Skill supply chains apply a chain strategy to human resources to make the labor market more efficient. They link the multiple skill levels in a given labor market within a network of recruitment pathways for employers and advancement pathways for workers. Skill supply chains are based on employers' actual skill needs and on the principle that…

This document presents a framework for vocational education (VE) in Australia. Section 1 presents an overview of the range of references in Australia's "Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the 21st Century" to elements of VE in schools and linkages between the education/training sector and business/industry. Section 2…

These two documents are designed to assist governing bodies of England's further education (FE) and land-based colleges self-assess their performance and identify ways of improving their performance. Each document contains a "healthcheck" that requires approximately 30 minutes to complete and that was developed in response to informative…

The AIM (Assessment, Instruction, Mastery) system is a performance-based assessment that was developed in Oregon. The AIM system was piloted by 83 volunteers and staff from 18 volunteer-based programs to assess the system's usefulness as a means of collecting and aggregating data on student progress in adult literacy and similar programs in…

This document presents and discusses a self-assessment checklist that the General Accounting Office (GAO) developed to enable agency leaders to examine their human capital efforts through a process consisting of the following stages: analyze and plan; implement change; and evaluate and continuously improve. The preface defines the term "human…

The future of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia was explored in a project that was designed to identify emerging issues in VET, identify challenges and opportunities for strategic thinking about the future of VET, and establish a basis for ongoing consideration of strategic issues. The major project activities were as follows:…

This booklet explains how local communities can organize and structure their one-stop centers so that business is viewed as a customer of the system. The introduction provides an overview of the booklet's development and purpose. The following key attributes underpinning a workforce investment system that views business as its customer are…

This newsletter presents four articles designed to help business educators educate learners in grades K-12 about personal finance. "Now More Than Ever: The Need for Financial Literacy" examines the following topics: evidence that the United States is becoming a nation of debtors; the plummeting personal savings rate; the increasing…

Training plays a major role in learning organizations. Training is an important tool for developing a productive workforce and fine-tuning operations, a major approach to helping people control or manage change, and a way of organizing information and experience so that employees can alter their behaviors on the job to their own and the company's…

This document examines selected issues related to collaboration between the welfare and work force development systems under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, Welfare-to-Work grant program, and Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The document begins with a brief overview of how recent policy developments have created…

This booklet, which is intended for general readers wishing to understand important trends in vocational education and training, provides insight into how self-paced learning programs are being implemented in Australia and how teachers and students evaluate their effectiveness. The following topics are discussed in the first booklet's first seven…

This document, which is intended for staff of state occupational information coordinating committees (SOICCs) and career information delivery systems (CIDS), examines the pros and cons of career information hotlines and their use in selected states. "Foreword--Career Information on Call" (Juliette N. Lester) provides a brief overview of…

Technological literacy includes the following elements: (1) the ability to use technology; (2) knowledge about the details of individual technologies and the processes of technology development; (3) a holistic understanding of the historical and cultural context of technology and adaptability based on initiative and resourceful thinking; and (4) a…

This book outlines the principles of planning, implementing, and evaluating successful professional meetings and conferences in education. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) the knowledge base of effective meetings and conferences (nine principles held by effective meeting designers; characteristics of effective meetings and…

In 2004, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) conducted an assessment of a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students across Australia to assess their proficiency in civics and citizenship. The assessment of civics and citizenship is part of a national plan that is being put progressively in place to…