The agricultural work force includes farmers and farm laborers, agricultural institution employees, and agriculture students. Their varied human resource development needs must be met within a context of global forces affecting agriculture and on various levels: policy (information needs), institutional (strengthening programs, improving access),…

The career education movement of the 1970s was based on the premise of preparation for career success and motivation for educational success. What evidence exists of its effectiveness shows that it may be a workable formula to apply to today's demands for work-related educational reform. (SK)

The federal proposal for Job Training 2000 is criticized for ignoring 30 years of job training programs. It would shift responsibility among existing programs but would not provide needed resources to train more workers. (SK)

Major issues affecting the workplace of the twenty-first century include productivity growth, globalization, resistance to change, worker alienation, and telecommunications. Opposing views of technology are that (1) it will improve the economy and create jobs or (2) the majority of new jobs will not require high skills. (SK)

Guidance counselors should be authorized to place at-risk learners in nonconventional educational programs to help them acquire the basic skills for functioning productively in society. Counselors must emphasize the remedial individual and guide educators away from the acceptance of failure for 25-35 percent of their students. (MLH)

Answers questions about tech prep: How will it help at-risk students? What are ideal tech prep/associate degree (TPAD) programs? How do applied academics fit in? and What elements contribute to successful TPAD programs? (SK)

Describes Bellevue Community College's (Washington) use of earnings data and partnerships to respond to a regional need for qualified technology employees and to develop new high-wage programs. Identifies issues that emerged in response to a state performance-funding measure tied to professional/technical graduates' earnings. (VWC)

Examines performance-based human-resource-development (HRD) practices and their relevance for student affairs. Provides a general overview of HRD, including discussion of the newest concepts in the field. Offers a model and tools for applying performance-based HRD within higher education institutions. (Author/MKA)

A four-year study of a Scottish manufacturer's employee lifelong learning program discovered a positive relationship between the program and employee perceptions of careers, fairness, and the long-term "psychological contract." Due to reduction in the employer's commitment to job security, employees were beginning to view the program as…

Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (1998) overhauled the Job Training Partnership Act programs, creating new methods that allow local providers to meet the education, training, and employment needs of low-income adults, dislocated workers, and youth. Separate legislation revised federal vocational and technical-education assistance.…

Tracks the evolution of metropolitan ethnic economics between 1980-90, when most immigrant groups experienced explosive population growth. Uses census data to describe ethnic enclaves, entrepreneurial niches, and employment niches in metropolitan areas. Results suggest that initial successes of some groups (Whites, Cubans, Koreans, and Chinese)…

In Virginia, a community college consortium for semiconductor education and training programs works with a semiconductor manufacturers' partnership to review programs based on a national core curriculum model. The results are being used to improve curriculum development, faculty training, facility improvement, and student recruitment. (SK)

A project to accelerate the pace of change in vocational education and training involved all stakeholders in planning, implementation, and assessment; replaced syllabi with integrated learning systems; used reflection at each step; and integrated vocational qualifications into the process, rather than making them the primary goal for students. (SK)

Describes the California Community Colleges' goal to advance the state's economic growth through quality economic development programs. Discusses the importance of assessment and presents the results of an outcome evaluation, stating that California will collect $1.42 in taxes over the next 10 years for every dollar it spent on economic…

Discusses the emergence of a global, technology-drive, skills-based economy where manufacturers are now talking about the need for qualified workers. Describes Minnesota's severe worker shortage that threatens to choke the state's continued economic growth. Recounts Dakota County Technical College's decision to take a leadership role to address…