This collection of essays, which is arranged in four sections, concerns flexibility in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems of Europe. The first section, "Introduction," includes the following chapter: "Shaping Conditions for a Flexible VET" (Nieuwenhuis et al.). The second section, "Institutional and…

The project Self-Assessment and Self-Evaluation in New Forms of Training near the Workplace--A Step Towards the Learning Organisation was undertaken in Bavaria, Germany, to help companies begin the process of becoming learning organizations by helping workers manage their own learning. The project is based on the following principles and…

The Sectoral Employment Development Learning Project (SEDLP) examined industry-based ("sectoral") approaches to employment training to determine whether they can help low-income individuals advance in the labor market. The SEDLP sample included 732 individuals at baseline, including 185 recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy…

Workplace learning, both formal and informal, is taking on an increasingly important role in the education and training of the workforce. Based on an analysis of recent research on workplace learning in Australia, in an 'ideal' workplace learning situation enterprises would have in place the elements outlined in the following key findings: (1)…

This Community Perspectives Series document includes statements about the new economy in Toronto made by four participants in a March 2001 forum. The new economy was defined by the moderator as "an economy that emphasizes knowledge and technical processes put to the production of goods and other outputs so that an individual's knowledge is…

Training plays a major role in learning organizations. Training is an important tool for developing a productive workforce and fine-tuning operations, a major approach to helping people control or manage change, and a way of organizing information and experience so that employees can alter their behaviors on the job to their own and the company's…

The educational, social, and familial influences that lead women to choose information technology (IT) careers were examined in an online survey. Of the 2,500 women who were employed in IT careers in 38 countries and who belonged to the IT professional organization, Systers, 275 responded to the online survey (11% response rate). The respondents…

This publication on reauthorization recommendations for the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) comprises three documents. The first is a short summary of reauthorization recommendations for Title I and II. Title I recommendations are to eliminate sequential eligibility; promote greater access to training; improve adjustment of performance…

This report provides a summary of findings from research into work-related education and training undertaken over the last five years by organizations then called the Further Education Development Agency (FEDA) and Quality and Performance Improvement Dissemination (QPID) Unit of the Department for Education and Employment. Cross-references to…

This document examines selected issues related to collaboration between the welfare and work force development systems under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, Welfare-to-Work grant program, and Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The document begins with a brief overview of how recent policy developments have created…

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Slovenia has been catching up with other developed market economies. The economic situation has improved; the unemployment rate has declined. Slovenia's criticism of the 1980s educational reform carried out in Yugoslavia (which included Slovenia until 1991) and continued discussion have led to design of a new…

In England, vocational education and training (VET) does not exist as an institutionalized system as in Europe, where specialist institutions are tied to vocational qualifications, the labor market, and long-term objectives. Education has purposes other than to provide a skilled work force for the economy. However, the relationship between…

This report, which is based primarily on figures released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), reviews the indicators available for international comparisons of vocational education and training (VET) to clarify the following issues: the kinds of comparability problems that exit, their extent and severity, their…

By 2011, 53 percent of the total population in Great Britain will be aged over 45; however, in recent years the proportion of labor market participants over 50 has declined significantly. Older workers have access to fewer training and development opportunities at work but are less likely to take short-term sickness absence and more likely to be…

The first of the three papers in this symposium, "Performance- and Learning Support with On-line Help Systems: An Effectiveness Study" (Theo J. Bastiaens, Jan N. Streumer, Yvette Krul) is a study of a method to cut training expenditures for production, planning, engineering, and inventory employees by implementing an online help system for…