A four-year study of a Scottish manufacturer's employee lifelong learning program discovered a positive relationship between the program and employee perceptions of careers, fairness, and the long-term "psychological contract." Due to reduction in the employer's commitment to job security, employees were beginning to view the program as…

Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (1998) overhauled the Job Training Partnership Act programs, creating new methods that allow local providers to meet the education, training, and employment needs of low-income adults, dislocated workers, and youth. Separate legislation revised federal vocational and technical-education assistance.…

Tracks the evolution of metropolitan ethnic economics between 1980-90, when most immigrant groups experienced explosive population growth. Uses census data to describe ethnic enclaves, entrepreneurial niches, and employment niches in metropolitan areas. Results suggest that initial successes of some groups (Whites, Cubans, Koreans, and Chinese)…

In Virginia, a community college consortium for semiconductor education and training programs works with a semiconductor manufacturers' partnership to review programs based on a national core curriculum model. The results are being used to improve curriculum development, faculty training, facility improvement, and student recruitment. (SK)

A project to accelerate the pace of change in vocational education and training involved all stakeholders in planning, implementation, and assessment; replaced syllabi with integrated learning systems; used reflection at each step; and integrated vocational qualifications into the process, rather than making them the primary goal for students. (SK)

Describes the California Community Colleges' goal to advance the state's economic growth through quality economic development programs. Discusses the importance of assessment and presents the results of an outcome evaluation, stating that California will collect $1.42 in taxes over the next 10 years for every dollar it spent on economic…

Discusses the emergence of a global, technology-drive, skills-based economy where manufacturers are now talking about the need for qualified workers. Describes Minnesota's severe worker shortage that threatens to choke the state's continued economic growth. Recounts Dakota County Technical College's decision to take a leadership role to address…

Seeks to determine if a small rural community college and a major manufacturing corporation could develop a successful partnership through a training program and satisfy the needs of both organizations. A model was designed for use by others wishing to evaluate the effectiveness of the training programs of small community colleges serving large…

Discusses the critical ongoing need for skills and education to maintain the work force. Looks at what organizations are doing to maintain employee skills, add to the entry-level work force pool, and work with educators to ensure that students will have the skills they need. (JOW)

Analysis of an employment training program in Canada showed that literacy skills instruction was the same even when learners' goals differed; there were inconsistencies between the life skills, vocational training, and work skills components; and literacy instructors had low status compared to vocational instructors, who were perceived as…

The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is presented as a model for business and education collaboration to develop technical degree programs for producing more and better technicians. The new roles of industry and college leaders are discussed through a synthesis of literature on skill…

This chapter discusses how workforce development initiatives vary widely across governments and institutions, and how institutional research can help bridge the gaps between them. (Contains 1 note.)

The human service industry has become a complex industry in which agencies must respond to the demands of the marketplace. To respond to these demands, agencies must develop and maintain their knowledge capital by offering an extensive array of learning opportunities related to their business goals. The corporate university, a contemporary…

With President George W. Bush praising the role community colleges play in educating and training the nation's workers and proposing $250 million in grants to community colleges that partner with employers, the atmosphere is ripe for community colleges to forge strong relationships with this country's apprenticeship programs. According to the U.S.…

In this article, the author shares his experience of how travel and adult education merged, for him, into a major emphasis in international adult education (AE) and human resource development (HRD). International ventures have been some of the most exciting and learning-filled aspects of the author's career in AE and HRD. His involvement in…