Retailing is the largest industry in the United States, employing roughly 18 percent of the total labor force. However, high turnover resulting from low wages in entry-level positions and the perceptions of retail workers that job security is far from certain and that advancement potential is limited have resulted in low levels of employee…

Education and training in the workplace are quickly becoming survival tools for most organizations because their operating environments change constantly. Traditionally, many employers have looked externally to employ individuals with specific skills who can adapt to changing products and processes. Upgrading the skills of present employees was…

This document contains four symposium papers on work force issues facing human resource development (HRD). "Contributing Factors to the Success of Women and People of Color in Leadership Roles: A Message to HRD Professionals" (Jean R. McFarland, Gary Leske, Caroline S. V. Turner) reports the results of a survey in which nonwhite males,…

Previous research has shown that the majority of the characteristics of vocational education and training (VET) learners in Australia typically lie in the quadrant of "dependent" and "non-verbal," and preferred to learn from hands-on direct experience rather than through reading or listening. Workplace educational delivery…

This document presents the text of a roundtable discussion on the topic of best practice in workplace literacy in which six individuals representing the following agencies/organizations participated: Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Education; City of York Board of Education; an employer in Markham, Ontario; a community literacy group in Ontario's…

A 2-year project examined ways of improving the skills base of British industry by making higher education at the Universities of Durham and Leeds accessible to the technician work force. Data were collected from the following sources: records regarding the numbers of mature students admitted in recent intakes; interviews with admissions officers…

This report summarizes and assesses the planning and first-year implementation of the Industrial Technology Program created through a partnership between South Shore Vocational Technical High School (SSVT) in Hanover, Massachusetts, and Procter & Gamble (P&G). It is a guide for the development of effective education/industry partnerships.…

The goal of this third year of an ongoing 5-year study was to identify and evaluate the diverse technology and product needs of persons with functional limitations, from users' perspectives. This qualitative research study involved 14 focus groups representing 4 different categories of people; those included persons 50 years and older with sensory…

This book is designed to help people develop an action plan to enhance their situation at work. Part 1 focuses on political behavior at work as a key to advancement. It discusses assessing career setbacks and recovery from them. Subsequent sections focus on the following areas of self-study that are necessary to enable the individual to manage…

This document contains two sections: implementation of the performance-based Occupational Affective Behavior Analysis (OABA), and supporting research. Section 1 presents OABA, an analytic procedure designed to identify those affective behaviors important to success in an occupation, and gives directions on how to implement the procedure. The…

Today the auto industry is going through the most radical restructuring it has experienced since its birth. Included in this upheaval is a dramatic reorganization of the workplace, and technology has been both a catalyst and a central part of such change. The issues involved touch every facet of workplace life: job classifications and demarcation…

A study examined the employment of Hispanics in the fast-food industry. Data were obtained from a national survey of employees at 279 fast-food restaurants from seven companies in which 194 (4.2 percent) of the 4,660 respondents reported being Hispanic. Compared with the total sample, Hispanic fast-food employees were slightly less likely to be…

This guide presents a new approach to the teaching of the behaviors relating to job skills and the maintenance of successful employment for handicapped persons, in particular the mentally retarded. The manual is divided into three major learning areas: those of skills, knowledge, and attitudes. Unit 1 on skills contains two subsections that deal…

The purpose of the Northeast Iowa Technical Institute (NITI) Needs Assessment Study was to examine the constituents and clients of NITI to determine whether the present mix of vocational-technical and adult education programs and services was optimal to meet the needs of the residents of Merged Area I. Particular attention was given to the…

The study described in this report was conducted to determine whether the present mix of vocational-technical and adult educational programs and services at Northeast Iowa Technical Institute (NITI) was optimal in meeting the needs of the constituents and clients of the college. Particular attention was given to the question of whether NITI would…