According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), "manufacturing is the engine that drives American prosperity". When NAM and its research and education arm, The Manufacturing Institute, released the handbook, "The Facts About Modern Manufacturing," in October 2006, NAM President John Engler noted, that…

The report asserts that U.S. and Wisconsin schools and workers are being used as scapegoats for the nation's and the state's social and economic problems. The propositions that U.S. students are not globally competitive and U.S. schools failures are "complete hoaxes." The report further asserts that a third big hoax being perpetrated on…

A follow-up survey was conducted of all clients of Wisconsin's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) services whose cases were closed between October 1988 through November 1989. Of the 9,052 surveys mailed out, 2,498 (27.6%) were returned. The following percentages of program completers reported some kind of work within 6 months of leaving…

Presenters at a public hearing testified about strategies that were working and those that were considered not to be working in the Wisconsin vocational education system. The strategies that were cited as "working" were: education provided to businesses by VTAE (Vocational-Technical Adult Education district) colleges; interaction between…

A study was conducted to ascertain the continuing education needs of men and women leisure service professionals in Wisconsin and to identify differences caused by gender. (Leisure service professionals were defined as persons employed full-time in administering, directing, leading, organizing, and planning in leisure service organizations.) A…

A survey of 501 Wisconsin firms (260 responses) assessed the impact of changes in demand, productivity, and technology on the employment needs and training requirements of Wisconsin employers in 10 selected economic sectors. Major findings included the following: (1) Wisconsin's services sector has recently experienced major employment growth and…

A program sought to: (1) identify and assess the needs of Wisconsin vocational personnel teaching within fields nontraditional for their sex; (2) conduct a workshop for nontraditional staff; and (3) develop and disseminate a database of resource persons and a handbook identifying those working in occupations nontraditional for their sex. The…

Observations of schools and the economies of various countries and regions (including the Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States) suggest that the following generally accepted principles may be called hoaxes: (1) great numbers of new emerging jobs of the future will require much higher skill levels for workers; (2)…

A study examined the job-related skills acquired and career opportunities that have arisen for 1966, 1971, and 1976 graduates of postsecondary vocational-technical programs in Wisconsin's Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) system. Fifteen VTAE graduates from each of the years 1966, 1971, and 1976 completed a 26-item survey designed…

Eleven papers on rural economic development cover challenges and opportunities; employment trends affecting nonmetropolitan areas; status of nonmetropolitan women and minorities; case studies of Vermont, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and California; western urban and regional development; economic development in small cities; and rural policy…

The following are among the 45 papers included in this proceedings: "Labor Force Changes in the United States: Implications for Education and Training" (Kutscher); "Industry, Employment, and Family Income: Wisconsin's Status" (Stoner); "Future Demographic and Social Trends" (Zach); "International Business in…

In order to respond effectively to the profound impact that high technology has had on the labor market in Wisconsin, members of the Wisconsin Board of Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) must address a number of key human, curriculum, policy, and technological concerns. State VTAE agencies must close ranks, maintain close…

Wisconsin's welfare reform program, which is called Wisconsin Works or W-2, emphasizes work over education. Wisconsin's welfare reform policy caused the numbers of Wisconsin welfare recipients attending college to shrink by thousands in the mid-1990s. In contrast, increasing numbers of states are coming to realize how much flexibility they really…