Two forces define a real problem for industries struggling to retain or develop a place in a competitive world market: demographics and the rising level of necessary skills. An examination of Indiana population demographics shows a shortfall of approximately 140,000 workers. The majority of new jobs will require some postsecondary education. The…

A study explored training from the perspective of the trainees, what it meant for them when they were faced with a major reorganization of their work, and what its impact was. Data were collected from 10 women operators working in cellular manufacturing, 2 foremen, and 1 forewoman. The interviewees selected by the management had converted to…

A major initiative in Australia is a general and pervasive obsession with competency-based training and assessment. There is a real danger that the selling of competency-based training (CBT) and competency-based assessment (CBA) is greater than what it can offer. One criticism focuses on CBT, the other on CBA, although in most instances where CBT…

The United States Congress's Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) issued a report describing American corporations as "remarkably underdeveloped" when compared with the nation's leading international competitors. The OTA report indicated that training and retraining must be made available to the lower tier of poorly paid, unskilled and…

The federally mandated welfare program Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) was preceded in Kansas by KANWORK, a pilot effort in four counties designed to initiate job preparedness and esteem-building programs. KANWORK, which was to be mandatory for certain public assistance recipients, included education, job skills training, job readiness…

JOBS (Job Opportunities in the Business Sector) participation data from federal reports for December 1990 were reviewed for 9 of the 10 states of the South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Kentucky information was not available at the time of review. Although federal…

The paper describes a data-based vocational curriculum for multiple handicapped adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy. Three care studies illustrate the different types of curricula that may lead to employment in the areas of micrographics filming, computer skill, and clerical work. The approach incorporates a task analysis orientation…

A proposal is made for a program focusing on the transition period between preservice and inservice teacher education. The first phase of the program would be attainment of a strong liberal arts background, culminating in a B. A. degree, containing little or no pedagogical theory or practice. The second, or training phase, would consist of an…

Although the technology of needs assessment has made progress in recent years, much still remains to be learned about how to determine the kinds of training methods and programs that should exist. Of the technology currently available, most is more suited to application with learner groups that are "closed" and "captive" rather…

This paper describes a program to provide educational and employment services to high school dropouts and unemployed adults in seven rural Tennessee counties. The program offers supplemental services and coordinates job development and placement with Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) administrative personnel. Program activities include basic…

Overall, federal and state tax codes treat employer investments in human capital more favorably than investment in physical plant and equipment. The most important advantage is that training expenditures can be dispensed immediately, rather than depreciated over time, possibly resulting in a subsidy of 33 percent. In addition, employers who use…

Changes in the American economy and in the nature and organization of work fundamentally challenge the educational system and have implications for the Federal Government's role. Case studies of the insurance, banking, and textile industries demonstrate the following changes in the nature and structure of work: (1) both service and manufacturing…

The history of the recent development of worker education in Australia and New Zealand shows that, in just the past 15 years or so, very significant improvements have occurred in delivery of trade union education. To a very large degree these developments took place because of the existence of a close relationship between the union movement and…

The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) has made a strong commitment to building partnerships with business and industry. CCRI's first customized training program was developed in 1982 with the National Tooling and Machine Association (NTMA), and was designed to enable apprentice machinists to receive the classroom training required to earn a…

Steps to alleviate the problems in achieving successful technical and cross-cultural training for United States Peace Corps volunteers are discussed. Historically, training was conducted at American universities or centers in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, or the Virgin Islands, but by the mid-1970s, in response to criticism that this provided inadequate…