The City and Guild of London Institute was set up about one hundred years ago in England to create links among schools, industry, and apprenticeship programs in order to provide examinations to qualify persons entering various trades. Today, the Institute provides services for vocational education according to this procedure: (1) agrees with…

Discusses both sides of the issue of whether admission to apprenticeship programs should continue to be contingent upon completion of a high school educational program. (Author/JH)

States that although many organizations offer training courses, they also rely on educational institutions to provide training and proper credentials. Discusses the recent demand for skills in information technology (IT) and how it has generated a wide range of courses offered by community colleges. Addresses how competency in IT is assessed, and…

The author takes issue with the National Institute of Education-sponsored report, "Involvement in Learning: Realizing the Potential of American Higher Education," saying that it belittles the importance of occupational education. He argues for the value of specialization to secure immediate employment versus the vaguer goals of liberal…

Presents an excerpt from the book, Help Wanted...Credentials Required: Community Colleges in the Knowledge Economy. States that credentials are now highly sought after by many employees, and community colleges must balance between providing a good education/training and the economic strain of doing so. Discusses changes in the trends of higher…

Increasing concerns about the skill level of U.S. workers are driven by demographics, technological change, and international competition. Greater percentages of the labor force will be comprised of those groups that have traditionally faced the greatest barriers to full participation in the labor force. Rapid technological change is increasing…

This working paper is a product of a regional study in industrial South Wales of the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. Based on this data, three…