In the United States, apprenticeships have traditionally been considered the purview of the construction industry and a handful of other trades. But recent interest in developing nontraditional career paths has led to an expansion of apprenticeships into industries such as healthcare, childcare, advanced manufacturing, public safety, hospitality,…

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) playbook series has explored strategies and processes states can use to strengthen CTE program quality and provide students with pathways to postsecondary credentialing and middle- and higher-wage career opportunities. This fifth playbook in the series addresses the final set of steps for strengthening…

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has launched a new publication, "Integrated Approaches to Literacy and Skills Development: Examples of Best Practice in Adult Learning Programmes." This new compilation showcases 21 adult education programmes that demonstrate promising approaches to integrating literacy, life skills and…

Research conducted by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), Fab Foundation and FHI 360, in partnership with more than 150 national and international experts and leaders from 28 states, found that to prepare their future workforces, governors and state leaders must develop a comprehensive agenda made up of three…

In its first Career and Technical Education (CTE) playbook, "Putting Career and Technical Education to Work for Students" (see ED609912), ExcelinEd examined the need and rationale for strengthening statewide CTE programs and provided a process that state policymakers can undertake to do just that. Serious efforts to develop and…

The paper questions the link that policy-makers assume exists between qualifications and access to employment in the creative and cultural (C&C) sector. It identifies how labour market conditions in the C&C sector undermine this assumption and how the UK's policy formation process inhibits education and training (E&T) actors from…

In light of recent data showing that educational attainment rates in the United States have stagnated, the Obama administration and others have called for renewed efforts to bolster higher education outcomes. Strengthening the role of community colleges is undoubtedly an important component of any plan to dramatically increase the number of…

From October 21 to 23, 2008, The Heritage Foundation, supported by the McCormick Tribune Foundation, convened leading education and national security experts as well as private-sector representatives to discuss methods for strengthening America's competitiveness by improving its performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics…

Chemical engineers play a key role in industries such as petroleum, food, artificial fibers, petrochemicals, plastics and many others. They are needed to tailor manufacturing technology to the requirements of products and to integrate product and process design. This report discusses how chemical engineers are continuing to address technological…

Americans with disabilities depend on the disability services infrastructure, which consists of health, education, and social services programs. The need for these services is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades as a result of several factors, most notably the aging of the baby boom generation and declining birthrates. These…

Described are research efforts in the United States designed to help improve the competitive nature of high technology manufacturing in the U.S. U.S. policies and techniques are compared with those of Japan. Six recommendations for improving manufacturing practices in the U.S. are detailed. (CW)

Explores some of the ways that lead is being replaced in the production of gasolines. Discusses the effects these changes are having on the chemical industry. Contrasts the use of ethyl alcohol from renewable sources with alcohols depending on the availability of isobutene. (TW)

Because of low salaries and noncompetitive fringe benefits, federal laboratories are having difficulty attracting, retaining and motivating high-caliber scientists and engineers. Outlines several measures to correct these problems and reduce the general rigidity and inertia of the federal personnel system and recommends quick action by Congress to…

High technology businesses in California's Silicon Valley have joined forces with local educators to form the Institute for Computer Technology (ICT), providing a model for education-industry cooperation. Describes the development of ICT, whose goal is to fill gaps between existing programs and to provide a structure for sharing computer-related…

Outlines the school-business partnership developed by Funkstown Elementary School (Hagerstown, Maryland) with Maryland Ribbon Company. Includes a list of points to consider when developing such a relationship. (MD)