This study provides a critical appraisal of intermediaries in demand-driven workforce development. In San Francisco East Bay, an emerging set of workforce intermediaries -- here called the "Skills Brokers" -- recently take issue in alleged Skills Gaps to create a cross-sector reform agenda. They seek to connect the supply and demand for…

The Career Planning for Life Forum was a national policy forum sponsored by the Committee for Economic Development (CED) and hosted by the U.S. Army. More than 250 representatives of business, education, government, and labor attended the forum and spent the day discussing the preparation of the country's young work force for the global economy.…

The status and potential of links between apprenticeship and cooperative education were studied to determine whether and how resources should be expended to increase and strengthen those linkages. Data were collected through a literature review; from the U.S. Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT); and from the departments of education and…

Despite the recent emphasis on teaching the basic skills at the high school level, educators must not forget that vocational education, and apprenticeship training in particular, remains as important as ever to the economic development of the Nation. To meet the mandate for linkages and collaboration that appears in the Carl D. Perkins Vocational…

This monograph describes the Transition to Work Simulator (TWS) so that the National Institute of Education can evaluate its capability in helping recommend policy suggestions to the United States Congress on the future of vocational education in America. (The TWS is a pre-implementation laboratory for testing economic and lifestyle impacts of…

Despite their great geographic, economic, and demographic diversity, Asia-Pacific countries share many common challenges and pose many common issues that are fundamental to improving the quality and relevance of technical-vocational education and training (TVET) as a means of human resource development (HRD). Because of their great need for…

A partnership among the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas Department of Commerce was formed in 1987 to challenge representatives from education, training, business, industry, and labor to adopt a cooperative regional view of common needs and proposed solutions. As a result, 24 Quality Work Force…

In 1986, three neighborhood development organizations in Cleveland, Ohio, created the Westside Industrial Retention Network (WIRE-Net) to retain manufacturing jobs on the city's West Side. In 1989, WIRE-Net launched its Hire Locally program, which was designed to provide local business with candidates judged to be effective workers and help…

A study examined the provision of vocational training (VT) and its relationship to economic development in the region of Portugal encompassing the municipalities of Alcobaca and Caldas da Rainha. Data were obtained from a number of sources: regionally based statistical information, published documents and studies/reports about the region,…

Summaries of the seven chapters and 12 proposals contained in the final report are presented in the document. Chapter 1: Introduction, discusses the roles assigned by society to schools and the workplace; Chapter 2: A Framework for Studying the Education-To-Work Transition, explores the subject area and how it has been handled; Chapter 3: Survey…

These proceedings begin with a general summary of a conference to encourage collaboration among those involved to prepare a labor force with which Nevada could continue to be economically competitive. Highlights are provided of these presentations: "Opening Remarks" (Jessie Emmett); "The Dynamic West: A Region in Transition"…

Seven policy papers identify and address several issues pertaining to linkages between Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs and vocational education, special education, and vocational rehabilitation. The first paper examines barriers encountered in administration of federal legislation dealing with education and employment of…

Results from a year-long study on the education-to-work transition are presented in the final report, with an examination of existing linkages between the two and proposals for their expansion and improvement. Background material is provided in a preface, summary of chapter content, and introductory chapter. Further chapters include: Framework for…

This document explains how employers can participate in creating a new workforce investment system that is market driven, comprehensive, portable, accountable, customer focused, responsive, flexible, and customized. The guide details immediate and future steps employers can take at the state and local levels to influence the process of creating a…

A project involving educators and business leaders in southwestern Connecticut was undertaken to develop an intensive, competency-based business course to provide high school students with the skills to fill entry-level administrative support positions. The project was designed to: (1) recruit and motivate students with high potential for success…