Preparing youth for success in tomorrow's workforce is of increasing concern to American schools, communities, policymakers and businesses. After-school programs are uniquely situated to help youth develop the skills needed in the 21st Century workplace. The after-school setting provides additional time for learning, and allows for engaging…

A Nation at Risk (NAR; National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) had a tremendous impact on what schools do and has since spawned other reforms that attest to the report's ongoing influence. Coming in the wake of a decade of economic stagnation and import pressures from overseas producers, the authors of NAR blamed these problems on…

Trends shaping the workplace are increased skill requirements; more educated, diverse work force; continued corporate restructuring; change in size and composition of training departments; instructional technology advances; new training delivery methods; focus on performance improvement; integrated high-performance work systems; companies becoming…

Discusses common disadvantages of most current Employability Development Plans (EDPs) and suggests specific remedies that organize the decision-making thrust of employability counseling. Presents a theory-based, developmental model for assessment and EDP systems, and reviews general problems in implementing this model. (Author)

Belying the stereotypes, vocational schools, with the help of business, are developing better-trained, more productive workers. Improved vocational education programs can make academics relevant, reduce the dropout rate, encourage postsecondary education, provide jobs, and retrain older workers. (SK)

This brief presents summary information and contacts/references for a sampling of programs and resources that have been developed to support small business workplace literacy projects. Twenty-two contacts are included: Finger Lakes Regional Education Center for Economic Development; Development Assistance Corporation; Wayne Community College;…

This document is the first of a projected series of reports that explores a statewide solution to the problems of work force quality in Texas. This initial report describes the current status of the Texas work force and introduces the concept of the Human Investment System as a means to improve that status by making human investment and…

Three forces are combining to mandate a more highly skilled work force: (1) technological advancement, (2) job growth centered on high-skill occupations, and (3) new work organizational strategies. As many as 50 million workers, many of them minorities and immigrants, may have to be trained or retrained in the next 12 years. (CH)

Presents the proposals to improve workforce preparation from the report "America's Choice": (1) require attainment of high national standards of educational performance; (2) create learning environment that ensures this attainment; (3) establish professional certifications for non-college bound persons; (4) have employers allocate 1 percent of…

This document examines the school-to-work transition issue from a state, national, and global perspective. Chapter 1 explores problems facing youths entering the job market, demands of the global marketplace and changing economy, critical skills needed by workers, and benefits of integrating academic and workplace skills in the classroom. Chapter…

To ensure economic growth and increased employment opportunities for youth, there must be greater emphasis on the following: (1) providing self-employment skills to young people; (2) preparing them for highly technical jobs; and (3) preparing them for service industry jobs. Recommends the incorporation of entrepreneurship education in the…

America's more than 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges constitute the largest branch of higher education in the country. Two-year colleges are subjected to rigorous institutional accreditation standards and procedures by regional accrediting bodies. At least 80% of their students are already in the workforce, and they serve the…

The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) examined the demands of the workplace and whether young people were capable of meeting those demands. Specifically, SCANS determined the level of skills required to enter employment. Fundamental changes in the nature of work were identified; these changes were found to hold…

The At-Risk Youth Task Force of the State Employment and Training Commission concluded that a generation of young people faced underemployment or unemployment as a result of the increased skill demands required by the global economy. Two interrelated phenomena adversely affected the ability of a majority of young people to succeed in the labor…