Emphasizing the central role of community colleges in workforce development, this two-part monograph reviews the status of workforce development initiatives at the national, state, and local levels and provides descriptions of 10 exemplary programs at community colleges across North America. The first part focuses on the status of and operating…

Grameen Banks are a model of successful support for the smallest businesses. The Grameen Bank began in 1976, when Muhammad Yunus, an economics professor at Chittagong University in southern Bangladesh, loaned Sufiya Khatun, a weaver of bamboo stools, $4 U.S. to buy supplies and raise her daily profit from 2 cents to $1.25. Her success prompted…

Because their fiscal health depends on having a large base of high-wage taxpayers, states have an economic interest in increasing their citizens' skill levels. In today's global economy, high wages are increasingly tied to the high skills required to function successfully in high performance work organizations. Employer-provided skill upgrading…

Prepared to help develop a vision for California's community colleges into the 21st century, this report presents data on the colleges' performance up to 1996 and estimations of trends up to 2005. Data presented focus on the issues of student access, outcomes, and funding. Selected findings include the following: (1) participation rates peaked in…

This report focuses on the role Southern philanthropy can play in addressing racism, poverty, and inequality by supporting education and workforce improvement. "Framing the Conversation" takes input from George Autry (MDC), William Bynum (Enterprise Corporation of the Delta), Lynn Walker Huntley (Southern Education Foundation), and…

This report discusses diverse economic issues involved in educational reforms aimed at improving economic growth. The focus is on elementary and secondary education in the southeastern United States. After a general overview of the economics of educational reform, section I discusses the issues involved in modeling and estimating the linkages…

The 49 papers in these two volumes were prepared to assist the Commission on Workforce Quality and Labor Market Efficiency in making recommendations for improving the U.S. work force. The papers summarize existing research and make recommendations on subjects reflecting seven Commission tasks: (1) examine the roles and effectiveness of privately…

This document presents the findings of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice regarding the role, education, and supply of clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). The first section of the report examines the following eight background issues: (1) early development of the CNS; (2) current CNS supply; (3) roles and impact of the…

This congressional report contains testimony given in relation to the passage of the Vocational and Adult Education Consolidation Act (S. 2325). (The Vocational and Adult Education Consolidation Act is legislation designed to consolidate existing federal vocational and adult education programs, to simplify requirements for states and other…

As our society evolves from an industrial society to a computer literate, high technology, information society, educational planners must reexamine the role of postsecondary education in economic development and in intellectual capital formation. In response to this need, a task force on high technology was established to examine the following…

Faced with worker displacement stemming from a changing economy, states are acting to soften the economic impact of displacement on affected individuals and businesses. Key strategies and practices are as follows: (1) anticipating layoffs by analyzing economic and labor market trends (using data to anticipate layoffs; developing an early warning…

The six state-based research centers of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium (ALNARC) investigated the effects of inclusion of literacy and numeracy standards in Australia's national training packages and the standards' impact on the quality of learning and work outcomes. The six ALNARC projects, which used a case study…

The extent to which vocational education and training (VET) policy is nurturing lifelong learning in Sweden was examined through a review of recent policy documents issued by various Swedish government agencies and data from comparative studies compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Adult…

This report is the product of an effort by the Office of Technology Policy to assess current and future needs for information technology (IT) workers through a comprehensive information-gathering project that included the following three activities: (1) nationwide regional meetings that included discussions with industry executives,…

The role of Ohio's community and technical colleges in educating low-wage workers was examined. Ohio's community and technical colleges were shown to be uniquely positioned to serve as bridges to growth and opportunity by helping the state and its workers make the transition to a knowledge-based economy and help low-wage workers gain the footing…