Community colleges traditionally have been a nexus for transitions to and from the workforce. This article examines horizontal and vertical workforce transitions and how a global economy and the need to train new subpopulations of future workers will cause community colleges to approach their roles in workforce training differently. There are too…

A project developed an operational definition of and designed a conceptual framework for evaluating two-year postsecondary educational customized training programs. The definition specifies that customized training requires the following: (1) contracts; (2) payments; (3) relationships to economic development strategies; (4) the delivery of…

Describes how customized training (i.e., contracted training provided by college personnel for individual firms in exchange for a fee) has evolved in the United States. Discusses links between customized training and three specific economic development strategies. Presents an operational definition of customized training to provide a basis for its…

This research brief examines the effects of federal legislation on vocational and technical education. Federal legislation must be reauthorized every 5 years, with an associated national study, the series of National Assessments of Vocational Education (NAVE). This pattern of constant reexamination has made federal support for vocational education…

Discusses the impact of technological change on the technical and "employability" skills required of the modern labor force. Outlines specific content and faculty upgrading areas that general education programs should address to meet workforce needs. Discusses the current crisis in vocational education and the relationship between general…

Examines the effects of computer-based manufacturing technologies on employment opportunities and job skills. Describes the establishment of the Industrial Technology Institute in Michigan to develop and utilize advanced manufacturing technologies, and the institute's relationship to the state's community colleges. Reviews lessons learned from…

Developed by an advisory board of industry and education representatives to raise issues for the consideration of policy makers, community college administrators, labor leaders, and managers in Michigan, this report discusses the increasing significance of training to industry; the challenge to public education and, in particular, to community…

Provides a conceptual framework for categorizing variables and elements used in evaluating customized training programs and for the maintenance of records demonstrating the accountability of the programs. Suggests a model based on variables associated with the educational context, processes used to fill client needs, and outcomes of the program.…

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…

A discussion is provided of how breakthroughs in the application of computers in the manufacturing of automobiles affect the development of community college programs, with particular emphasis on how Michigan community colleges have developed a capacity to respond to changes in this field. First, the paper explains what computer-based…

This paper continues a long-standing process, expressed in current practices of reauthorizing federal legislation every 5 years, of examining the rationale for federal involvement in occupational (vocational) education. Past discussions of this issue have come to a broad set of conclusions that the federal government should fund what states cannot…

Although objectively measurable achievement of outcomes is an important guide to the quality of education, the process of defining and assuring the quality of technical education and training must include consideration for the context in which technical education and training occurs. It is also critical to remember that education has two sets of…