A study identified the structural conditions for workers' perceptions of the need for qualifications and education. It defined qualification requirements based on evaluations of work organization in three workplaces in two companies. Evaluations were used to develop a reference framework for understanding workers' subjective value criteria linked…

This monograph summarizes presentations and discussions that took place at a symposium organized in conjunction with the spring meeting of the Trans-Atlantic Technology and Training Alliance (TA3). TA3 is an international alliance dedicated to sharing practices that prepare workers for technical careers, providing opportunities for faculty…

Roma, or "gypsies," are the main poverty risk group in many countries of central and eastern Europe. Living standards for the Roma have deteriorated more severely during the region's transition to a market economy than they have for other population groups, and Roma have been poorly positioned to take advantage of emerging economic and…

The Sectoral Employment Development Learning Project conducted a longitudinal survey of participants of industry-based workforce development programs about two years after completing training. Outcomes for unemployed and underemployed workers--77 percent of the sample--indicated increased hours worked and increased earnings per hour produced…

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 means that, for the first time, the federal government has shifted substantial responsibility for maintaining a social safety net for the most vulnerable populations to the state governments. This guide summarizes the contents of the new law, identifies…

Using panel data from Peru, this paper investigates the determinants of the allocation of boys' and girls' time to schooling, housework, and income-generating activities. Specifically, it explores whether sickness, employment of adult women, infrastructure, and female headship have different impacts on the time use of boys and girls. Girls mostly…

This report provides a descriptive overview of the first results from the 2000 Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) for 18-20-year-olds in Canada. These early results draw a picture of where youth stand in terms of both their educational participation and attainment and their labour market participation as of December 1999. Youth at this age are in…

The purpose of this study is to examine the various economic facets of inequality in education in India. The specific focus is on inter-group inequalities, such as inequality between males and females and between backward and advanced castes. It is hypothesized that returns to education accrue differently to different groups of population and…

The abstract booklet contains 38 one-page abstracts of grants awarded by the Indian Vocational Education Program for 1996-98. The grants were awarded to projects offering job training, technical training, small business training, and job placement services to American Indian and Alaska Native adults and high school students, primarily those living…

The role of further education (FE) colleges in England and Wales was examined through a survey mailed to a representative sample of 478 of the United Kingdom's 622 FE colleges. Questionnaires were returned by 102 (21%) of the colleges. Data were also collected through seminars, conferences and consultation meetings, cases studies, and a best…

Surveys were conducted to examine the post-college plans of York University (Canada) graduates of the Faculties of Arts, Fine Arts, Pure and Applied Science and the Schulich School of Business. The first survey population included all bachelor's degree candidates who had graduated in fall of 1995 and the second involved all June 1996 graduates;…

This brief report addresses two issues. One is the stagnation in the rate at which young people are receiving 4-year college degrees, and the increasingly high financial barriers to attending college. The other is the large, and increasing, inequality in opportunity to achieve a college education. At the same time, economists have warned that our…

In North Carolina, work force development education (WDE) begins in grade 6 with exploratory courses and leads to specialized classroom instruction in grades 11 and 12. Since 1992-1993, North Carolina's WDE programs have been evaluated with respect to eight long-range performance standards. Only in the case of standard 1 (all students will have…

This booklet describes the success of tech prep under the federal school-to-work (STW) initiative and provides case studies showing how schools and businesses are using tech prep to create the world's best work force for the new millennium. The first section discusses the payoff from STW, and the second section describes tech prep. Section 3…

Past rural policies are reviewed, noting the effects of globalization and information technology. Rural business profits can be maximized by direct cost or value-added competition, but cost competition limits the development of productive capacity and leads to unequal income distribution. In contrast, value-added competition could create steep…