Youth unemployment is a huge challenge for sustainable development in our societies. Statistics offer an alarming picture of the involvement of youth in the labour markets on a global scale. Germany, due to a strong tradition in vocational education and training deeply rooted in its culture, has very low rates of youth unemployment. The so-called…

Some 133 million young people (half of Africa's young) are illiterate; many have few or no skills. Such figures tell their own story: African youth need vocational training. This brief reports that technical and vocational systems in Africa are poorly funded and managed, and advocates for the integration of skill-development strategies into…

Discusses the low wages and dead-end jobs most Appalachian women workers face and explores nontraditional employment options which offer higher wages, benefits, security, and a chance for truly meeting a family's needs. (DS)

Discusses the representation of women in the labor force and their concentration of employment in a few occupations. Projects that unless changes are made in the ways women are orientated to and prepared for the labor force, employment opportunities will continue to occur in the fields in which women are already well represented. (LRA)

Critics of the two-year community college argue that working class and non-White students are overrepresented in two-year schools and underrepresented at elite public and private four-year schools. Available data do not support the claims of community college advocates that vocational education leads to economic security and social mobility.…

A survey of Black leaders across the U.S. revealed that they place primary importance on the role of vocational programs in helping students find employment. Approximately 79 percent believe that students should be qualified to graduate from a vocational program only after passing a job performance test and academic tests. (LRA)

Describes a program designed to reduce unemployment among out-of-school youth caused by the inability of these youth to document that they have assets in demand by employers. The program would provide the chance to acquire such assets and to build a documented record of achievement, experience, and certification. (LRA)

This report provides findings and recommendations on youth unemployment that were presented at a public hearing conducted by the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations. First, the report summarizes the testimonies of 20 youth from schools, community based organizations (CBO's), and job training programs who described their difficulties in…

Liberal education is viewed as aiming at the development of the student and not the training of the student for what the market thinks it wants. A number of suggestions for career preparation at liberal arts institutions proposed by Sagen, particularly curriculum changes, are analyzed and refuted. (JMF)

This publication contains the two keynote presentations from the National Equity Colloquium and a synthesis of papers on equity from multidisciplinary perpectives. In "The Future of Educational Equity" Shirley D. McCune focuses on three questions of importance in developing strategies to gain equity: (1) What is the current concept of…

This document contains materials from a Unesco European regional meeting held in Venice (November 7-11, 1977) to discuss the problem of youth unemployment. The final report of the meeting is composed of (1) a summary of the discussions on background and nature of the problem, remedies, action, education and training, creating jobs, quality of…

Support is growing for the concept of the enterprise zone. Congress has before it a bill, the Enterprise Zone Tax Act of 1982, that would provide incentives and create a climate in which entrepreneurs and business executives would locate businesses in areas of pervasive poverty and unemployment. A potential urban enterprise zone in New York City…

This paper argues that competency-based training in vocational education and training in Australia is one mechanism through which the working class is denied access to powerful knowledge represented by the academic disciplines. The paper presents a modified Bernsteinian analysis to argue that vocational education and training students need access…

Proceedings and papers are presented from a seminar on "Learning and Earning: A study of education and employment opportunities for young people," a report produced by the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission of Australia. This report traces the recent rapid decline in the participation of young people in education and the work…

Vocational education can provide opportunities for students by anticipating trends. Four trends in the construction industry are (1) remodeling, (2) building and apartment maintenance, (3) quality, and (4) smart houses. (JOW)