In 1993, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) sponsored five activities designed to build the capacity of community colleges to respond to workforce development needs of employers and employees through contract training services. Three of these activities targeted community college-based business/industry liaisons, who provide a…

The seven papers in this volume address three topics: the economic effects of vocational education, occupational projections, and coordination among institutions providing training. The first paper analyzes high school vocational education from an economic viewpoint, while the second examines the effects of vocational training coupled with the…

Recent changes in patterns of population location, industrial employment, and technology in the north central United States have produced implications for vocational education in rural areas. Missouri has greater social, cultural, demographic, and economic diversity than other states in the region, but is representative of the area for purposes of…

The Committee on Technological Literacy has defined "technology" comprehensively as "the tangible objects of the human world and the systems of which those objects are part, as well as the people, infrastructure, and processes required to design, manufacturing, operate, and repair the objects." By adopting this comprehensive…

The success of German firms' searches for qualified personnel to fill openings in skilled occupations was examined through a statistical analysis of data from the Institut fur Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung der Bundesanstalt fur Arbeit's (IAB) establishment panel for 2000. An employer search model was used to explain the current German debate…

Impacts from the major high technological changes now underway cut across all industrial sectors and most occupational clusters. Technological innovation can increase or decrease the total number of types of jobs. Decline in employment may be offset, however, by new applications and capabilities of goods and services or by employment shifts. While…

Many reports have pointed to the need to improve the quality of mathematics and science teaching in schools in the United States and to alleviate the shortage of qualified teachers. A policy focus on the teaching force is reinforced by the fact that the ability of the United States to compete in an increasingly technological world economy depends…

This paper provides an overview of the growth of new technology industries in Great Britain and the skills needed for these industries. The industries are advanced materials, biotechnology, and opto-electronics. The report profiles the current status, expected growth, and skills needed for each of these industry sectors. It also points out the…

This paper focuses on the demand for and supply of intermediate-level vocational skills within the United Kingdom (UK) economy. Using existing research from surveys and case studies, Part One argues that there is a lack of evidence that widespread intermediate-skill shortages exist within the expanding service sector. In the manufacturing sector,…

This paper provides an extensive review of the research literature on the effects of information technology (IT) on employment levels, job skill requirements, and wages. The first sections provide historical background on earlier waves of concern regarding automation, contemporary public opinion regarding new workplace technology, and trends in…

This paper reviews and analyzes labor market trends to provide information for business and marketing program planners. Emphasizing the demand side of the market, the paper considers only those aspects of labor markets that have an impact on the supply of students to business and marketing programs and the demand for graduates of those programs.…

Review of the methods for estimating future employment opportunities shows that there is an ongoing system, involving the Department of Labor and state employment agencies, for making projections for the United States as a whole and for states and major metropolitan areas. This system combines national research on economic growth, technological…

Vermont, the most rural state in the northeastern United States, can represent that area for consideration of the problems of rural vocational education. Nearly 21% of Vermont's work-aged population has vocational training. More than half of all high school juniors and seniors now enroll in vocational education programs, and new adult education…

The possible impact of technological and structural change on employment in the European Union (EU) over the next 20 years was examined through an exploration of the following alternative policy-driven scenarios: (1) business as usual; (2) concentrated technology policy (increases in innovation and research and development [R&D] efforts are…

The three two-page briefs in this packet focus on the skills needed for America's workforce and student career aspirations. "What Do We Know about America's Workforce?" provides a statistical overview of the workforce and workers today, reporting the following: (1) the number of men and women in the labor force is about equal; (2) by the time…