Bobby Curran grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Baltimore, finished high school, and followed his grandfather's steel-toed bootprints straight to Sparrows Point, a 3,000-acre sprawl of industry on the Chesapeake Bay. College was not part of the plan. A gritty but well-paying job at the RG Steel plant was Mr. Curran's ticket to a secure…

Despite the desire of many older adults to remain in the workforce, those without jobs face unprecedented durations of unemployment. Many of the unemployed lack current skills for jobs in demand and need to either upgrade their skills or be trained for a new occupation to become reemployed. An aging workforce, combined with the negative effects of…

Discusses conditions that contribute to worker displacement, and suggests that retraining and adult education are only part of the solution. Lists six other recommendations which, if implemented, would contribute to the resolution of this problem. (NRJ)

The author reports on a survey of 64 human resources managers. Forty-eight percent of the respondents indicated that their organizations had some type of retraining program. Topics covered include (1) retraining topics, (2) employee types, (3) program content, (4) trainee scheduling, (5) completion rates, (6) payment, and (7) program success. (CH)

Suggests ways that the Job Training Partnership Act can serve as a local labor force development tool. Besides assisting "hardcore unemployed," education can take a proactive role, keeping up with the technology and needs of business and industry. In return, business and industry must support education with state-of-the-art machinery and…

Examines retraining transition processes as a basis for understanding adult learning and career change. Distinguishes between frame breaking and incremental change, describes associated learning methods, outlines transitional phases, and considers relationships between degrees of change and coping styles. Finds that variables reflecting career…

Presents the views of the Consortium for Worker Education (New York, New York), which advocates a formal schooling system to upgrade the skills of the American worker. The first step toward systemic worker education would be the passage of federal legislation to allow state and local governments to establish Workforce Development Boards to provide…

The author reports on the trend for manufacturing companies to spend heavily on retraining and retaining employees whose jobs have been abolished or dramatically changed. Employers have found retraining current employees to be more cost effective than hiring new workers. He describes a California state program that helps finance such training…

Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics research projects indicate that the pace of technological advancement varies significantly from industry to industry and few employees have been laid off as a result of these changes. Implications for industry concern productivity and retraining. (CH)

Many postsecondary technical education programs are facing obsolescence and need more than another course or piece of equipment to be effective. Educational institutions must restructure their programs, redesign their laboratories, and retrain their faculty. The business and industrial community is the direct beneficiary of a strong vocational…

Retraining of employed technical professionals as an alternative to termination is being used by a small but growing number of firms. Case studies of involuntary and voluntary retraining generated guidelines for cost-effective programs: management support, candidate screening, career counseling, and realistic job previews. (SK)

A survey of French research by CEREQ ("A French research centre for analysis of occupations and of vocational education and training") shows that firms have undertaken a number of experiments, most of them large scale, to retrain their work force. These initiatives are situated within a general context of change. Training programs based…