The U.S. energy sector has become highly innovative in developing and applying new technologies. These innovations often require higher-paid, more-highly skilled labor, yet many employers in the region report that they have difficulty filling jobs, particularly for medium-skilled (or semi skilled) positions that require only a high school…

As employers scan the current workforce and anticipate future workforce needs, they frequently find that employees are not well-equipped with core content knowledge and 21st century workplace competencies, the combination of which the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation defines as "deeper learning." The cumulative effect of these…

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…

This document contains papers from 35 symposia as well as 2 keynote presentations at the 1996 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) conference. The symposia are on the following topics: (1) HRD town forum; (2) HRD and business outcomes; (3) action learning; (4) evaluation issues in HRD; (5) rethinking diversity; (6) HRD in selected nations;…

The American Hospital Association's Commission on Workforce for Hospitals and Health Systems identified the workforce development related challenges facing health care institutions and issued a series of recommendations regarding how hospital leaders can build a thriving workforce. The change strategies identified by the commission were as…

Retailing is the largest industry in the United States, employing roughly 18 percent of the total labor force. However, high turnover resulting from low wages in entry-level positions and the perceptions of retail workers that job security is far from certain and that advancement potential is limited have resulted in low levels of employee…

Intended to help business-led coalitions master the seven principles of success in education and workforce development, this primer begins with a discussion of the problems stemming from the structural transition underway in the U.S. economy, an overview of the 21st century workforce system, and the potential role of business-led coalitions in…

The concept of the free agent learner, which has roots in self-directed and informal learning theory, has recently emerged as a factor important to attracting, developing, and keeping knowledge workers. The literature on free agent learning holds important lessons for today's free agent learners, human resource developers, and work organizations.…

In September 1997, more than 900 corporate leaders, educators, work force development professionals, coalition members, employment and training specialists and government officials participated in a conference focused on the new realities in the work force and workplace. The conference featured papers on such topics as the implications of a global…

As policymakers have begun reorienting the U.S. work force development system's priorities, a common theme has been the importance of work and training tied to real employment prospects. Workforce Innovation Networks (WINs) was created to test and advance the idea that local employer organizations can play important, productive roles in helping…

This document examines the current state of workplace learning within the context of the changing workplace of the late 20th century. The document begins with an overview of the evolution of employer-dominated training from Taylorism to the rise of human resource development during the late 1970s and 1980s. The development of the concepts of…

This document is a handbook for adult education professionals to follow when beginning or expanding learning programs to meet the needs of stakeholders at a particular workplace. The handbook presents a seven-step model that is based on the findings of several research and demonstration programs. Each of the handbook's seven chapters details one…

This book contains 21 papers from the Nordic-Canadian Learning for the Workplace Conference, which was held in Hanasaari, Espoo, Finland in June 1995. The following papers are included: "Introduction to the Nordic-Canadian Learning for the Workplace Conference" (Olli-Pekka Heinonen); "Conference Design and Process" (Diane…

The National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP) convened the Expert Workgroup on Diversity to advise the NACNEP on development of a national agenda for increasing workforce diversity. The workgroup's 18 members developed recommended goals and actions covering the following broad themes: (1) enhance efforts to increase the…

This document reports on how key stakeholders in work force preparedness nationwide are responding to pressures of the skills race. Part 1 presents an overview of the skills challenge and the economic and social consequences of failing to meet the challenge. Part 2 examines the impact of the skills shortage on major stakeholders and explains how…