This review of the history of education reform from "A Nation at Risk" to the report of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills concludes that what is needed now is national debate on the design of an ideal national system of school-to-work transition. (SK)

Four principles for improving the U.S. work force are (1) commitment to developing the skills of all; (2) understanding of the knowledge and skills required today and tomorrow; (3) guaranteed access to a wide range of education and training opportunities; and (4) belief in the economic importance and inherent dignity of all kinds of work and…

Quality assurance in vocational education is critical to the productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the work force. The process involves vision and mission, management commitment, standards, monitoring, and continuous improvement. (SK)

With very little change, existing structures can be used to implement a restructured national education agenda involving incentives to make learning a family priority. When parents become involved as coteachers and colearners with incentives to create a learning-valued home environment, the consequences for student learning will be dramatic. (MLH)

To develop codes of ethics for their profession, college human resources personnel must first understand their primary job-related responsibilities. These include being alert to evolving organizational needs; coordinating needed training of employees; appreciating the nuances of psychology, communication, and motivation; and observing employee…

Industry and education need to build trusting relationships through communication, networking, and a sharing of resources. That will increase the likelihood that the United States will have an effective work force for the twenty-first century. (Author/JOW)

Describes six key work force and workplace trends facing human resource managers and implications for training and development: technology, globalization, cost containment, speed of market change, importance of knowledge capital, and change itself. (SK)

A range of work-related training and education opportunities is being offered by employers and federal sources to meet the demand for continuous learning. They include one-stop career centers, Hope scholarships, lifetime learning credit, Pell grants, student loans, exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance, and America's Learning…

Action learning is the primary influence on British human resource development (HRD). However, action learning does not readily acknowledge that individual identity is shaped by events outside the organization as much as within it. Thus it does not view human beings as human "becomings," a view that supports HRD as a strategic process…

A study of 14 manufacturing firms found significantly better financial performance among those that strongly emphasized recruitment, compensation, and training and development (a human resource orientation). Human resource development that helped sustain competence combined with that orientation to form a valuable competitive advantage. (SK)

Discusses the role of human resource development (HRD) professionals in employee development and suggests instead that managers should be responsible for employee learning. Topics include understanding the learning process; learning partnerships; identifying and managing employee weaknesses; knowledge acquisition, management, and transfer plans;…

Stories of 20 experienced Finnish human resource developers illustrate how expertise is constructed through the experience of problem-solving situations. Communication, interaction, collaboration, and management involvement are sources of problem situations. Expertise is a flexible and inclusive state of mind, not the application of routine…

Thurow describes major forces that will radically change the shape of capitalism and global competition: fall of communism, shift to knowledge industries, demographic changes, communications and transportation technologies, and lack of a dominant world power. He suggests that, as the United States loses political and economic dominance, the nation…

Discusses worker training and education programs negotiated by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) with three major communications industry corporations. Describes features of the Alliance for Employee Growth and Development, providing training and assistance to AT&T employees; Pathways, offering courses to employees of US West…

Describes how Docent, Hewlett-Packard, and Saba began country-wide training initiatives that targeted work force development; continuing education, and elementary education. Suggests that the challenges faced multiplied exponentially when dealing with Norway, the Philippines, and the Netherlands. (JOW)