A survey conducted in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom analyzed employment practices and viewpoints of the social partners regarding comparability of qualifications and geographical mobility. Carried out in late 1991 with a limited sampling of respondents (firms, employers' organizations, and unions), the survey focused…

A survey investigated what employers in the Thames Valley, England, were looking for in their recruitment of young people aged 16-18. Of 600 companies, 37 percent responded. Twenty percent did not recruit at that age level; 76 percent required two advanced ("A") levels and Pass grades. Recruitment of young people with a General…

In France, a "Very Small Enterprise" (VSE) is defined as a legally independent company with fewer than 10 salaried employees. VSEs are characterized by a great deal of movement in the creation, transformation, and disappearance of jobs and the extent of turnover, which seems tied with intensive use of public employment programs, notably…

The study reported in this paper describes business/industry involvement with the education of secondary school students in Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, and France. The study covers the following: business/industry's criticisms and recommendations about secondary education; the institutional framework within which business/industry…

The purpose of this monograph was to examine the nature of changes in the system of rights and obligations surrounding employment and the relationship of employer to employee in the United States, Britain, France, and Mexico, with particular emphasis on the property-like rights in employment. In the United States there have been three stages in…

A study examined employee training policies and their implementation in four or five large companies in five countries (Belgium, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom). Data were gathered through interviews by an expert in each of the countries using an interviewer's guide developed for the project (resulting in approximately 30…

The question of whether the term "intermediate skills" has a distinctive meaning across business and industry in the United Kingdom and in its major competitors was examined. The study focused on the following sectors: housing construction; broadcasting; the care sector; the exercise, health, and fitness sector; and engineering (high…

This paper explores the traditional European model of vocational training in light of a new focus on employability and lifelong learning that is becoming more common in Europe. It includes the following four sections: (1) an overview of some examples of vocational training systems in Europe and the proposal that they share enough to be considered…

Changing occupational profiles in the hotel industry in France, Italy, and Spain were examined in case studies that included interviews with hotel managers, human resource managers, and individuals employed in hotel occupations identified as new or entailing new skills. The study focused on the following topics: (1) changes in the hotel industry…