Since U.S. economic growth began to slow in 2006, both the Bush and Obama Administrations have enacted a number of fairly costly programs designed to stimulate the economy and employment growth. Because many of these programs are fairly new, there has been little comprehensive examination of their impacts, but initial analysis suggests that these…

Young people's experience of education in a "risk society" is characterised by a terrain of "initiative overload" which appears to make the routes through which young people are seeking to plot a path evermore perilous. This article is concerned with the impact of creative learning on young people, as represented by the UK…

The author states that a more systematic evaluation of labor market training is advisable. This includes permanent and refined monitoring of the trainee population for effective planning and proper longitudinal studies of different target groups in relation to the regional and national labor market policy. (CT)

Focusing on the changing relationship between training and employment, this article discusses (1) limitations of traditional vocational training policies, (2) the relationship between training and employment today, (3) changes in skills and the effects of structural factors on the employment situation, and (4) a modern vocational training policy.…

In the Federal Republic of Germany, as elsewhere, the recent unemployment crisis has forced politicians, economists, trade unionists, and experts to consider a number of courses of action designed to reduce working time. Included among these alternatives are the following: adopting the 35-hour work week, shortening working life through early…

This book posits that "plain talk" is needed on the subject of evaluation in vocational education and training. In the first chapter, conceptual issues are discussed. Chapter 2 focuses on the reasons for, and methods of, evaluation. Chapter 3 presents and assesses the value of a broad range of evaluation techniques, including outcome measures,…

Apprenticeship training is structured on-the-job training combined with related classroom instruction. Most apprenticeship training is paid for by private businesses, with some training paid for by organized labor. Some apprenticeship programs have been developed in correctional facilities, both federally operated and state-operated institutions.…

Examining the trends and issues in vocational education, this speech focuses on the historical basis for vocational education, the current situation in vocational education, vocational education in the 1980's, the role of vocational education in economic development, and research related to these topics. Issues which are currently being discussed…

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977 (YEDPA) authorized a range of research, evaluation, and demonstration activities to increase understanding of the employment problems of youth and to help determine the most effective policies and programs to address these problems. A major knowledge development objective under YEDPA was…

This congressional hearing contains testimony given in Montpelier, Vermont, at the first of a series of nationwide hearings on vocational education. Focus of this particular hearing is on the specific needs of Vermont as a rural northeastern state to train a workforce that is talented enough to help retrain existing businesses and industry and…

This volume consists of four articles dealing with strategies for combatting unemployment in the 1980s. In the first article, entitled "The Problem of Unemployment in the United States," Martin Neil Baily examines the nature of unemployment, the inflation trade-off and the natural rate of unemployment, indicators of structural change,…

The effectiveness of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 was critiqued. WIA was praised for providing an avenue for communication among state and local agencies during development of workforce development plans, potentially allowing individuals to choose from a wider array of services and service providers, spreading the concept of one-stop…