On the basis of official statistics, poverty has halved in Ghana over the period from 1991 to 2005. Our objective in this paper is to assess how far this fall was linked to the creation of better paying jobs and the increase in education. We find that earnings rose rapidly in the period from 1998 to 2005, by 64% for men and by 55% for women. While…

In recent years, the level of participation and attainment by Indigenous Australians in education and training has improved, yet substantial gaps still exist between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. Education has to be a key focus if the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment rates is to be closed. This report…

The idea of pathways indicates many possible journeys to some destination or outcome. Hence, even if everyone agreed that Indigenous school leavers should be moving towards "productive" employment, it is not easy to talk about "what works" as there are different paths that may suit different people. Indeed given the diverse…

This report presents the final results for the evaluation of the New Americans Centers (NACs) demonstration project in Arkansas and Iowa. It focuses on program operations and plans for program sustainability, while highlighting services provided through the demonstration projects in Arkansas and Iowa. It also documents outcomes for New Iowan…

This article is about changes in the employment of graduates over the four decades since data on their first destinations was first published in the early 1960s. It aims to identify the main changes and their implications. The data used are drawn from questionnaire surveys with very high response rates (over 80 per cent). The main finding is that…

This technical paper contains information about the variables in the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) Year 95 cohort data set. It groups each variable into data elements that identify common variables within and across waves. Information is provided about each data element including its purpose, values, base populations and relevant…

"Research Messages 2008" is a collection of summaries of research projects published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research in 2008, including conference papers and occasional papers. It also has an overview of the research highlights for the year. The summaries are clustered under five broad themes used by NCVER to…

Issues currently affecting employee training are the impact of high technology, worker adaptability, the communications revolution, job satisfaction, underinvestment in human capital, demographic shifts, and interest in productivity improvement. (SK)

Studied the likelihood of obtaining employment for job training participants and nonparticipants and the types of jobs women obtained. Results for 150 treatment (job training) and 530 control cases show a differential training effect for full- and part-time workers and little or no effect of job training on a disadvantaged woman's probability of…

This study analyzes the effectiveness of CETA skill training programs in Boston, using three techniques not often employed in such evaluation studies--a comparison group, multiple regressions incorporating an unusually large number of explanatory variables, and an examination of the effects of differences in the type of skill training provided.…

Reviews survey and other data on workforce skill needs and literacy levels of current and future workers. Concludes that technical educators should cooperate with employers in developing a more literate workforce. (SK)

The author is a former United States Secretary of Labor who developed the Workforce 2000 project. He discusses the need for implementing this project's recommendations and reviews these recommendations. In addition, he expresses his frustration at the slow pace of change within the federal government. (CH)

Examines the effects of combined on-the-job and classroom training on the employability of Job Training Partnership Act terminees completing a two-year training activity in Missouri. Although combined program participants' employability was enhanced immediately after the program's termination, this advantage disappeared after one year. Benefits…

Data presented and research reviewed here describe the scope of youth joblessness for policy analysis and consideration in career education. Necessary next steps are (1) clarification of career education's view of youth joblessness; (2) determination of the barriers to youth employment; and (3) consideration of the consequences of youth…

While employment growth has accelerated, allowing unemployment to fall significantly since 2005, many low-skilled workers are still unemployed and the duration of unemployment spells is still long. The introduction of an in-work benefit for workers in low-income households, subject to a minimum of hours worked, could lower barriers to higher…