In this essay, I argue that our recent pivot toward digital learning, in addition to the social discontent and economic turbulence exacerbated by the pandemic, requires a re-imagining of how we "do" adult and workforce education (AWE) policy. First, I briefly describe the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA) policy.…

Organizations advocating for federal, state, and local level support for adult education have long relied on the power of individual story to influence both public perception and public policy. They have developed training programs, provided advocacy toolkits, and organized visits with policy makers in order to promote and sustain awareness of the…

Over half of jobs in the U.S. require training beyond high school but not a four-year degree. These skilled jobs are the backbone of America's economy, and filling them is critical to America's success in the 21st century. Every day, in communities coast to coast, working people, students, and families are looking for opportunities to get ahead.…

In the United States, adult and workforce education (AE) seems to be located, simultaneously, both everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ongoing shifts in national economic demands and changes in requirements for training and education have brought learning in the adult years into the federal public policy arena. Sometimes referred to as lifelong…

The United Kingdom needs a coherent strategy to develop the competence of its people, to enable individuals to cope with the complex world, and to help them make a personal contribution to society. Collaborators in the strategy are representatives from government, trade unions, the labor force, education, personnel and training, and local…

Requirements of a comprehensive approach to adult and continuing education in Quebec are set forth, with particular attention to individual and social needs in a changing world as well as to short-and long-range educational objectives. Proposals are offered for serving the unemployed and other groups, reshaping content and methodology, allocating…

The 3-day conference, which was attended by educators and labor specialists from within and outside the labor movement, took an exhaustive look at such varying topics as modern communications and education, the financing of labor education, the training of labor educators, and the teaching of subjects important to labor. (Author)

These five papers are from a symposium that was facilitated by Elwood F. Holton, III at the 1995 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD). "HRD Alignment: A Systemic Assessment of HRD in Organizations" (Richard J. Torraco) describes the HRD alignment model as a model for evaluation that offers a systemwide perspective on HRD…

Recent trends indicate increased interest in the education and training of the labor force. However, information in the extent of on-the-job training (OJT) is complicated by conceptual difficulties, such as the informal nature of much OJT, lack of reliable cost data on formal training, and the fact that many studies based on stratified samples…

This report describes the efforts conducted by the Administration on Aging in response to the congressional mandate to develop and implement a national policy for the field of aging in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Older Americans Act Amendments of 1978 (PL 95-478). The current status of education, training, and employment of…

Panelists at this Montreal conference presented a trade union view of technological change and manpower policy; an account of a program of vocational retraining and upgrading undertaken in Windsor, Ontario, to forestall mass unemployment; and a discussion of principles of manpower development and management development in large businesses. Working…

Today, a college education is increasingly viewed as the gateway to the American Dream--a necessary prerequisite for social mobility. Yet recent policy reforms in the United States effectively steer former welfare recipients away from an education that could further their career prospects, forcing them directly into the workforce where they often…

A project was conducted to assess the need for further education and training (FET) of the labor force. It documented institutional arrangements, policies, and practices regarding FET; analyzed their strengths and weaknesses; and considered possible action by public authorities. The concept of FET was found to have a strong economic character and…

This collection of four articles reflects the suspicions of adult education researchers that politicians are exploiting the positive values attached in Finland to adult education, that is, increasing adult education, while imposing tight restrictions in the form of market mechanisms. "Values and Responsiveness in Adult Higher Education"…

The paper, one of a series of monographs, is intended for educators and employers who are actively concerned with improving the interaction between the institutions of education and work. The purpose of the paper is to make educators more aware of the realities of the labor market. The first part of the paper introduces the concept of…