As many organizations restructure, the role of support staff is also changing. Secretaries are under increased workloads and are assuming duties previously performed by management, such as budgeting, project coordination, and public relations. According to Professional Secretaries International, only 31% of its members bore the title "secretary"…

Preparation for productive employment in a global economy is one aspect of National Education Goals 3 and 5. Career education can help people realize the opportunities and meet the challenges of the international workplace. The emergence of flexible, information-based technologies is a primary factor in the evolution of the global economy. New…

The world of stable, long-term employment is coming to an end. Part-time, contingent, and contract workers now account for more than 35% of the U.S. work force. It has been suggested that individuals will become "portfolio workers" with "portfolio careers." Individuals will maintain portfolios of their skills, abilities, and achievements and will…

Labor market information (LMI) describes the interaction between occupations and employers. Three major components make up LMI: economic or labor force information, occupational information, and demographic information. Various agencies, including federal departments and state employment security agencies, compile LMI. A guide to the information…

Women now represent 45% of the work force, and 74% of all 25- to 54-year-old women now work. Despite these statistics, women are still clustered in 20 of 400 occupational categories, and 70% of female secondary vocational students are preparing for low-wage jobs. These statistics, coupled with the findings of research on self-esteem and identity…

Technological innovations are giving rise to structural changes in the economy that are in turn creating profound changes in the nature of work and work organizations. Predicted changes are: traditional hierarchical organizations in the workplace will give way to network or weblike forms of organization; customary vertical divisions of labor will…

The renaming of vocational education (VE) as career and technical education (CTE) has been motivated partly by the need to address VE's image. However, name changes go beyond concern for image. Today's CTE offers broader career pathways than did previous VE programs. After a decade of academic-vocational integration and tech prep, it is recognized…

Since the 1970s, federal legislation and public and private sector initiatives have attempted to increase the numbers of women employed in occupations considered nontraditional for females. In 1998, women accounted for 20-25% of employees in a handful of nontraditional occupations (NTOs) but less than 10% of employees in many other NTOs. Secondary…