Despite the desire of many older adults to remain in the workforce, those without jobs face unprecedented durations of unemployment. Many of the unemployed lack current skills for jobs in demand and need to either upgrade their skills or be trained for a new occupation to become reemployed. An aging workforce, combined with the negative effects of…

This article asserts that displacement in the future will be less severe than is currently believed, especially if certain measures are instituted, such as continuous retraining of active workers in generalizable skills, advance notice of plant closings, and job clubs, among others. (JB)

Macomb Community College (MCC) in Warren, Michigan, has a commitment to support business and industrial development, consequent employee retraining, and program design. In addition to helping workers in their retraining and/or relocation, the college provides systematic support in the development of basic skills. Occupational programs have tended…

The current pressure to look seriously at the connection between the economy and the educational and occupational skills of adults is being driven by changes in both economic conditions and the makeup of the U.S. labor force. Manufacturing has declined, taking with it low-skill, high-wage jobs, and the work force has more immigrants, women, and…

Colleges and universities throughout the United States are faced with the new mission of offering comprehensive educational programs designed to strengthen the employment skills of mature adults. In the coming decades, as the number of young people entering the labor force decreases by an expected one-third, the number of available workers aged…

A study examined management perspectives on retraining workers and educational alternatives for such training. During the study, more than 300 senior human resource executives from Fortune 1500 firms across the nation were interviewed by telephone. Of those interviewed, 84 percent felt that their workers are concerned about such issues as: losing…

The question of why some employers opt to lay off current workers and hire new workers with different skills while other employers retrain and retain their workers was examined. First, the literature on employer-provided training and the role of social capital in the workplace was reviewed. Next, data from a 1994 national employers survey of firms…