The changing nature of the demand for training in Australian enterprises adopting new management practices and the implications of those changes for training providers were examined. More than 3,400 private sector enterprises were surveyed by mail, after which follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with 80 human resource practitioners from…

The role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in providing employment-related services was examined in an exploratory study of FBOs in the following cities: Baltimore, Maryland; Ft. Worth, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and San Diego, California. For purposes of the study, FBOs were defined as organizations that hold…

Since the "Kangan Report" (1974), literacy and numeracy (L&N) issues have become an integral component of policy development in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector. Debate in the literature is based on competing discourses: functional-economic and social practice. These discourses and globalization of the…

The Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), awarded its final round of Job Training Partnership Act, Title IV, Pilot and Demonstration Grant Program funds for the Youth Opportunity Area Out-of-School Youth (YOA OSY) program in April 1999. Four of the 5 programs were audited in 2000. This audit is a follow-up to the…

Employers are experiencing difficulties filling vacancies for information technology (IT) positions because of rapid growth in the demand for IT workers, high turnover, and the unique characteristics of IT work. In response to the growing demand for IT workers, public and private education and training providers are expanding their offerings and…

This is a report of major achievements and activities undertaken by Cedefop during 2001, and it describes efforts to achieve the aims laid down in the work program. Chapters 1-11 each focus on specified Proposed Outcomes 2001 and report results reached in these areas: reporting system on lifelong learning; promoting competencies for the knowledge…

In response to the changing needs of an increasingly diverse society, the Illinois Community College System (ICCS) reformed its curriculum by integrating academic and occupational education. In order to determine the effectiveness of such curriculum integration, a study was conducted, via surveys and interviews, on ICCS' methods, revealing that:…

If community colleges are to expand their roles in delivering workforce training, they must develop long-term strategies that respond effectively to changes in society and workforce needs. In rendering these change strategies, colleges should define their internal and external environments, as well as their service areas. Internally, instructional…

This overview paper highlights implications of keynote papers and discussion at the first National Issues Forum held by the Research Center for Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia. It discusses evidence that the school-to-work (STW) transition is a problem for an increasing number of young people and why. It outlines the…

The 1999 National Household Education Survey (NHES) was a random-digit-dialed telephone survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 50 states and District of Columbia. Respondents were asked about their participation in the following six types of adult education (AE): (1) English as a second language; (2) adult basic education,…

The terms "learning communities" and "communities of practice" are being used with increasing frequency to describe the phenomenon of groups (communities) of individuals learning together. Theories focusing on the social nature of cognition and meaning, as opposed to those focusing on individual learning, are stressed. In works…

Owners or managers of 181 Australian businesses employing fewer than 20 people in the construction, manufacturing, property and business services, and retail industries in 3 metropolitan and 3 nonmetropolitan locations were interviewed by telephone to identify how they used training to enhance their small business's success. Of those surveyed,…

This paper synthesizes issues and directions that a review of Australian apprenticeship and traineeship literature suggested. An overview discusses the paper's basis, which was a survey of 125 Australian references from 1985-99. Chapter 2 categorizes issues into seven groups, discusses them, and draws out salient themes. (The groups concerned…

This symposium on workplace learning consists of three presentations. "Beyond School-to-Work Initiatives: Does Human Resource Development (HRD) Have a Role?" (Gene Roth, Laurel Jeris) asks HRD professionals to consider potential relationships between career development and current federally funded educational initiatives for workforce…

The third biennial outcome evaluation of the state of Washington's workforce development system analyzed the results of nine of the state's largest workforce development programs plus employer-provided training for participants who left programs from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998. For reporting results, the nine programs were grouped into three…