A model to test conceptions from goal theory within an existing framework of training motivation was developed and tested with employees participating in training in a non-profit organization. It was hypothesized that goal orientation ("distal factors") along with self-efficacy, expectancy and valence ("proximal factors") would predict goal…

The purpose of this study was to explore alternative relationships between training opportunities and employee outcomes. A cross-sectional survey of 343 trainees from a broad range of Norwegian service organizations showed that the relationship between perceived training opportunities, and both task performance and citizenship behaviors were fully…

Like most institutions offering programs for career and technical educators, the University of South Florida (USAF) has experienced the impact of changes in the field. Thirty years ago there were undergraduate and graduate programs in career and technical education (CATE) at every university in the Florida state system involving more than 50…

The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the types of instruments available for assessing and improving mentoring in organizations. Extensive review of the psychological, business and medical literature was conducted to identify commercially published, practitioner-oriented instruments. All of the instruments that were…

This chapter uses Kentucky and Iowa as case studies to identify the contextual factors affecting the relationship between workforce development and state community college governance.

Massachusetts alone needs an estimated 5,000 nurses, and the shortage is deepening. Nurses are retiring and quitting faster than new nurses can be trained. In this article, the author describes Bunker Hill Community College's Welcome Back Center, a workforce development program that has thus far helped 47 internationally educated nurses from 29…

Comprehensive research and a highly-trained workforce are essential for the improvement of health and health care both nationally and internationally. During the past 40 years the National Research Services Award (NRSA) Program has played a large role in training the workforce responsible for dramatic advances in the understanding of various…

Efforts by federal and state governments to increase the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce in support of innovation and competitiveness are frustrated by a shortage of adequately prepared and interested students. Less than half of 12th graders meet the math proficiency benchmark that indicates college readiness.…

Language, literacy and numeracy are necessary for greater workforce participation, productivity and social inclusion. Being able to measure the level of proficiency in these skills, and any changes in the level of skills, is important for getting a sense of how well language, literacy and numeracy programs are working. Two measurement tools used…

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) provide the information and tools needed to inform policies, practices and decisions at every level to improve student achievement and system performance. It is equally important that there are policies and practices to protect personally identifiable information and to ensure the confidentiality and…

Ontario needs to expand nursing education options to improve access to the nursing profession, create better pathways amongst all nursing occupations, and build Ontario's capacity to meet the province's long-term nursing needs. Ontario's colleges are capable of playing a larger role within a long-term provincial strategy for sustaining and…

There has been a continued interest in the numbers and characteristics of those who make up the vocational education and training (VET) sector's own workforce. To address this, the Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) commissioned the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to undertake three…

The early childhood education and care sector in Australia is undergoing a shift in philosophy. Changes in policy are driving the industry towards a combined early childhood education and care focus, away from one only on child care. This move has implications for the skilling of the child care workforce. This report examines workforce development…

This book explores the perspectives of experienced practitioners, sharing ideas about building and sustaining organizational strength through workforce development practices and systems. As the saying goes, a company's greatest resource is its people. When managers really believe that and work to develop organizational capabilities, productivity,…

Australia requires a flexible and scientifically literate population if we are to maintain and possibly raise our competitive edge for innovation in an ever-changing global economy (DEST, 2006). Central to achieving this outcome is a workforce of competent teachers of Science with the pedagogical expertise, subject knowledge and enthusiasm…