The last reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act was in 1998. To say that times have changed would be an understatement. The testimony of this hearing's witnesses shows that people have ideas and tested practices that work. They just need the resources and the sustained commitment to have a world-class workforce development system that…

All workplaces are sites in which people learn. To state such a fact still seems fairly revolutionary given that many employers and policymakers tend to restrict the meaning of job-related learning to formal episodes of "training" that can be counted and costed. This view is rooted in a wider perception prevalent in society in general…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer a comparison of how human expertise is perceived by human resource development (HRD) scholars across several Western European countries and in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative, exploratory approach using electronic mail was used for this study. In total, 36 leading HRD scholars from…

Research investigating the learning and career transitions of those disadvantaged in the labour market has resulted in the development of a four-component model to enable disadvantaged groups to navigate learning and career transitions. The four components of the model include: the self-concept; learning and recognition; career and life planning;…

To improve the employment rates and earnings of Americans workers, we need to create more-coherent and more-effective education and workforce development systems, focusing primarily (though not exclusively) on disadvantaged youth and adults, and with education and training more clearly targeted towards firms and sectors that provide good-paying…

This paper presents the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Job Corps to the Secretary of Labor pertaining to the review, development and implementation of policies, legislation and regulations for the Job Corps program. This document represents the culmination of an intensive and comprehensive nine-month process undertaken by the…

In the 21st century, the idea of preparing youth for the workforce has taken on new meaning. The shift to a knowledge economy has brought widespread concern that young people are entering the workforce without the skills employers value most, such as communication, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork skills. As youth programs evaluate how…

Anderson (1980) and Harris's (2000) examinations of the history of workplace learning and training in the United States highlight issues of power and control in the determination of what training is provided to workers. This paper reviews these two texts and considers the implications of a constructivist paradigm in addressing the dilemmas of…

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) commissioned six leading thinkers to offer insights into what is meant by a training market, constraints upon that market and the areas for improvement in the system which would allow consumers greater choice. These papers, along with responses and an introduction by NCVER's Managing…

This paper presents the Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee's fifth hearing in preparation for the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. The last time the Workforce Investment Act reauthorized was in 1998. The Workforce Investment Act was designed to streamline and coordinate job training programs. It…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review the use of competence frameworks in the UK healthcare sector and to explore characteristics of the sector that may influence the success of projects to develop new frameworks. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on project reports and evaluations of practice in a range of recent projects…

Decades have been spent studying training transfer in organizational environments in recognition of a transfer problem in organizations. Theoretical models of various antecedents, empirical studies of transfer interventions, and studies of best practices have all been advanced to address this continued problem. Yet a solution may not be so…

For recent high school graduates, life is tough. In the past year, one in four young high school graduates was unemployed and over half were underemployed. In the past decade, recent high school graduates' wages have fallen by 12 percent to just $19,400 annually in 2011, below the poverty threshold for a family of four. The downward plight of high…

Issues arising from an ageing society, a low fertility rate and growing need for a skilled work force have seen increased government commitment to improving the participation rate of mature-aged workers. Education and training are seen as a principal strategy to increase the employability of these workers, yet participation in training is low and…

One of the great concerns of the business community involves the workforce pipeline: employers want to be sure that new entries into the labor pool, whether from the K-12 or postsecondary systems, are prepared for the jobs that await them. In Philadelphia, business and community leaders have joined forces to give students workplace learning…