In these comments on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor, Jobs for the Future (JFF) addresses the following issues with WIA: (1) Goal and purpose: JFF advocates for a more explicit commitment to advancement to family-sustaining wages; (2) Mix of services: JFF proposes revisions that…

Organizational life evokes joy, hate, anger, despair, curiosity, and esteem, yet as far as management is concerned, emotions are disruptive, dysfunctional, and derailing. In spite of managerial reluctance to embrace the emotional self as a relevant aspect of the worker, emotion makes everyone human, and organizations weigh on workers' emotional…

The prevailing discourse informing most Canadian training and labor market policy assumes a positive link between individuals' training and their labor market returns in the new knowledge economy. The primary objective of the study is to test the current rhetoric by developing a statistical model of women's job-related training. Training…

The purpose of this case study was to explore how low-skilled workers who participated in a health care training program learned to acquire the technical, cognitive, and developmental competencies they needed to gain skilled employment in higher-level positions in the field and thus advance their careers. The data methods used were: (1) in-depth…

This paper evaluates the status of Hispanic women in the United States work force. First, demographic information on age patterns, fertility rates, and educational attainment is reviewed. Then, labor market status is assessed in relation to Hispanic women's labor force participation, employment patterns, and poverty. Next, the Federal response to…

The investigation explores the impact that changing economies have had and will continue to have upon Human Resources Development (HRD)--the collective body responsible for training and retraining labor--and from that perspective offers recommendations to improve the impact HRD has upon society. The challenge for HRD is to recognize the economic,…

The only non-western member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development presents special opportunities and difficulties for Western observers of its public policies in the areas of employment, manpower, and labor market. While Japan is clearly moving toward a more Western type of labor market, differences remain in employment…

The issues of manpower planning and economic development which relate to the Rural Development Act of 1972 were analyzed at this conference. The conference contributors were chosen because of their expertise in some aspect of manpower planning, economic development, or the Rural Development Act of 1972. The conference began with an overview of…

Surveys of rural and urban businesses and households in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin found that: only 25 percent of firms had trouble hiring skilled workers; required skills were not particularly high-tech; few firms used public or private education providers in their skill training activities; and the labor force was overtrained…

Community groups in Knoxville, Tennessee, meet to share concerns for job oriented education of the disadvantaged, particularly through school and industry cooperation. (LY)

Money is being spent on training, without investment in human resources. Investment requires verifying benefits and risks to determine the best options. The role of the individual must be strengthened and investment incentives increased. (SK)

This paper examines two empirical studies that used online surveys to collect data to measure satisfaction in job training and workforce development. A description of each study, findings related to response rate, the processes used in online survey development and implementation, as well as recommendations for the future use of online surveys…

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of training program characteristics on training effectiveness among organizations receiving training services from external training providers. Two surveys were sent to HRD managers and senior managers per company. The results showed that the operational margin of the programs where private…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the statistical evidence for the extent of employer training in Australia and analyse this information in the light of three major qualitative projects that have been undertaken into employer training since the mid-1990s. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports an analysis of the major…

How to strengthen technician education to meet the needs of the biotechnology industry was the question before the 50 people who participated in the "Educating Biotechnicians for Future Industry Needs" conference from April 28 to 30 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The participants were from higher education, secondary schools, industry, government, and…