Although most students have learned to succeed academically, by the time they enter our business communication courses, their time as students is almost over. This article describes the challenges facing "students who will soon stop being students" and introduces the professional online portfolio as a project which enables them to…

Skills have long been associated with productivity and economic well-being. A large body of evidence shows the value of academic and technical skills in the workplace. And in recent years, soft skills--skills that make for an effective employee, such as time management and communication--have also become increasingly valued in the workplace.…

The purpose of this paper is to present a project that builds labor market skills employers are seeking through experiential classroom learning. The sales management training exercise described in this article provides students with an opportunity to think and act like sales managers by working together in teams to collaborate on a training…

Creating inclusive classrooms, and especially creating inclusive and diverse working groups, can be a challenge in the advertising curriculum. The ad industry values diversity, and employers in general value students who know how to effectively work in groups. This article reports survey data of what makes students feel not included in classroom…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on many facets of students' successful transitions from secondary into postsecondary education, particularly for students who depend on in-person delivery of content and experience. For many young people, paid work-based learning has historically provided a needed source of income, and its…

To address the need to connect Americans with learning opportunities, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education released the present report. Grounded in evidence and informed by effective and emerging practices, "Making Skills Everyone's Business" offers seven strategies that hold great promise for improving the conditions…

In facilitating prosocial identity formation and preventing recidivism among adjudicated youth upon reentry to school and community, one key issue to address is the confidentiality of juvenile records. Educators can support young offenders by teaching youth to problem-solve the disclosure of past juvenile involvements. This article discusses two…

The Government has a target of three million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020, and is introducing an Apprenticeship Levy on the payroll of large employers to fund this increase and to encourage greater employer engagement with apprenticeships. Concerns have been raised about whether there should be a delay to get the details right;…

Employability has become an important focus for graduates and employers in Australia, as many universities contend with the notion of developing knowledgeable and problem-solving graduates who are workforce ready practitioners. This paper presents an example of how the higher education communication disciplines from across Victoria, Australia,…

Intermediaries--also referred to as bridge builders, boundary spanners, conveners, and other names--fill the critical role of connecting all the parties in the system to empower people with the skills required in the labor force. Those parties generally include employers, educators, workers, and prospective workers. Within these categories may…

As trained leaders for whom accountability and a strong work ethic are second nature, Chicagoland veterans are uniquely equipped to meet the demands of today's jobs. That veterans typically possess the skills and character needed to excel in the civilian workplace makes reports on the state of veteran unemployment more troubling. Through the…

This case study, one of a series of publications exploring effective and inclusive models of work-based learning, finds that entry-level occupations in manufacturing have historically been considered unskilled jobs for which little or no training is necessary. As a consequence, employers have experienced high turnover among new-hires, and…

Today's classrooms emphasize helping students learn not just for the sake of learning but to become prepared to join the workforce. While teachers across the U.S. know students must be ready for college and career, many may not be sure exactly which skills, competencies, and lessons they need to teach to prepare and animate students for the world…

Being bilingual is advantageous in almost all aspects of life. Bilingualism positively and permanently alters the mind and the brain. Being bilingual is more rewarding than being monolingual due to superior communication skills, enhanced executive functions, a delayed onset of Alzheimer's disease, and contributions to the Canadian economy.…

It is widely recognised that securing employment on release from prison is a significant factor in reducing the chances of an individual re-offending. In the current economic climate where 25 percent of men under the age of 25 are unemployed and total unemployment is running at 2.7 million, the challenge for ex-offenders entering the workplace is…