Over the past twenty years, many sectors have used capacity diagnostics for mapping and analyzing the skills needed for national development at individual, organizational and institutional levels. These diagnostics, also sometimes referred to as "needs assessments" or "gap analyses," are systematic investigations carried out…

This document examines recent developments in strategic planning for employment, identifies key elements of strategic plans, examines issues to be addressed in implementing such plans, examines New Jersey's state plan in detail, and provides short sketches of the strategic plans for employment in six other states. Following an executive summary,…

Argues that (1) vocational education and job training must be responsive to market forces to influence economic development; (2) national policies must encourage links between training and market forces and a balance between public and private training; and (3) strategies must incorporate the social and political contexts. (SK)

Historically, the roles of the public and private sectors in VET have been characterized by the following broad stages: (1) unstructured and unregulated VET; (2) supply-driven, state dominated VET; and (3) market-driven VET. More recently, the combined forces of globalization, technological change, and liberalization of markets have forced…

This book contains 12 papers that were produced as a result of a seminar program on selected issues central to the debate over job training in Great Britain. The first paper, "Why We Need a Training Reform Act" (Richard Layard, Ken Mayhew, Geoffrey Owen), examines existing deficiencies in vocational education and training in Britain and…

The effectiveness of state enterprise zone programs was examined by using a hypothetical-firm model called the Tax and Incentives Model-Enterprise Zones (TAIM-ez) model to analyze the value of enterprise zone incentives to businesses across the United States and especially in the 13 states that had substantial enterprise zone programs by 1990. The…

Recent labor market and economic trends have spotlighted the need for work force development systems and policies to simultaneously serve employers seeking qualified workers and individuals who want to find work and advance toward self-sufficiency. This need has in turn led to the development of labor market intermediaries that can perform a wide…

This book contains 13 papers on labor market and welfare reform, with special emphasis on the demand for low-wage workers, wages and job characteristics in the less skilled labor market, public politics to increase employment and earnings of less skilled workers, and the impact of welfare reform. The following papers are included: "The Labor…

This report presents the testimony and submissions presented at the first of a series of Congressional hearings on workforce development and reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. Statements were given by the following individuals: (1) Buck McKeon, U.S. (United States) Congressman from California; (2) John Tierney, U.S. Congressman from…

This book, which is intended for policymakers, administrators, and researchers, contains 13 research papers and reviews of the literature on increasing the effectiveness of publicly funded training. The following papers are included: "Publicly Funded Training in a Changing Labor Market" (Burt S. Barnow, Christopher T. King); "The…