Generic skills--skills that apply across a variety of jobs and life contexts--are taking on increased importance in Australia and internationally. There is a high demand for generic skills in the workplace because employers seek to ensure business success by recruiting and retaining employees who have a variety of skills and personal attributes as…

A study examined European Social Fund (ESF)-funded middle-level technician (MLT) and higher technical and business skills (HTBS) courses at Irish technical colleges. Data were obtained from the following: review of relevant literature; review of all program-monitoring documents submitted by Ireland's Department of Education since 1990; interviews…

This handbook is intended both as a text for use in medical office assistant (MOA) training programs in colleges and as a handbook for people working in medical offices. Addressed in the individual sections of the manual are the following topics: responsibilities of the medical office assistant, office organization, appointments and the waiting…

The findings of a literature review of business education in Great Britain, the United States, and Canada were as follows: business education will be in greater demand in the high school and it will be extended downward into the elementary school and upward into the postsecondary institutes, especially in the areas of keyboarding and computer…

The international business competencies needed by business graduates in the United States and Taiwan were identified through a literature review and a modified Delphi technique. Thirty-three experts, including policymakers, business educators, and international business practitioners, rated the importance of 42 statements compiled from reviews of…

The methods used by Australian farm managers to obtain the skills and knowledge needed to manage their businesses were examined. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 85 farm owners/managers from South Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, and New South Wales. The farmers interviewed identified a wide range of…

The skills and education/training implications of the development of electronic commerce in the United Kingdom's retail industry and its associated supply chain were examined. The major data collection activities were as follows: a literature review; consultation with leading academics and advisers; an e-mail-based call for information from…

This document contains 35 papers from the program development section of an international conference on vocational education and training (VET) for lifelong learning in the information era. The following are among the papers included: "Using Quality Indicators to Create World-Class Curricula: From Concept to Application" (Curtis Finch,…