The adult basic education field in the United States is now being encouraged to shift to a "career pathways" orientation by policy research organizations, federal and state agencies, community college organizations, business groups, and private foundations. In such an approach, adult basic education programs work with workforce…

The complex effects of the global financial crisis (GFC) have affected countries differently. The concept of stimulus packages to enable economies to withstand its full effects was widespread, as were decisions by several countries to invest in higher education as a means of stimulating the economy while placing workforce development and research…

Preparing for the future is not what it used to be. Yet, advising students, preparing lessons, and promoting the value of STEM options remains constant. As a result, technical and engineering educators seek clarity about the future of careers, career development, and ways to promote STEM options. Recently, the ITEEA conference allowed the author…

Purpose: UK government strategies for higher education (HE) continue to emphasise the promotion and enhancement of students' employability skills and subsequent graduate opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to explore what this means for those HE learners already in work. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the findings of a…

Research focusing on community college leadership programs and the needs of workforce development personnel shows that the primary knowledge and skills needed by professionals in the field include collaboration, teaching, community college context, effects of globalization, data usage, and skills related to leadership and team work. Program…

This article describes why measurement invariance is a critical issue to quantitative theory building within the field of human resource development. Readers will learn what measurement invariance is and how to test for its presence using techniques that are accessible to applied researchers. Using data from a LibQUAL+[TM] study of user…

The purpose of this exploratory survey research was to replicate a study designed to examine the perception of community college administrators and local stakeholders regarding the economic development strategies, but applied to Maryland community colleges. A Web-based survey was directed to community college leaders (32) and local leaders (100).…

Over 10% of residents in the District of Columbia (D.C.) are unemployed, and over 197,000 of D.C. residents are constrained by low levels of literacy and workforce skills. With such low-skills, stagnant workers--those with the lowest level of literacy, computer and employment skills--are living in a cycle of poverty and economic instability.…

Wisconsin will face serious challenges in the coming decades if it fails to increase the size and quality of the state workforce talent pool. One potential solution is a "Higher Ed Nest Egg Program", which would put $1,000 per student per year into an account with the sole purpose that the funds be used for postsecondary education in…

The Learning and Skills Network's (LSN's) think tank, the Centre for Innovation in Learning, in association with the 157 Group, the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) and the Association of Colleges (AoC), has undertaken timely and important research into how to support and improve employer engagement in the further education (FE) and skills…

This study explores the differences among California's counties and regions in their needs for new school-site administrators in the coming decade, as driven by a combination of projected administrator retirements and projected student enrollment changes. The projected need for new school-site administrators, based solely on these combined…

The attention given to the contingent segment of the workforce has significantly increased over the past decade. Investigative topics include the correlates of temporary employee work attitudes and behaviors. This study used a correlational design to examine leader behaviors outlined by the path-goal theory of leadership, as perceived by temporary…

The construction industry has long been a leader in predicting economic prosperity and in responding to customers' needs. In the last few years, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has managed to assemble the only ANSI-approved standards for green construction in the nation. During this time and with an eye toward the future, NAHB and…

An important assumption of entrepreneurial competence is that (at least part of) it can be learned and developed. However, human resources development (HRD) practices aimed at further strengthening and developing small-business owner-managers' entrepreneurial competence are complex and underdeveloped. A multisource assessment of owner-managers'…

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has said his three priorities in office will be "localism, localism and localism". What does localism mean for local democracy and, with swingeing funding cuts in the offing, what can one do to ensure the relevance of adult learning to the localism agenda is…