The demographic characteristics of teenaged parents reveal a majority who are aged 18-21, live in poverty, have dropped out of school, and are unemployed and unmarried. Their potential for high school graduation is often dependent upon their support network and life course adaptation. Employment patterns of teen parents show high unemployment and…

Provides citations and abstracts for ERIC documents describing employer needs assessment studies. (AYC)

The fall 2001 issue of New Directions for Community Colleges discusses the changes in policy and practice of vocational education at community colleges. The 10 chapters included in this volume are: (1) "Opportunities and Challenges for the New Vocationalism" by Debra D. Bragg; (2) "The Role of Leadership in Successful Vocational Initiatives" by…

Recently, some employers were polled to find out which skills are most important for young people working at their first jobs to have. This guide discusses how parents can help children prepare for the work world. Employers are interested in the academic skills of young people and use job application forms and interviews to evaluate them. They…

This volume addresses the efforts in several states, including California, Florida, North Carolina, and Washington, to determine the economic gains of community college graduates by measuring their post-college earnings. Articles include: (1) "Economic Benefits of a Community College Education: Issues of Accountability and Performance Measures"…

The four chapters in this compilation highlight the issues and strategies used to prepare limited English proficient (LEP) adults for employment. In the first chapter, Joan Friedenberg discusses the development of English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching, including general ESL, English for special purposes, and prevocational and vocational ESL…

The new vocationalism arising out of 1980s educational reforms caused a resurgence of interest in high school vocational education and in the integration of academic and vocational education. The dominant economic motive of the new vocationalism has found expression in the 1990s school-to-work movement. These reform efforts signal the triumph of…

There is evidence that those who seek employment during difficult times, but are not successful, will continue to experience ongoing hardships throughout their working lives, often developing an ongoing dependency on the social safety net. This digest describes two federal programs on the youth employment front: (1) Youth Service Canada (YSC),…

Many older workers in Canada today are perplexed and dismayed by the swift and dramatic changes occurring in the workplace. Plant closures, downsizings, restructuring, new technologies, international trade agreements, ecological concerns, and changing demographics have affected the Canadian workforce, particularly workers in their forties and…

Many educators believe the role of vocational education is to prepare students for work in a given trade or vocational area with the focus on job skill training. Some contend vocational education should concentrate more broadly on all aspects of students' career development, including lifelong learning, employability, and cognitive skills. One way…

This monograph describes the job-related basic skills requirements of the work force and explores ways of developing and improving the reading, writing, and computational abilities of workers. The paper first examines trends that are influencing the demand for basic skills, such as the decline in youth population and the increase in service and…

One result of the ambiguity surrounding future jobs is a number of myths not only about what jobs will be available and what they will be like but also about how to prepare for them. The first myth is "40 years and out," the notion that people will work continuously with one organization until retirement. The reality is that individuals need to be…

The need for partnerships among deliverers of training in the public and private sectors has reached a critical point if U.S. businesses are to remain competitive. The work force and workplace are being transformed by demographic trends, economic and employment trends, a growing skills mismatch, and concerns over educational effectiveness. Two…

During the last years of this century, the work force will grow more slowly, becoming older, more female, and more disadvantaged. An increasing number of minority groups and immigrants will enter the work force. Despite public demands for reform, education lags behind in preparing youth for employment. The changing work force has many implications…

Major technological changes are occurring primarily in three fields: telecommunications, computer applications, and advanced manufacturing technology. High technology is having a great impact on every aspect of the labor market. Most new jobs will not be in the high technology field, however, and the newly created occupations will not require a…