The author presents a sampling of organizations that have some kind of formal, alternative career path for their nonmanagement employees. It is shown that the rules, conditions, and reasons for implementing parallel systems vary extensively. (CT)

Technological and social change have created a large and growing demand for technicans and paraprofessionals who combine theory and practical skills in satisfying careers. Numerous and diverse technical education programs are the consequence, and more are needed, of increasing quality for our increasingly complex technologies and social systems.…

Discusses the development of Alabama's system of community junior colleges and technical institutes. (Author/RK)

Examines the growing combination of communications technology and computer technology and the impact these advances have made on our personal and vocational lives. Focuses on possible consequences for career guidance professionals, who must become better equipped to explore future trends and help workers adjust to new roles. (Author/JAC)

Examines the Maricopa Community College District's response to the technical training requirements of local high technology firms. Discusses changes in the technical curriculum, business-industry ties, and the activities and achievements of the district's advisory council of high technology and aerospace firms. Offers a checklist for creating an…

A survey of community college students discloses the power of stereotypes in career decision making for women and minorities. Neutralization of such stereotypes is vital to development of a balanced work force in technical careers. Survey procedures, findings, and recommendations are included. (CT)

Describes DeVry Institute of Technology, educational institution whose mission is to help students prepare for careers in high-technology industries, and its attempts to keep pace with rapidly changing technology. Discusses multifaceted, ever-evolving, curriculum development process which relies on decentralized approach and continual involvement…

Describes a vocational/technical career options program implemented in 1993 by Kansas State University. Covers five aspects of the program: (1) background and the need for the project; (2) the project's goals; (3) the strategies used in the project; (4) challenges met; and (5) the current status of the project. (KW)

The Extraordinary Women Engineers Project (EWEP) is a well known federation representing a large number of organizations, societies and universities, which are devoted to encourage more number of young women to become engineers. The program plans to provide various personal stories, role models, educational resources and training to inspire and…

One way in which university faculty members' professional lives have become more complex with the advent of contemporary university research centers is that many faculty have taken on additional roles. The authors' concern in this article is to determine the extent to which role strain is experienced by university faculty members who are…

In a continuation of research on the technical labor force that was initiated in 1990 at a large northeastern university, professionalism among technical workers was examined from an emic perspective. (Emics are conceptual strategies that explain phenomena in terms meaningful to the people being studied, whereas etics explain phenomena in terms…

Between 1950 and 1988, the number of professional and technical workers increased by 282% while the labor force as a whole only increased by 94%. Most persons employed as technicians work on or with reputedly complex technologies. Most work at the empirical interface between a larger production process and the materials on which the process…

A detailed study was conducted to analyze the role of national defense in shaping employment demand by occupation, both nationally and regionally, over the next 5 years. Data were gathered through the Regional Occupation Planning and Evaluation System (ROPES) in which detailed information on the employment of 163 occupations in 82 industries and…

This report questions whether high-tech development is an option for rural counties in the United States by examining the spatial location, industrial composition, growth experience, and environmental factors associated with high-tech industries in such counties. Using a highly detailed database of manufacturing plants and estimates of employment,…

A summary is presented of the major conclusions of seven regional conferences on high technology and the two-year college conducted by the National Postsecondary Alliance. The conclusions were drawn from the addresses of representatives from more than 40 firms, who responded to questions concerning their companies' involvement with high technology…