The newsletter contains several separate sections which explore recent research on the information needs of the rehabilitation counselor or address issues counselors face when using supported employment with clients. An interview with Darlene Ackerman, a vocational rehabilitation counselor in Virginia, is include, in which she comments on barriers…

Assesses the extent of the following types of structural unemployment in the United Kingdom: technological change, skills mismatch, geographical mismatch, demographic shifts, institutional rigidity, unemployability, and capital restructuring. Concludes that measurement is difficult and the types create segmented labor markets that obstruct the…

In 1991, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) developed an empirical estimate of the magnitude of the problems mother-only families face in escaping poverty. The GAO also tried to identify federal policies that could help such families. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the Labor Market Experience of Youth were used to assess the…

The federal policy shift from skills training and toward work first strategies has come about, in part, from a misconception that "training does not work." A more comprehensive look at existing research reveals the documented effectiveness of skills training. A growing number of studies have shown skills training can increase earnings;…

The relationship between literacy, numeracy, and employability was examined by analyzing data on basic skills that were collected in two of Great Britain's birth cohort studies--the National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study. The functional literacy and numeracy skills of samples of 10% of the participants in each study…

Despite 6 years of economic growth, California's workforce investment system faces the following challenges: (1) meeting the needs of workers who do not earn enough to bring their families significantly above the poverty level; (2) meeting the needs of employers who face continuing shortages of workers with needed skills; and (3) meeting the needs…

The state of Washington's workforce development system agenda focused in 2002 on these four goals: (1) closing a perceived job skills gap; (2) training incumbent and dislocated workers in order to prepare them for changes in the economy; (3) achieving wage progression for low income individuals; and (4) integrating workforce development programs…

The Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims of the House Committee on the Judiciary met to hear testimony on the benefits to American workers, businesses, citizens, and legal residents of more educated immigrants in the national workforce. Statements were given by the following persons: (1) Lamar Smith, U.S. Congressman from Texas; (2) William…

This report presents the testimony and submissions given at a field hearing on workforce training in Michigan. Four expert witness statements follow introductory comments from Vernon J. Ehlers and James A. Barcia, United States Congressmen from Michigan. The statement of Bruce P. Mehlman, the assistant secretary of commerce, assesses the ability…