The last 2 decades of the 20th century have witnessed a growing movement to reform the American education system. While people debate why and how reform should be accomplished new initiatives are being developed and applied in many different areas: student performance standards, curricular innovation, assessment, accountability, professional…

This plan describes the contract training and technical assistance services provided by Wisconsin's Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) to area employers, focusing on the status of the services and ways to improve delivery for the July 1995 to June 1997 period. Following an executive summary, the second section focuses on contract services…

These four papers are from a symposium that was facilitated by Laura Bierema at the 1995 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD). "The Status of Valuing and Managing Diversity in Fortune 500 Manufacturing and Fortune 500 Service Organizations: Perceptions of Top Human Resource Professionals" (Sandra J. Johnson) reports a…

A study was conducted to explore skills and work-related dispositions in technical work. It used a sociocultural approach to examine skills in seven target jobs in worksites representing diverse industries--health care, traffic management, transportation, and semiconductor manufacturing. It explored employers' strategies for obtaining the skills…

A study examined the structure of the food and beverages sector of Luxembourg, the continuing vocational training opportunities available, future training requirements, and the issues arising. It found that the food/beverages sector was relatively small and a traditional source of employment that was maintaining its craft character but developing…

In fall 1991, the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST), conducted a study to determine factors affecting retention and to identify students facing higher risk of non-completion. Specifically, the study sought to determine the effects of selected student characteristics and attitudes, as well as labor market conditions,…

This report provides an overview of economic trends and their effect on labor market training needs in Saskatchewan. Following a brief introduction, part 2 provides an overview of international economic trends, including data on world demographics, while part 3 examines the Canadian economy, focusing on job stability and the employment of…

This research report presents data that show that substantial progress was made toward economic equality on the basis of gender in New York (New York) during the 1980s. Using the 1980 and 1990 U.S. Census of Population for New York, the study demonstrates that, in the 1980s: (1) the labor force participation of women grew sharply while that of men…

In Illinois, as in other states, minorities, Blacks and Hispanics in particular, are under-represented in higher education. The historically low rates of Black and Hispanic participation in higher education raise equity and labor supply issues. This report supplements the annual report of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and provides further…

In this volume, the Rural Sociological Society Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty analyzes the leading explanations of persistent rural poverty and points out new directions in theory that should provide a firmer foundation for antipoverty policies and programs. Written by over 50 leading social scientists, the Task Force report explains that…

This report provides objective information about the relationship of poverty, welfare, and homelessness to California's regional economy and about the design of programs that help people in poverty build working lives. California does not have enough jobs for its workforce, and welfare caseloads are consequently determined by the economy. The…

The 13 papers in this yearbook discuss 4 broad subject areas: questions of competence, evaluating quality, professional cultures, and learning and trends in adult education. The following papers are included: "Human Resource Development (HRD) Practitioners Analyzing Their Work"(Tuija Valkeavaara); "Life Competence in a World of…

The productivity of the U.S. work force is a primary determinant of the standard of living of the U.S. population. Worker productivity is affected by many factors, including the education and skills of the work force. This handbook highlights several measures of productivity and education, and addresses the link between these two sets of measures.…

Signed into law in May 1994, the School-to-Work Opportunities (STWO) Act provides states and communities with funds to develop systems that connect academic knowledge with technical skills and workplace competencies. The Act links the Goals 2000: Educate America Act with workforce and economic development and is designed to help the nation prepare…

A 1996 study of employers across the United States confirmed the valuable role that community colleges play in providing workforce training. To continue performing that role, community colleges must take into account emerging factors that will change the role of instruction. These factors include the characteristics of the continuum of learners…