This report presents issues associated with incentives for training existing workers in small to medium-sized firms, identified through a small sample of case studies from the retail, manufacturing, and building and construction industries. While the majority of employers recognise workforce skill levels are fundamental to the success of the…

The effect of enrollment in prerequisite courses on success in advanced courses was examined in a study of a sample of students who completed a business cooperative experiences program between 1994-1995 and 2001-2002. Of the 163 students in the sample, 80 completed the prerequisite courses (Technology Lab I and II) before the advanced course, and…

A study analyzed the schooling, further adult course participation, and informal learning of organized and unorganized workers in different occupational classes across Canada. Data were obtained from the first Canadian national survey of 1,562 adults' informal learning practices, conducted in 1998, and field notes and interview transcripts drawn…

Leading-edge firms (LEFs)--at the forefront of their industry in terms of growth or market share--may influence skill development through diffusion of technology, products, or practices and use of market power to set standards or change customer businesses. Study of LEFs can identify the type and mix of skills needed in the industry. LEFs are…

In Spring 1997, Maui Community College (MCC), in Hawaii, conducted a survey of Maui businesses to determine perceived needs for a certificate or associate degree program in sustainable technologies. Questionnaires were mailed to 500 businesses, including building, electrical, and plumbing contractors, architects, waste disposal, power generators,…

The Sumter Office of Economic Development and Central Carolina Technical College (South Carolina) formed a partnership to help increase the technical skills of the local work force. Industry surveys, questionnaires, and on-site visits revealed that employers were discouraged with the inadequate work force pool, and that those coming from secondary…

This publication introduces youth apprenticeship and reports on the experiences of businesses adopting this model. Part I presents the four fundamental components of the youth apprenticeship model--applied academics, on-the-job training, links with postsecondary learning opportunities, and standards and credentials--and posits its use as a…

Use of flexible staffing arrangements--including temporary help agency, short-term, on-call, regular part-time, and contract workers--is widespread and two-thirds of employers believe this trend will increase in the near future. A study examined which employers use flexible staffing arrangements, why they use these arrangements, and their…

This publication describes counseling approaches supervisors and human resource professionals can use to help marginal employees become better adjusted and more productive in the workplace. Three case studies are also provided for training purposes. The counseling tools are as follows: (1) Adlerian counseling, involving the belief that humans'…

Data from the California Development Department's Unemployment Insurance System were used to track the earnings and employment of more than 57,000 California Employment Training Panel (ETP) trainees served by ETP projects that ended in 1994-95 and 1995-96. ETP trainees' earnings gains averaged 15%, versus 11.8% in the case of similar workers who…

This report, which is based on a review of practitioner-oriented sources and scholarly journals, uses a three-part framework to organize annotated bibliographies that, together, list a total of 104 sources that provide the following three perspectives on work force reduction issues: organizational, organizational-individual relationship, and…

A study investigated general and vocational skills of 32 British business undergraduates before and after their field experiences, as perceived by the students and their employers. Although the parties agree that some skill development occurred during field experience, substantial discrepancies between student and employer perceptions of actual…

A recent expansion of the San Francisco Bay Area's heavy rail system represents an exogenous change in the accessibility of inner-city minority communities to a concentrated suburban employment center. We evaluate this natural experiment by conducting a two-wave longitudinal survey of firms, with the first wave of interviews conducted immediately…

Wyoming's seven comprehensive community colleges document their performance in meeting the needs of their stakeholders against fourteen core indicators: (1) Student Goal Attainment; (2) Persistence; (3) Degree Completion Rates; (4) Placement Rate in the Workforce; (5) Employer Assessment of Students; (6) Licensure/Certification Pass Rates; (7)…

The changing educational needs of midwives in England were assessed, and an open learning package for midwives was developed based on the findings. Data were collected from the following: questionnaires mailed to 1,100 registered midwives (70% response rate), all 205 coordinating supervisors of midwives in England (83% response rate); 1 randomly…