In the face of chronic youth unemployment, decision makers in many countries are questioning the role and effectiveness of alternance between school-based vocational training and in-company work experience. This notion applies to three very different realities: training courses offered as an alternative to traditional school-based training for…

This publication summarizes research that shows that it would be a serious economic error to favor investment in machines, financial capital, and extracted resources over investments in the education and training of people. The discussion begins by explaining the relationship between job-related learning, individual opportunity, and the…

The intent of this study was to address the process of selection of an appropriate training setting based upon criteria being used by employers and educators in Illinois who plan for the vocational education of handicapped persons. Study 1, a pretest of the questionnaire, quantified the criteria for determining the better approach for training…

This book deals with the question of identifying the optimal mix between public and private programs and provides some guides concerning the appropriate role of government in the manpower area. There is a need for public manpower programs which give some long range direction to manpower policies and which give continuing emphasis to the…

To gather occupational follow-up data from secondary agricultural graduates and their employers as a basis for evaluation of occupational education programs and to develop a procedural follow-up model, self-administered questionnaires were obtained from 430 graduates and 126 employers to ascertain occupational status, relevance of training,…

This pilot research project analyzes the role related classroom instruction plays in training journeymen in three Boston area trades-machinist, electrician, and operating engineer. Information was gathered from apprentices, journeymen, apprentice coordinators, and others by means of personal interviews and/or mail questionnaires. The data were…

Apprenticeship is described from its earliest beginnings to the present, emphasizing relationships to unions, employers, and government. Apprenticeship training in New Jersey is treated separately, covering administration (statutory authority, historical foundations, systems of county coordinators, federal ties, and funding) and current trends…

Australia has made significant changes in the ways it regulates and funds vocational education and training (VET), with increased emphasis on competition to promote efficient delivery of the type of programs that students and employers want. National, state and territory governments have increased the role of employers by basing nationally…

Discusses the inadequacy of vocationally oriented law enforcement curricula at community colleges and presents a conceptual model for police education based on the training progression of medical students; i.e., undergraduate work, graduate work, and an internship. Advocates the creation of professional schools for police training at the…

Urges systems of education and training to cater to both formal and informal labor markets. Identifies the following components of such efforts: (1) taking into account the traditions and values of the system of vocational learning in working life; (2) accommodating local development needs; and (3) building on the competencies that people in the…

Discusses the benefits of an enlarged view of learning that emphasizes the abilities of the individual learner and the role of the teacher as partner in a joint educational process and includes informal acquisition of skills on-the-job. Argues that much is to be learned from popular educational movements in Latin America. (KS)

A distinctive feature of the British approach until the 1960s was that vocational education and training (VET) should be provided by employers. This is conventionally contrasted with the much more formal state coordinated approach of Germany. The question posed is whether the British style was the "spontaneous order" that results because…

There is evidence that those who seek employment during difficult times, but are not successful, will continue to experience ongoing hardships throughout their working lives, often developing an ongoing dependency on the social safety net. This digest describes two federal programs on the youth employment front: (1) Youth Service Canada (YSC),…

This document consists of four papers presented during a symposium on learning research moderated by Keith Johansen at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "A Goal-Based Scenario (GBS) as a Unified Approach to Integrated Skills Development Training: Andersen Consulting's BanDS School" (Kurt J. Olson, Jeffrey M.…

In fall 1992, the League for Innovation in the Community College conducted a survey of 1,042 community colleges to determine the extent and nature of their involvement in workforce training programs, the types of companies served, funding mechanisms, and perceived obstacles to providing effective training. Study findings, based on a 73.2% response…