This report profiles the systems, structures, and procedures for the assessment of competencies and awarding of qualifications in the vocational education and training sectors in Ireland. An introduction briefly describes the Irish education and vocational training system. Chapter 1 profiles the main awarding bodies in Ireland in second-level,…

This report describes systems and procedures for the certification of qualifications and skills in Luxembourg. All areas of education and the various levels of training are covered. An introduction offers an overview of the characteristics of the Luxembourg education system, including funding and structure. Section 2 describes systems of training…

This report describes current systems and procedures for certification in Germany. An introduction makes brief reference to the characteristics of the general and vocational training systems. Section 1 contains a preliminary explanation. Section 2 describes the German educational system. Section 3 is a typology of examinations and certificates…

Two studies tested the feasibility of a national school-to-work transition venture. One study involved focus groups of employers in eight cities to identify incentives encouraging employers to take part in youth work-based learning programs. The second involved a telephone survey of employers in seven cities who had participated in local…

The National Alliance of Business (NAB) reported recently on the National Workforce Assistance Collaborative that works with community colleges and other educational institutions to build their capacity to develop the work force of the 21st century. NAB had conducted a series of focus groups with participants from business, industry, education,…

The Skills Standards Projects have provided further emphasis on the need for benchmarking U.S. vocational-technical education (VTE) against international competition. Benchmarking is an ongoing systematic process designed to identify, as quantitatively as possible, those practices that produce world class performance. Metrics are those things that…

The Department of Labor's (DOL's) worker protection functions touch the lives of nearly every worker. Its approaches to carrying out these functions may have met the needs of an earlier time, but today's work world presents new demands and challenges to the federal government's traditional role. Today it is time to question the DOL's role in the…

The new economic and industrial policies of the 1980s called for a major restructuring of the industrial profile of Singapore. The government decided to set up three new technical institutes to prepare and supply skilled workers to new investors: French-, German-, and Japan-Singapore Technical Institutes with the collaboration of the government…

The purpose of this book is to equip trainers to perform with excellence. Chapter 1 focuses on how adults learn and interact, examines the impact instructors have on learning, and introduces the instructor performance system. Chapter 2 details the requirements of the instructor's job. Chapter 3 outlines the system that enables training managers to…

As more organizations reduce their human resources management (HRM) staff and look for ways for fewer employees to do more work, interest in developing electronic career support for employees is increasing. An Intranet-based solution uses technology to provide the means for bringing career development support to employees' workstations or their…

Federal block grants and consolidated programs related to poverty reduction may compel states to streamline administrative structures and approaches that have deterred collaboration in the past. This report considers the block grant environment in making key policy recommendations for reducing poverty in rural areas, formulated during a Pathways…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on instructional technology. "Netagogically Speaking, Is IBT (Internet-Based Training) Making the Grade? An Exploration into the Degree-Selected Internet Tutorials Measured Up to Four Design Criteria" (James J. Kirk, Harold Shoemaker) compares 78 information-based and skill-based Internet…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on global human resource development (HRD). "Globalization of Human Resource Management (HRM) in Government: A Cross-Cultural Perspective" (Pan Suk Kim) relates HRM to national cultures and addresses its specific functional aspects with a unique dimension in a global organization.…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on motivation to learn and perform in the workplace. "Getting It Together: Motivations and Success Characteristics for Interorganizational Collaborations" (Mary Wilson Callahan) presents results of a literature review, a hierarchical framework of motivations for interorganizational collaboration,…

Although the United States has the largest economy in the world, it has vulnerabilities. The growth rate of productivity has slowed. The U.S. net national savings rate is at an all-time low. The nation's educational system is performing well below the best international levels. A disenchanted electorate views federal institutions with increasing…