration of the Learning, Performance, and Spirituality of Work Perspectives" (Reid A. Bates, Tim Hatcher, Elwood F. Holton III, Neal Chalofsky) describes an effort to articulate the tensions…

This symposium on the role of human resource development (HRD) in women's career development consists of three presentations. "Career Goals of Non-Managerial Women: An Adaptive Approach" (Linda M. Hite, Kimberly S. McDonald) reports an exploratory study that produced data from which these four themes emerged--adaptive goals, family…

This paper is a response to the collective interests expressed by a network of the leadership of ten U.S. community college systems to better understand how community colleges can support emerging state cluster-based economic development strategies. The intent is to proved concrete applications of a cluster-based model that inform both workforce…

This report aims to address concerns regarding the need for developmental education in mathematics in the higher education institutions in Texas. Fifty-three million dollars of the $93 million appropriated for developmental education in Texas in 2002 went to mathematics. About 40% of new students in two-year colleges and 20% of new students in…

This document contains the 2000-2001 issues of Mt. San Antonio College's (Mt. SAC's) "Insights on the College." The first issue, "Mt. SAC Progress Report on Partnership for Excellence Goals," is a report on the self-assessment of the Partnership for Excellence (PFE) program conducted by Mt. SAC. The PFE program addresses the…

This paper presents new evidence regarding the benefits of retraining prime-aged adults by analyzing the impacts of community college schooling on displaced workers in Washington State during the 1990s. The authors also conducted a similar analysis of a small program that provided community college courses to workers displaced from their jobs…

This is a report on the 2001 graduate follow-up survey conducted annually by the Wisconsin Technical College System Board. The survey is administered to gather information on the activities, employment status, and perceptions of technical college students approximately six months after graduating. A total of 16,029 graduates were surveyed, with a…

This report focuses on use of large-scale economy-wide models in Australia for occupational forecasting and their use in the vocational education and training (VET) sector for making decisions about training profiles across occupational areas. Section 2 reviews objectives of VET policy as defined in the legislation and Australian National Training…

This guide on work force development legislation is designed for professional development of new adult education instructors in Florida. It is one of three manuals developed to supplement a previous series of professional development manuals. Section 1 provides an overview of work force development legislation, focusing on the following new…

Studies in Great Britain have focused on the rapidly changing economy of the 21st century and the skills that workers will need to contribute to it. The studies have found that the new century will be characterized by the knowledge-driven economy, changes driven by global markets, the rapid movement of finance, and developments in information and…

Australia has a federal system, comprising the national Commonwealth government and eight state and territory governments. At the Commonwealth level, the ministries of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, and Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business have primary roles in the career information and services field. Education and training…

This packet contains three papers on ethics and integrity from a symposium on human resource development (HRD). The first paper, "Factors Influencing Ethical Resolution Efficacy: A Model for HRD Practitioners" (Kimberly S. McDonald), proposes a model of ethical resolution efficacy for HRD practitioners. The model suggests that factors related to…