The future of low-wage jobs is examined through a case study of firm restructuring in the retail industry. The study confirms that the retailing sector has come to be dominated by the Wal-Mart model, which emphasizes an efficient technology-driven inventory management system and a human resource approach that includes the following elements:…

The business press abounds with examples of innovative companies that have created high-quality jobs; however, low-wage, deskilled jobs filled by contingent workers are equally prevalent. More than one in six U.S. workers currently hold retail jobs. The effect of globalization of trade on the retail industry is unclear. The most significant…

This report examines the financing of the two components of France's vocational education and training (VET) system. They are initial vocational training (IVT), which includes upper secondary and short forms of higher education, and continuing vocational training (CVT), which aims to help workers adapt to changes in working techniques and…

Curriculum reform in vocational education and training (VET) in Central and Eastern Europe was examined through case studies of VET in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. Special attention was paid to the following: each country's VET system; curriculum…

Self esteem has been a buzzword in the 1990s but what exactly is self esteem? How is it formed? Can self esteem be raised? How? This book addresses these questions and includes specialized chapters on children, gender, transitions, parents' self esteem, and measurement of self esteem. Many people want to change how they feel about themselves but…

This document summarizes the activities conducted by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) during 1998 in its continuing efforts to accomplish its primary objective of linking research, policy, and practice in vocational education and training (VET). The following are among the 1998 CEDEFOP projects and…

This document examines the operation of the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee/State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC/SOICC) network in 1976-2000. Presented first is an overview of the NOICC/SOICC network that begins by explaining the NOICC's relationship with the SOICCs in activities related to job…

No longer is it possible for individuals to go through their working lives using only the skills and training they acquired during their initial schooling. Instead, they need to continually acquire new skills and re-think their career goals to meet changing job requirements and economic conditions. In order to help adults learn new skills and…

The transition from education to working life in the European Union (EU) was examined through a review of data from the following sources: the European Labour Force Survey; The Vocational Education and Training Data Collection (an annual collection of data produced by Eurostat); and national data supplied to the European Training Foundation by…

Education has traditionally been seen as a pedagogic relationship between teacher and learner. Although andragogy has provided many useful approaches for improving educational methodology and has been accepted almost universally, it still has connotations of a teacher-learner relationship. Some have argued that the rapid rate of change in society…

The position of women in South Australia's process manufacturing industry was examined, and the implications of the study findings for the vocational education and training (VET) sector were discussed. Of the 393 companies to which surveys were sent, 136 (35.8%) returned valid responses. Of the 8,000 people employed in the industry, only 26.1%…

A proposal has been made that calls for the development and use of training indicators to improve planning for vocational education and training (VET) in Australia. The idea behind the proposal is to develop indicators to inform policymakers and providers in Australia about changes in the nature of training demand flowing from demographic changes…

These proceedings contain eight papers presented at the meeting, each followed by a critique. Major areas studied are home schooling, incorporating agriscience and biotechnology in agricultural education, part-time employment by agricultural education teachers, 4-H, attitudes of Agricultural Science Institute participants, client satisfaction, and…

This document presents materials about and from a conference on literacy and health that was held to examine the connections between literacy and health and to provide Canadian health professionals, government representatives, literacy providers, adult learners from Canada and the United States, and other participants with practical skills and…

In the year 2000, approximately 1.75 million Australians (13.2% of the country's population) undertook some form of vocational education and training (VET). Of all VET students, 75.5% undertook training with Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and other government providers versus 13.0% with community providers and 11.5% with other registered…