Discusses the differences between training adolescents and adults and stresses the importance of designing effective programs for adolescents. Describes programs used by 7-11, Burger King, and Six Flags Over Texas. (JOW)

Medtronic, Inc., a medical technology company that specializes in implantable and invasive heart-related devices, uses multimedia to train its sales force. The trainers had to overcome some resistance to multimedia as a learning tool, although it increases learning efficiency and reduces training time. (JOW)

The national skill standards project may take 10 years to complete and will be expensive to set up and maintain. Getting consensus from industry, unions, and educators and ensuring checks for fairness and nondiscrimination pose challenges. (SK)

Widespread labor shortages are leading companies to adopt innovative recruiting and training methods, such as Internet job postings, computer-based training, certified interviewers, collaborations with colleges and universities, and making employees at all levels feel important. (SK)

Compares the cost factors of on-the-job training and formal classroom instruction and describes situations in which each method would be cost-effective. (SK)

The author developed an instructional-design model consisting of four simple steps. The model is in a circular format, rather than the usual linear series form, so it is named the training wheel. (SSH)

Describes the provisions of the Re-employment Act of 1994 and looks at why it has not passed in Congress. Reasons include an objection to a temporary unemployment payroll tax becoming permanent and the lack of consolidation of current programs. (JOW)

Provides nine suggestions for those interested in technical training by videotape, including (1) make sure video is the right medium; (2) follow specific objectives; (3) get reliable feedback; (4) know what your client wants; (5) be creative; (6) write the script clearly; (7) use good narrators and actors; (8) plan and organize compulsively; and…

On-the-job training (OJT) is enjoying a surge of interest because of ISO 9000, the certification standards of the European Community. Negotiating a balance between training staff and frontline supervisors who are often made responsible for OJT is one way to improve it. (JOW)

Because organizations need to be broader based and cross-functional, workers must have broader expertise as well as deep specialized skills. Cross-training and teamwork are essential. (SK)

The author notes that before any training takes place, managers must know their responsibilities as advisors, coaches, reinforcers, and positive models. They must understand that, if they fail to fulfill those roles, their subordinate supervisors probably will not use their new skills on the job. (SSH)

To give trainees a deeper level of experience, instructors often use role plays. In a role play, of course, learners enact the situation rather than merely talk about it. In a significant way, role plays let learners escape the environment of the classroom in order to behave as they would in real life. (SSH)

Reviews the status of federal initiatives to reform the U.S. employment and training system (one-stop career centers, skill standards, School-to-Work Opportunities Act). Notes uncertainties regarding the effect the new Congress will have on attempts to improve the system. (SK)

Two companies are attempting to provide job training and employment opportunities in inner-city Los Angeles: U.S. Electricar opened a plant to help California meet a requirement to increase the proportion of electric vehicles on its roads, and Pioneer Electronics funds Pioneer Academy where high school students study electronics in the afternoons.…

Peer training in the workplace can be effective if it is structured; if trainers are carefully chosen, trained, and rewarded; and if transfer of training is supported. Peer training has the advantages of credibility, speed, and cost savings. (SK)