A study was conducted in 1980 to ascertain employer attitudes toward and satisfaction with the performance of graduates of vocational education programs in Hawaii. Interviews with 41 employers, who employed an average of 132 workers, sought general perceptions of the knowledge, quality of work, written and oral skills, dependability, adaptability,…

This report of a study to analyze the problems of access to institutional skills training of the manual work force is divided into five chapters. Chapter l introduces the study and explains the work plan and methodology. Chapter 2 discusses patterns of employment and overviews the provision of manual skills training in Botswana. Chapter 3 concerns…

A study was conducted to develop and implement a one- and five-year student and employer-based follow-up study of secondary vocational education programs in Tennessee. Questionnaires were sent to 1,013 students who graduated in 1975-76 and to 92 of their employers. It was found that (1) students in both groups rated the Tennessee vocational…

This information brief discusses the benefits of work-based learning experiences for students with disabilities and the need to facilitate work experiences. It begins by examining employer perceptions of hiring and accommodating individuals with disabilities and stresses the need for refocused employment advocacy that is conducted less as a…

Educational reform measures have forced schools to form partnerships with business and industry to achieve common goals of a prepared workforce. These partnerships have forced colleges of agriculture to examine its mission and update the curriculum. This study sought to provide benchmark data from employers on the skills and abilities deemed…

Proponents of competency-based education and training (CBET) promote it as a way to improve the correspondence between education/training and workplace requirements. CBET's opponents consider it excessively reductionist, narrow, and rigid, as well as theoretically, empirically, and pedagogically unsound. The following are among the issues…

Can public policy devise effective strategies that seek to capitalize on the educational and developmental potential of private-sector entry-level jobs? What is the feasibility of using the secondary labor market in a formal way to promote skill development in youth? Can youth develop useful and transferable skills in these jobs? How can these…

School-to-work initiatives are becoming increasingly common as more states and the federal government launch programs to remedy the awkward transition of youth from high school into careers and to reform public education, especially for at-risk youth. The school-to-work programs that have been established across the country do not follow any one…

Fifty-three supervisors in private sector firms and public sector organizations in central Ohio responded to questions about 16 aspects of productivity in the workplace. The firms and organizations with which these supervisors were associated had a history of hiring vocational-technical education graduates as well as those who had pursued other…

Educational reform efforts have thus far excluded vocational education. Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in reevaluating vocational education's role in facilitating academic excellence and economic competitiveness. Inadequate basic skills remain a significant and growing problem. There is a direct relationship between basic skills…

A study was undertaken to determine whether vocational and special educators differed from employers on the entry-level employment skills and characteristics that are needed to be gainfully employed in the competitive labor force in the Lewiston-Auburn area in Maine. A questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 110 secondary-level vocational and…

This module provides strategies for educators who want to assess employer needs in their communities. In addition, it provides guidelines for organizing and using the information once it is compiled. The guide includes a list of definitions and uses a question-and-answer format to discuss the best method for assessing employer needs, deciding whom…

A study examined the publicly-funded vocational education and training (VET) system in South Australia (SA) in 1997. Background information indicated SA is a geographically large state with a relatively small population that is older compared to the rest of Australia, with 14 percent aged over 65 compared with 12 percent nationally. Findings were…

Although corporate spending on partnerships with education has more than doubled in the past 20 years, many in educational circles are questioning whether corporate contributions benefit student knowledge and learning development as well as corporations' bottom lines. Three examples of corporate giving that can be viewed from dual perspectives are…

Thirty-three employers in rural Arizona were interviewed concerning employer expectations, workplace opportunities, authority patterns, rewards, and social interaction at work regarding entry level workers directly out of high school. Available work was low skill with few rewards, yet demanded strong social skills and work ethic. Discusses…