This study synthesizes lessons learned about the promising role of "career navigators" at community colleges to aid students in the transitions through disjunctures in their careers. Career navigators are student support personnel who follow students from recruitment, through their studies or training programs, to job placement. Findings…

During 1996-97, state agencies in Washington worked to implement the state's High Skills, High Wages Plan for Workforce Training and Education, focusing on seven most urgently needed actions to ensure that the people of the state succeed in an economy that requires ever higher levels of skill and knowledge. The seven actions are the following: (1)…

During 1997-98, state agencies in Washington worked to implement the state's High Skills, High Wages Plan for Workforce Training and Education, focusing on seven most urgently needed actions to ensure that the people of the state succeed in an economy that requires ever higher levels of skill and knowledge. Progress made on seven actions included…

This document presents agriculture skill standards for programs to prepare Washington students for employment in the following occupations: John Deere agricultural equipment technician; agricultural and diesel equipment mechanic; irrigation technologist; turf management technician; and turf equipment service technician. The introduction explains…

The state of Washington's workforce development system agenda focused in 2002 on these four goals: (1) closing a perceived job skills gap; (2) training incumbent and dislocated workers in order to prepare them for changes in the economy; (3) achieving wage progression for low income individuals; and (4) integrating workforce development programs…

This document presents skill standards that aim to be portable to address the need for instructors to adapt to workplace and student diversity in their classrooms and labs and to provide learners with the best workplace skills possible. Introductory materials include background of the skill standards project and definition of terms. Section 1…

In Washington, urban centers enjoy rising wages and low employment; rural areas have stagnating wages and high unemployment. Most family-wage job opportunities are in occupations that require some postsecondary education but not a four-year degree. The shortage is most severe in the supply of skilled workers with vocational training. Technology…

Project "What About Vocational Education?" (WAVE) originated as a series of in-service training programs offered for graduate credit to teachers, counselors, and administrators at various locations in Washington to assist students in their development of the awareness, attitudes, and skills necessary for employment. Results of some past…

A project reviewed and assessed the scope and availability of Public Service Employment (PSE) participant training. It explored alternatives on how training resources can be utilized and best administered to maximize participant transition to unsubsidized employment. Project phases were program administrator interviews, employing agency and…

This study analyzes the gaps between supply and demand for workforce training in Washington State and recommends strategies for reducing the gaps. Using data from state and national surveys, supply and demand is analyzed in three categories: youth, adults, and adults with barriers to employment, from the perspectives of both employers and…

This second biennial outcome evaluation analyzes results of nine programs in Washington's work force training system that account for approximately 90 percent of public spending and recommends areas for improvement. Findings are from: program records on over 65,000 individuals who left one of the programs during the 1995-96 school year; mail…

A project was conducted to develop a model vocational agriculture curriculum for high schools in north central Washington. During the project, units of instruction were developed that addressed the job skills needed by entry-level workers to fill jobs existing in agricultural occupations in the north central region of Washington. A pilot test of…

The College and Career Planning Handbook provides five steps and associated activities to help guide high school choices and prepare students for college and beyond. Steps include: (1) Discover Yourself (Who are you, and what do you want?); (2) Explore Your Options (What's the best job in the world?); (3) Set Goals (Specific, Measurable,…