If Congress passes legislation consolidating federal funding for vocational education, job training, and adult education, states will be free to combine federal funding with state programs to create more coherent and effective systems. If such legislation is stalled, states have the power to reform the patchwork that now exists, but doing so…

At Wisconsin's Madison Area Technical College (MATC), both external and internal partnerships are a fundamental part of instructional programming. As the need for technological and mathematical competence in the workforce has increased, partnerships between the college and business and industry have become more important and represent an…

Allegany Community College in Cumberland, Maryland, conducted an employer assessment survey of Somerset County businesses during the winter of 1995 in order to provide evaluation data for planning and curriculum development for the secondary and postsecondary educational institutions. The survey was mailed to 760 establishments, with a 29 percent…

These five papers are from a symposium facilitated by Verna J. Willis on the learning organization at the 1995 Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) conference. "Processes of Organizational Learning: A Framework for Training and Development Policies and Methodologies in a Learning Organization Perspective" (Massimo Tomassini)…

This guide contains information to assist education and training facilities in the development and administration of competency-based training that leads to the qualification and certification of trainees in accordance with American Welding Society specifications. The document begins with a description of the scope, objectives, and requirements…

Although the general perception in the United States may be that downsizing in companies is pervasive and increasing, the facts show a slowing of the trend in downsizing and a net gain in employment. Many workers have found new jobs at or near their former pay rates, although only half of older workers are able to find jobs comparable to the ones…

This instructional module is designed to teach training managers how to calculate training costs, measure the effectiveness of training, and determine the cost effectiveness of training. It is organized in three parts. Part 1 points out why some training managers are reluctant to determine the cost effectiveness of training. It discusses the need…

Authentic assessment differs from traditional paper-and-pencil assessment in that it is designed to reflect students'"real world" experience. Authentic assessments may assume a variety of forms (including demonstrations, oral interviews/presentations, simulations, self-assessments, and peer/instructor evaluations); however, their focus is always…

Recently, some employers were polled to find out which skills are most important for young people working at their first jobs to have. This guide discusses how parents can help children prepare for the work world. Employers are interested in the academic skills of young people and use job application forms and interviews to evaluate them. They…

Designed to help those who develop and implement formal mentoring programs find relevant information, this publication summarizes 80 books and articles selected from the practical and academic literature. Section 1 is an annotated bibliography of the 80 works representative of the available published literature on formal mentoring programs within…

The current discourse about access can be changed by using three adjectives: old, wide, and deep. Regarding the first, since the 1870s, when the professionalization and specialization of knowledge took off in so many fields, inequalities in education have actually increased where it matters most--who knows how much of what is available to be…

In January of 1996, North Central College (Naperville, Illinois) turned on its campus-wide, PC-based network. A Technology Training Group (TTG) was created; this group focused on technology training for new staff hires, while also considering the ongoing needs of the current employees. Goals of the TTG included bringing new employees quickly up to…

The supply of and demand for skilled information technology (IT) workers were examined in a survey of sample of 1,000 medium/large IT companies and 1,000 medium/large non-IT companies that were selected randomly from a Dun & Bradstreet database. A total of 271 companies (149 IT and 122 non-IT companies) responded. Among the main…

Recent data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) were used to examine the validity of the traditional human capital model, which predicts that training lowers starting wages and increases wage growth. The primary data sample was restricted to those 4,309 members of the NLSY sample who were working for pay and not enrolled in…

A learning consortium is a group of companies that come together to learn from each other to develop new capabilities, build the skills of their employees, and increase the productive capacities of their enterprises. Most undertake both work force and workplace development efforts. Although the key feature is cooperative learning, most learning…