There is evidence that those who seek employment during difficult times, but are not successful, will continue to experience ongoing hardships throughout their working lives, often developing an ongoing dependency on the social safety net. This digest describes two federal programs on the youth employment front: (1) Youth Service Canada (YSC),…

A study identified the current and future skill requirements of secretaries through a review of available data and research literature; interviews with key players in the secretarial field and employers and secretaries in 20 British organizations; and a forum where research findings were discussed. Findings indicated that in the majority of…

Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady increase in the number of paraprofessional personnel employed in special education, Title 1, and bilingual education programs. Currently, there are approximately 500,000 paraeducators working in the United States. Data indicates that 95 percent of paraeducators are women working for little more than…

The Illinois Workforce Preparation Action Plan was developed to set workforce preparation policy directions and improve coordination of programs and services in the state. This report provides information on the goals, objectives, activities, and implementation of the Plan. Following a preamble and list of the Action Plan Task Force membership,…

An ethnographic pilot study explored mentor/protege relationships within the corporate setting of a consumer pharmaceutical firm to determine how minorities were affected. An unstructured interview format was used with 17 individuals in 4 groups: white and Afro-American, male and female. Interviews focused around the history and advantages of…

Organizations that provide training to small- and mid-sized companies must take a broad look at companies' performance needs and offer a package of services that will address their performance problems. Providers must also help the company to see the connection between investments in human capital and increased productivity. Organizational…

The paper takes a critical view of current approaches to training administrators or managers in education in the United Kingdom. Criticisms focus mainly around the hands-on approach whereby the trainee learns the best techniques from colleagues and dismisses most academic studies of management practices. The paper summarizes the thinking behind a…

This paper provides guidance through the process of upgrading the skills of information systems staff to fit the implementation of new technology. Specific examples are provided for the technology implementation at Mott Community College (Michigan). As with many major transitions, the key to success is planning. It is important to completely and…

Experts in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) from 11 countries participated in a UNESCO International Workshop. The countries were: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Poland, Republic of Korea, and South Africa. Workshop participants identified a range of issues relating to improving the…

A study was made of the state of apprenticeship in France, using data gathered through telephone interviews with apprentices. Of a targeted group of 6,000 young apprentices, 70% participated in the survey. The study found that, until recently, apprenticeships had generally been used in France to train students in manual trades. During the past 10…

Existing research reveals little about the availability of internships for graduate students in higher education, and also fails to explain the utilization of these internship offerings. The findings from this study suggest that while a majority of programs in higher education have some type of practice-based offerings in their curricula,…

In response to the recognition that significant changes were required in service delivery approaches to meet the changing needs for workforce training, Illinois' Joliet Junior College (JJC) implemented a series of innovative training programs. The guiding philosophy behind the programs was that service delivery must correspond to shifts in focus…

This document consists of four papers presented during a symposium on learning research moderated by Keith Johansen at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "A Goal-Based Scenario (GBS) as a Unified Approach to Integrated Skills Development Training: Andersen Consulting's BanDS School" (Kurt J. Olson, Jeffrey M.…

Technological, social, legal, economic, educational and political advances have greatly affected the management of staff who have had to adapt to such developments as networking, the independence of educational institutions, income generation, compulsory competitive tendering, quality management and user consultation. This book is a guide to staff…

Britain's National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are work qualifications that measure what an employee or potential employee can do as well as how much he or she knows and understands about a particular job. Used as written proof of usable workplace skills that can be put to profitable use by an employer, NVQs range from basic Level 1, for…