The International Symposium 2006, titled "Shaping the future: Connecting career development and workforce development," was the third international forum of senior government policy makers, experts in the field of career development and employers. Attended by teams of delegates representing 22 countries and six international organisations, the…

Research conducted in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom examined distribution of certificate holders throughout the economy and the process of competition for access to employment. Supply had a significant effect on the distribution. Emphasis on initial training as opposed to continuing education may be…

Discussed is the changing role of women in the engineering profession. The author relates her twenty years of experience and outlook for the future. (CS)

Quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted of the supply of skill groups and the output of junior colleges, colleges, and graduate schools in Taiwan. Discrepancies were identified between labor need of industry and numbers of graduates as well as between training expected by industry and supplied by schools. (SK)

The business community is reestablishing connections with public education. The author points out successful partnerships between educators and corporations while questioning the ability of education to retain its integrity as the interest of business in education grows. (MD)

Compares two models of vocational education policy in England: the traditional Learning and Skills Council approach relying on institutional change and increased skills supply and the Performance and Innovation Unit's focus on skill demand. Outlines weaknesses in the supply-side approach but suggests that demand-side policy must overcome…

The growing gap between the skills of the work force and the technical requirements of today's jobs have reemphasized the need to transform the educational system to provide the solid academic and technical skills required by the jobs of today and tomorrow. (Author)

A study of the software industry, in which required skills change rapidly and skills shortages frequently occur, showed how work projects were designed with restricted opportunities for workers to acquire new skills. Skill development was not valued by management. The industry may thus be abetting its own skills shortage. (SK)

Analysis of data from electrical and associated occupations in the Australian state of Victoria shows the following: (1) a decline in numbers of apprentices; (2) numbers of women and other disadvantaged groups not increasing in apprenticeships; and (3) skill shortages on the supply side that will be exacerbated at both ends of the age spectrum if…

The Third International Symposium on Career Development and Public Policy was entitled "Shaping the future: Connecting career development and work development." Papers were provided by 16 nations and organisations, and this article synthesises these papers. The country teams were asked to select and address two or three of six themes: (1) human…

In Britain, the retailing, computer services, transportation, and communications industries have hired increasing numbers of college graduates, both because of demand for skills and oversupply of graduates. This has contributed to temporary and permanent job upgrading through expansion of tasks and responsibilities in certain jobs. (Contains 14…

Recent statistical investigations indicate that labor market imbalance has increased during the past decade and has had important deleterious effects on the nation's inflation and productivity growth records. A growing difficulty in filling skilled jobs at a given unemployment rate is reflected. Business community analysts attribute the growing…

The author analyzes some issues on the cost of emigration to the countries of origin and some policy implications. Attention is focused on how the supply of skilled workers is affected by migration. The article also discusses distortion of the free market and presents a profile of Asian contract workers. (CT)

Reports the results of a literature review and a survey of catalogers which were conducted to study the problem of the decline in quantity and quality of applications for entry-level cataloging jobs. Factors studied included: competition between types of library professionals, automation, library education, the women's movement, and library…

Over the past few decades, the economic prospects for workers possessing relatively few skills have worsened as the demand for skills in the labor market has increased. Even in jobs that might be categorized as low-skilled, workers require a diverse set of skills to succeed. Many of these skills can only be obtained through schooling or job…