As the global economy rapidly changes and new technologies are introduced, more highly skilled workers are required. In the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), firms struggle to fill skilled positions due to a lack of qualified candidates, while the number of unemployed low skilled workers is growing. This paradox especially affects…

In September 2006, the State Board approved a new System Direction to guide the two-year-college system for the next ten years. One of three primary goals for the system is to increase educational attainment for the economic development of the state and the economic well-being of Washingtonians. Since 2000, State Board staff has provided periodic…

Several national trends are converging to impact adult education today. First, the increasing presence of adults in higher education is accentuated by the expansive Baby Boom generation who are demanding greater access to the higher education system in the United States. Second, regarding workforce and economic development in the 21st century,…

This guide begins with background information useful to understanding Illinois' framework for implementation and evaluation of Programs of Study. It starts with a visual depiction of the relationships between activity at the federal, state and local levels that evolved to the creation of Illinois' Career Cluster Model. This Model, which is based…

The "Core Indicators of Effectiveness Report" delineates the performance of Wyoming's community colleges as measured by the 14 indicators set forth by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and adopted by the seven Wyoming community colleges and the Wyoming Community College Commission. These indicators, while providing…

The rapid growth and modernization of economies in developing countries like Botswana creates new and unmet demands for certain kinds of educated and skilled labour. The expansion of secondary and tertiary school systems has also created a problem of unemployed school leavers. The growth of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs),…

The material in this monograph is part of the study materials for the one-semester distance education unit, Non-Formal Learning, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University (Australia). It is designed to raise issues relating to skill definition. "Choosing a Worker or How Good Are Your Job Descriptions?" explores why interpersonal or…

These four diagnostic guides, developed as part of the Investing in People Project in Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Washington, and West Virginia, can be used to help states in assessing their current work force and economic development systems and in building more comprehensive, integrated, and effective strategies for improving the work force.…

Educational problems underlie the crisis in the high-tech workplace. Insufficient expenditures for workplace education result in low productivity. Technology requires a skilled work force; the chief competitive advantage for a nation will be its skilled workers. Workplace literacy has been a half-hearted effort. Investment of billions by U.S.…

External inefficiency in education--inequity between the characteristics of graduates and the job market--is a problem in Indonesia and many other countries. Job markets at the junior secondary level are very tight in Indonesia with low levels of unemployment at all ages, short job-search times, and high real rates of return. Unemployment,…

The use and effectiveness of personal development plans (PDPs) in planning career and skill development activities for individuals within employing organizations in the United Kingdom was examined through case studies of seven firms and telephone interviews with representatives of seven other firms. The case studies/interviews focused on the…

This book contains eight papers presented at a symposium on the process of redefining the relationships between business and older workers and how older workers might enhance U.S. competitiveness, now and in the future. The book includes an introduction by U.S. Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich and an overview, "U.S. Competitiveness and the Aging…

"The Development Data Book," published by the World Bank presents statistics on countries with populations of more than one million. The statistics relate to economic development and the changes it is bringing about in the world. Sometimes called indicators, the statistics are measures of social and economic conditions in developing and industrial…

Companies have high expectations of the 440 colleges of further education, which will be the largest source of the skilled middle-range staff on whom industrial efficiency and innovation depend. Colleges look to employers to play four distinct roles--as customers, as places of learning, as advisors, and as joint planners in the regional or local…

In 1993 the subject Care was introduced as a compulsory subject in Dutch secondary schools. This paper analyzes the heated discussion preceding the decision. The introduction of the subject Care is regarded as a case study that illustrates the problems linked with feminist curriculum politics. The paper argues that the discussion referred to…