This book explains how individuals can contract their way to jobs or careers in the 21st century workplace. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) how the workplace has changed (looking for work instead of a job; hidden employment opportunities; reasons contracting makes sense; making it easier to get hired; the need for…

Information about the career progression, personal traits, attitudes, and employment experiences of women principals in Further Education (FE) colleges in the United Kingdom was gathered from the following: literature search; questionnaire sent to all 68 female principals in the United Kingdom (response rate, 76%); and structured interviews with a…

New corporate practices and strategies, technological advances and rising job skill requirements are making postsecondary training a virtual necessity for a high-paying job. This is driving a wedge between the earnings of education "haves" and "have nots." Corporate restructuring is eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs,…

In the face of the emergence of a global, technology-driven, skills-based economy and a continuing shortage of skilled labor in Minnesota, a study examined the development of a world-class training system for the state's workers and businesses. The study found the following: (1) there is an urgent need to address the high-skill needs of both…

This document contains three papers from an international conference on "ways and means for more employment." The first paper, "Employment Policy Comparisons and Policy Advice" (Ulrich Walwei), covers the German labor market in the second half of the 1990s and requirements for longer-term employment success through coping with…

The effects of globalization and rapid technological change on emerging occupational patterns in Australia need to be understood in order to understand their implications for the effects on education and vocational training. Building on the classification scheme introduced by Robert Reich in his 1992 book, the Work of Nations, Australian…

This paper explores educational stratification of unemployment in early labor market career; its institutional embeddedness in specific education and employment systems; and youth unemployment in France (F), the United Kingdom (UK), and West Germany (G), which greatly differ relative to major institutional characteristics of education systems and…

The impact of California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS), which was passed to increase California welfare recipients' participation in welfare-to-work (WTW) activities, was examined. The impact study consisted of a nonexperimental program evaluation that used statistical models to estimate causal effects and a simulation…

This publication highlights key messages and themes of a conference to discuss critical questions, challenges, and opportunities facing California's welfare and workforce development systems. It is intended as a resource manual that presents the most up-to-date thinking on how policies and services can be designed to better meet the needs of…

The supply, demand, and shortages of registered nurses (RNs) were projected and analyzed for 2000-2020. According to the analysis, the national supply of full-time-equivalent registered nurses in 2000 was estimated at 1.89 million versus an estimated demand of 2 million, leaving a shortage of 110,000 (6%). The shortage is expected to grow…

A study analyzed the extent to which escape from or entry into low-wage status among adult workers is associated with changes in employers and their characteristics. The research used a database that consisted of quarterly establishment records of the employment earnings of almost all individuals (11,207,031) who worked in Illinois from the first…

The use of up-to-date labor market information (LMI) provided by a variety of state, federal, and local agencies and organizations can help program planners and policy makers design effective career and technical education (CTE) programs to prepare students for occupations and careers in demand. LMI includes information about labor market…

Data from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) were used to assess the prospects of California's welfare population versus those of the U.S. welfare population. Welfare recipients were found to have substantially lower basic skills than other adults do. Although 58% of California adults with basic skills and demographic characteristics…

This document contains eight articles from German newspapers that feature women who have achieved career success in very diverse economic sectors, while simultaneously highlighting the discrimination and other problems (including lower income, fewer promotions to executive positions, and smaller pensions) that many other German women continue to…

The proportion of individuals with little training varies greatly among European countries. Throughout Europe, nonparticipation in the labor market and unemployment seem relatively synonymous. Three degrees of labor market openness with regard to individuals with low levels of training are apparent throughout Europe: (1) in Portugal, skill…