Changing employer-based training represents one strategy that U.S. firms are adopting to confront recent transformations in the global economy. The new competitive conditions place new and different demands on workers, more of whom are being called upon to use technical, conceptual, and communications skills. Approaches to training in particular…

Analyzes 22 skill standards pilot projects to determine whether a strong focus on business needs thwarts education reform. Findings indicate that the majority of standards appear to clash with the goals of broader education reform, although a small number of the projects could have positive results. (GR)

The subject of this report is the impact of microelectronic technology on the process of skill formation with particular reference to two industries: banking and textiles. A recent research effort sought to identify and understand how changes in the structure and nature of skills were affecting the process of skill formation and the balance of…

Most recent research on the impact of the new computer technology on skills has been focused on developing arguments that either support or contradict the "deskilling" thesis put forth by some economists and sociologists in the mid- and late 1970s. Although this research remains inconclusive, some generalizations can be suggested. The research…

This report on the textile industry focuses on the training and education of production-level textile workers--from unskilled factory hands to first-level supervisors. It is part of a larger study of the educational implications of broad economic changes, particularly the spread of microelectronic technologies, growing national and international…