This symposium is comprised of three papers on competencies in human resource development (HRD). "The Development of a Competency Model and Assessment Instrument for Public Sector Leadership and Management Development" (Sharon S. Naquin, Elwood F. Holton III) reports on a streamlined methodology and process used to develop a competency…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on human resource development (HRD) effectiveness and transfer of learning. "Factors Affecting Transfer of Training in Thailand" (Siriporn Yamnill, Gary N. McLean) discusses how the Learning Transfer System Inventory was validated in Thailand by administering it to 1,029 employers and…

A comparative analysis of human resources development and management in the subsidiaries of three multinational companies (Xerox, Glaxo Wellcome, and AXA Nordstern Colonia) was conducted in these three European Union (EU) member states: Austria, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Case studies were used, focusing on competence needs and…

The educational, social, and familial influences that lead women to choose information technology (IT) careers were examined in an online survey. Of the 2,500 women who were employed in IT careers in 38 countries and who belonged to the IT professional organization, Systers, 275 responded to the online survey (11% response rate). The respondents…

The first of the three papers in this symposium, "Performance- and Learning Support with On-line Help Systems: An Effectiveness Study" (Theo J. Bastiaens, Jan N. Streumer, Yvette Krul) is a study of a method to cut training expenditures for production, planning, engineering, and inventory employees by implementing an online help system for…

An Australian study examined the relationship between current and past participation in education and training in small business and success or failure and how small businesses decide how to improve knowledge and skills. Telephone surveys were conducted with 181 small businesses in 4 industries in 3 metropolitan and 3 non-metropolitan regions.…

The approaches to employability being taken by United Kingdom employers were examined in a study that included three components: a literature review to develop a definition of employability and isolate its key elements; case studies of six organizations to identify employers' approaches to employability; and examination of related literature on…

These three papers were presented at a symposium on rethinking diversity in human resource development (HRD) moderated by Neal Chalofsky at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development. "Diversity: A Double-Edged Sword" (Sally F. Angus) presents the notion of work force diversity through two differing perspectives in order to…

This report summarizes the work of five Minnesota organizations that received funding on a competitive basis to develop an integrated program of education, job training, and work experience for youth who have dropped out or who are at-risk of dropping out of high school. The report contains the following: (1) a brief description of the legislative…

The experimental Vocational Exploration in the Private Sector (VEPS-I) program, 1971-72 was intended to provide dropout-prone Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC) youth with intensive counseling, supportive services and work experience in the private sector, to encourage completion of high school, and to assist in obtaining full-time employment upon…

This final report on the second experimental year of the Vocational Exploration in the Private Sector (VEPS-II) program presents an assessment of program operations, administration and impact. VEPS was designed as a training and vocational exploration program for in-school Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC) enrollees who were probable dropouts. The…

A study of high school work experience programs was designed to explore the work environment in regard to employer policies, practices, processes and program ingredients to gauge their impact on high school student workers during the school-to-work transition. Two work experience programs were analyzed (North Terrytown, New York, and in Newark,…

This report, the first of a series on productivity and job security, presents five case studies to illustrate retraining to achieve worker's adjustment to technology. The first of seven chapters addresses the following issues: the availability of job training/retraining data, the desirability of informing workers in advance of technological…

Lifelong learning and skill flexibility are especially important for workers in China, where structural economic adjustment has generated 22 million layoffs from state-owned enterprises since 1997. Skills that were in huge demand in previous years, such as accounting, international trade, and language translation, are now facing serious oversupply…

Research into workforce development (WD) considered the relationship between corporate assessments of workers' development needs and WD strategies; how learning at work takes place; and what learning methods are used and their effectiveness. Focus was on practice in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Methodology included a literature…