The United States is facing a great crisis: skills gaps in the work force imperil the nation's future. The crisis is elementary: the United States is not educating and training its citizens to be productive and competent members of the work force. Consequently, its people are not qualified enough to meet the demands of the high-technology economy…

The U.S. economy is undergoing a transition that may rival the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution. The general directions are clear: an ever smaller share of the nation's work force is employed in the manufacturing sector; service sector industries are the source of most new jobs; and some "high tech" industries have had explosive…

Educational performance has become a crucial element in the United States' capacity to prosper in a new global economy of fierce competition. In addition to the traditional question of how the educational system contributes to students' intellectual growth, a new question is being asked: How does the educational system contribute to national…

Review of the methods for estimating future employment opportunities shows that there is an ongoing system, involving the Department of Labor and state employment agencies, for making projections for the United States as a whole and for states and major metropolitan areas. This system combines national research on economic growth, technological…

Discusses problems encountered in France in developing a labor force skilled in areas needed by industry and in coordinating the supply and demand of these skills. Conclusions are that vocational training research must be promoted on a systematic basis and that socioeconomic factors and worker attitudes must be considered in addition to technical…

This serial issue, which is devoted to the challenges that recent changes in the U.S. workplace pose for society and labor-management relations, contains nine papers focusing on the following aspects of building a new workplace for the 21st century: historical and current perspectives; workforce and workplace changes; education and training of the…

This publication provides charts (with backup tables) and text for a basic presentation on current and projected career and employment opportunities in the various fields of science and engineering. The charts are organized under four headings: (1) supply of scientists and engineers; (2) utilization of scientists and engineers; (3) future supply…

During the 1980s the Korean economy will have to undergo far-reaching structural changes. The major problems faced by the Korean labor market continue to be an excessive demand for college graduates and an excessive supply of high school graduates. Their solution requires a renewed national commitment to human resource development with emphasis on…

The proceedings of a meeting which focused on topics and issues related to the pipeline for scientists and engineers are presented. They include the meeting agenda, introductory comments, an overview, summaries of five presentations, the meeting summary, and a list of participants. The overview (by Betty Vetter) outlines some ways of measuring the…

This report examines the potential pool of workers in nine rural New York and Pennsylvania counties, the characteristics of this labor pool, and barriers that make it difficult for these individuals to enter the workplace. The counties studied make up the southern tier of New York State (Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins…

This guide is designed to assist in the development of high technology training programs for secondary youth in conjunction with business and industry. The guide communicates issues and potential barriers to success encountered when planning and implementing a cooperative demonstration program. The following summary expresses lessons learned by…

Hispanics in the U.S. labor force are the subject of the studies in this volume. After an introduction by George J. Borjas and Marta Tienda, the first three papers focus on the same issue: the determination of wage rates for Hispanics and comparison of Hispanic and non-Hispanic wage rates. Cordelia Reimers compares the situation for Black, White,…

Nigeria's National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS) is aimed at giving vocational skills to unemployed youth and helping them to be self-employed or get gainful employment. NOAS is targeted at Nigerian men and women aged 15-25. Minimum educational requirements vary by trade; course duration ranges from 2 months to 3 years. The number of trainees…

A factual and descriptive analysis of the employment situation in Bulgaria showed that the transition to a market economy has led to a substantial reduction of employment. The economic restructuring begun in 1990 has proved very difficult, and the privatization of the large industrial enterprises faces problems mainly due to insufficient interest…

All businesses are grappling with knowledge networks--finding the right employees at the right time with the right knowledge and skills. The National Alliance of Business, MIT, and others have been working on an intriguing way to look at labor supply and demand issues called knowledge supply chain management. UPS (United Parcel Service) manages…