This report examines the potential pool of workers in nine rural New York and Pennsylvania counties, the characteristics of this labor pool, and barriers that make it difficult for these individuals to enter the workplace. The counties studied make up the southern tier of New York State (Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins…

Important changes are taking place in the U.S. labor market. The economy has performed solidly over the last several years; the labor market has experienced robust job growth. A strong labor market benefits different segments of the population. Unemployment rates for those with less than a high school diploma fell by the largest amount between…

This guide is designed to assist in the development of high technology training programs for secondary youth in conjunction with business and industry. The guide communicates issues and potential barriers to success encountered when planning and implementing a cooperative demonstration program. The following summary expresses lessons learned by…

Vocational education in the United States has come under increased scrutiny, and its proponents need the tools to convince the critics of its merits. Many economic conditions have a strong impact on vocational education, and understanding of economics is important in offering a rationale of vocational education. In a time of shrinking revenues,…

Technological advances have created changes in working life. Automation displaces more workers than the service industry can absorb. The jobs that are left are often downgraded from the complexity they have formerly enjoyed. As society becomes more and more automated, unemployment becomes structural. How do we prepare young people for the jobs of…

U.S. competitiveness depends on higher worker productivity, greater technological investment, and streamlined organizational structure, which require a flexible, highly trained work force. The demand for educated workers continues to rise in industrialized societies, influenced by the demand for certain goods and services, decline in real labor…

In view of German reunification, the 1992-94 recession, and ongoing demographic, technological, organizational, and social changes, alternative projections of labor market and employment structures provide policy makers with needed information. The Institut fur Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) structural labor projection (1989) forecasted…

All businesses are grappling with knowledge networks--finding the right employees at the right time with the right knowledge and skills. The National Alliance of Business, MIT, and others have been working on an intriguing way to look at labor supply and demand issues called knowledge supply chain management. UPS (United Parcel Service) manages…

In Washington, urban centers enjoy rising wages and low employment; rural areas have stagnating wages and high unemployment. Most family-wage job opportunities are in occupations that require some postsecondary education but not a four-year degree. The shortage is most severe in the supply of skilled workers with vocational training. Technology…

A 1993 study compared trends in the structure of qualifications for occupations related to the installation, management, and maintenance of computer networks in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Staff involved in networks required specialized new skills related to feasibility and design, installation,…

The Census of Population provides data on the structure of employment by occupation and industry for Ireland that are supplemented by the Labor Force Survey (LFS), which collects information on employment by occupation and industry. Expected strong growth in the Irish economy from 1993-98 should lead to a significant increase in employment. This…

Impacts from the major high technological changes now underway cut across all industrial sectors and most occupational clusters. Technological innovation can increase or decrease the total number of types of jobs. Decline in employment may be offset, however, by new applications and capabilities of goods and services or by employment shifts. While…

Because of the increasing use of microelectronic componentry in automobiles, vocational educators must reexamine existing automotive mechanics curricula to ensure that they can continue to provide relevant job training. After examining recent trends in the impact of computers and electronics on automotive design and engineering, existing auto…

This paper focuses on the demand for and supply of intermediate-level vocational skills within the United Kingdom (UK) economy. Using existing research from surveys and case studies, Part One argues that there is a lack of evidence that widespread intermediate-skill shortages exist within the expanding service sector. In the manufacturing sector,…

This document contains the following papers: "Early Recognition of Skill Needs in Europe: European Conference, Berlin, 30/31 May 2002" (Susanne Liane Schmidt, Klaus Schomann, Manfred Tessaring); "Welcome and Opening of the European Conference 'Early Recognition of Skill Needs in Europe,' 30 May 2002, Social Sciences Research Center…