This document discusses reasons for the current interest in workplace literacy and describes existing training for the workplace. Among the reasons for the interest in workplace literacy are changing demographics, which are altering the composition of the labor force, and changes such as the demise of the factory model in the workplace itself and…

This serial issue, which is devoted to the challenges that recent changes in the U.S. workplace pose for society and labor-management relations, contains nine papers focusing on the following aspects of building a new workplace for the 21st century: historical and current perspectives; workforce and workplace changes; education and training of the…

The relationship between business/industry and education in Florida is discussed in this paper with special emphasis on the role of community colleges in fostering and promoting economic development in the state. First, the paper highlights major factors arguing for strong links between education and industry, including the decline of…

Courses in the arts should be part of the vocational curriculum. Not only is knowledge of the arts basic to what it means to be an educated person, but the way arts courses are taught also has a natural synergy with vocational education. Arts education naturally embraces methods that are characteristic of high-performance schools. For example, art…

The South can move out of the shadows of the harsh economic realities of the last 15 years and into the sunshine of developing new strategies to take advantage of the region's strengths. These strengths include a vast wealth of natural resources; a Sunbelt location; and most important, a huge reservoir of undeveloped human capital. The road to…

In fall 1992, the League for Innovation in the Community College conducted a survey of 1,042 community colleges to determine the extent and nature of their involvement in workforce training programs, the types of companies served, funding mechanisms, and perceived obstacles to providing effective training. Study findings, based on a 73.2% response…

An Education Writers Association seminar in Atlanta focused on the link between illiteracy and the workplace in the South. State economic development policies are largely bypassing rural areas, and the effects of this urban-rural split include persistent high poverty rates, population loss, and unemployment. Changes in the workplace, particularly…

During the second half of the 20th century, two-year colleges in the rural South were transformed from "junior" appendages of other institutions to community colleges that responded to the needs of local workers and businesses. This paper examines how the South's rural community colleges contribute to economic development today and what…

This collection of articles addresses various aspects of curriculum and instruction at Utah's community colleges. First, "Reflections on the Changing Role and Mission of Utah Community and Technical Colleges," by Don A. Carpenter, considers the colleges' role in meeting needs for comprehensiveness, "practical" general…

Women comprised 43% of the United States labor force in 1980, up from 29% in 1950. The surge in women's employment is linked to more delayed marriage, divorce, separation, women's increased education, lower fertility, rapid growth in clerical and service jobs, inflation, and changed attitudes toward "women's place." Employment has risen…

These three articles come from the series "Course 2010--A Decade in View" published in the Handelsblatt (Duesseldorf and Frankfurt/Main), an influential German business newspaper. "The Labor Market: With Flexibility into the Service Society" (Elga Lehari) states that the key to more employment in future is a service society…

Federal block grants and consolidated programs related to poverty reduction may compel states to streamline administrative structures and approaches that have deterred collaboration in the past. This report considers the block grant environment in making key policy recommendations for reducing poverty in rural areas, formulated during a Pathways…

Trends in the workplace and legislative mandates have forced community colleges to consider how to integrate general education with vocational training successfully. The technological base of American industry has changed dramatically in the direction of greater complexity and interdependence, requiring workers to possess not only higher levels of…

Representatives of the business community define workplace literacy according to how well informed are the spokespersons for business, how expansive is their view of the role of literacy, and the extent to which literacy bears on their firms' productivity. These elements affect business people's understanding of what constitutes workplace…

Vocational education plays a significant role in the nation's economic development in terms of its capacity to make individuals more employable. It can respond to specific regional needs by producing the skilled workers for a rapidly growing industry. If, however, the industries of a region do not utilize the skills of the existing labor force, it…