Adults tend to lose their information-processing skills as they age, especially if they do not use them. While older adults may compensate for this loss by developing other valuable skills, the importance of being proficient in information-processing skills in determining wages and employment does not diminish as workers age. Probably the most…

This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest…

After a period of relative neglect in many countries, apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning are experiencing a revival. Their effectiveness in easing school-to-work transitions and serving the economy is increasingly recognised. However, engaging individuals, employers, social partners and education and training systems in such…

Human capital--the productive capacity that is embedded in people--is one of the most important contributors to the growth in nations' output and standard of living. Globalisation and technological change have increased the importance of human capital in recent years, to the point that there are now only two options to sustain high profits and…

An initial analysis of self-reported, formal, postschool job training and the labor market outcomes of that training in Great Britain, Australia, and the United States was made through a study of survey results in each of the countries. The data revealed that there is not one kind of training, but various kinds for different purposes, with…

A study was conducted to test the proposition that intensive formation of human capital on the job is the basic reason for the strong degree of worker attachment to the firm in Japan. The greater emphasis on training and retraining, much of it specific to the firm, results also in steeper wage trajectories, because of growth of skills in the firm,…

Training measures in the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men, the National Child Development Study for Britain, and the Australian Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to study determinants and labor market outcomes of postschool training received by young men. Twelve percent of U.S. youth reported getting formal training in the first…

The activities presented in this Work Incentive (WIN) program report are those designed to assist the movement of employable Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients from welfare to work and economic independence. The first of seven sections presents statistics on WIN programs, including (1) intake, (2) individuals employed, (3)…

This handbook on women workers, revised from the 1975 edition, provides current data related to worklife experiences of women and their economic and legal status, especially during the last half of the 1970s. In addition, historical data provide a perspective on trends in the labor force, experiences of women, and the effects of legislation on…

There is a strong and growing argument for higher educational attainment in the United States. The jobs that are expected to support the economy in the coming years will depend on a skilled workforce that is able to learn and adapt quickly to new challenges. However, demographic patterns demonstrate that relying on the traditional K-16 pipeline to…