National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) have been introduced and developed within a competency framework by successive UK governments. Potential benefits are listed as improved skills, less skills shortages and more appropriate job-employee fit. However, there has been considerable and sustained criticism of NVQs from employers, employees and…

This report on the nexus between postsecondary education and workforce development discusses the question of how California's colleges and universities address the state's need for a highly educated and skilled workforce. It includes a detailed review of the systems and their roles, and considers issues regarding how those roles are being carried…

In 1996, the US Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, changing the culture of welfare from a system of dependency to one of personal responsibility and economic self-sufficiency through workplace participation. Through the expert views of case managers and area employers of Wisconsin, this research…

The Job Accommodation Network, JAN, enables employers to talk with other employers about successful accommodation for the disabled, focuses on limitations rather than disabilities and functional job duties rather than titles, and incorporates human interaction with the employer and computer. (CL)

With more companies allowing "flextime", more access to elearning, and telecomuting, the line between workplace flexibility and work-life balance begins to blur. Companies "sell" to employees the flexibility of being able to complete training programs from the comfort of the participant's home, allowing them to learn at their own speed. In many…

A bank vice president reviews three barriers to the employment of handicapped persons: misunderstanding and lack of knowledge concerning the handicapped, the traditional lag between recognition of a problem and its solution, and apathy and disinterest. (CL)

The study compared observed social interactions of nonhandicapped employees (N=8) in seven different competitive employment sites with employers' stated expectations for social behaviors. Curriculum implications for transitioning youths and adults with handicaps, particularly mental handicaps, are discussed. (Author/DB)

Summarizes the findings and methodology of some of the recent innovative labor market studies in the private sector. Emphasis is placed on the micro-data study of the job creation process at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Similar studies at the University of California at Berkeley and at the Brookings Institution are also summarized. (CT)

There has been considerable debate about the impact of external quality assurance in higher education. This paper describes a discussion at the INQAAHE workshop in The Hague, attended by representatives of agencies, exploring the effects of external quality processes on institutions and programmes. The summary, probably for the first time,…

Provides a checklist of the opportunities, benefits, and barriers to the introduction of independent work-based learning courses in higher education, developed from workshops held at Coventry University (United Kingdom). Considers points of view of learners, the university, and the employers. (Author/LRW)

The labor market is sending out explicit signals that determine the behavior of present and potential workers. These signals give impetus to the development of education. In the past few years, for example, there has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of college students and higher educational institutions; the sphere of supplementary…

Presents a national overview of employers' and educators' attitudes concerning school leavers in Australia. Closer examination discloses a greater degree of symbiosis between educators and employers than is traditionally acknowledged. Moving toward shared objectives and cooperative agreements should further quash stereotyped notions. Includes four…

Purpose: To outline the reasons for staff shortages in the UK catering industry and then to decide if further training could help to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach: The objectives have been achieved by examining the training provisions at a college, and then asking the students, their training staff, employers and employees…

There is not enough substance behind a degree to warrant the ubiquitous belief that a stint in higher education is a "sine qua non" for success in America. While college diplomas may translate into higher-paying jobs for some, high school signifies little in the way of education these days, so jaded employers' estimates of the real value of…

A corporate perspective on the general education competencies expected of middle management and technical personnel is provided and responded to in these three papers. First, Rita Meyer presents results from a study conducted by West Virginia Northern Community College to obtain the views of corporate managers on the general education…