Describes Employment Training, Britain's new program for unemployed adults. The author interviewed employers, managing agents, and the unemployed and found a distinct lack of enthusiasm about the programs. (JOW)

Interviews with 15 participants in New Deal, a British training program for unemployed 18-24 year-olds, revealed overall skepticism about government training programs, distrust and disillusionment, little support for what the government identified as different about New Deal, and low expectations of long-term employment outcomes of the program.…

Describes the comprehensive Welsh system of education and training, including a national career information and guidance service. The system focuses on credit-based qualifications and a holistic approach to academic and vocational learning. (SK)

Describes changes being made in the United Kingdom and the parallel efforts guiding that change--one involving the system of education and training and the other the system of vocational qualification. (JOW)

Qualitative and quantitative data suggest that over the 10 years of Australia's National Training Reform Agenda initiatives, women in female-dominated occupations in nonprofessional, nonmanagerial jobs have fared less well than other workers. The goal of training for transferable skills has not been achieved for these women. (SK)

Perceptions, attitudes, and job outcomes of participants in four British preemployment government-sponsored training programs were compared (78 job club, 95 work-based training, 52 Jobplan, 106 New Deal) were compared. Respondents in job club and work-based training had positive reactions and consequently got more jobs. Responses will provide…

Comparison of Britain's Training and Enterprise Councils/Local Enterprise Companies with the United States' Private Industry Councils (PICs) shows common problems: inadequate financing, labor market fragmentation, staff turnover, and lack of national strategy. PICs have a clearer mission and greater success in developing partnerships with local…

Efforts in Great Britain to change from the historic apprenticeship system and the levy-grant system as manpower training sources to (1) industrial internal training programs and (2) stipends to all British citizens 19 years of age and over for training program participation are reported. Implications for the US are drawn. (AG)

The terms on which funds are allocated to Britain's Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) offer little financial incentive to support high-cost, high-quality training. As it stands, TECs' performance ratings improve only if they support the cheapest, easiest, and quickest means that match government output measures. (SK)

The two papers in this newsletter focus on youth employment and training programs in the United States and the government response to unemployment in Australia. In the first paper, "Looking at Other Countries, No. 1: United States. Youth Employment and Training Programs during the First Two Years of the Reagan Administration" by Ralph E.…

The Australian labor market in 1992 was characterized by (1) high unemployment; (2) variability across states; (3) long-term unemployment; (4) government focus on infrastructure projects; (5) emphasis on training; and (6) enterprise bargaining in industrial relations. (SK)

In September 1985, the Canadian government introduced the Canadian Jobs Strategy. Two features distinguish the jobs strategy program from Canada's old job development programs and programs for purchasing job training from colleges. These features are: (1) focusing of federal support for labor market adjustment on those individuals who are most in…

Responses from 22 automotive/electronics small businesses in Wales were compared with a 1996 survey. Results show that government initiatives such as Modern Apprenticeships had limited impact on small businesses. Barriers to training such as time, cost, and motivation also appeared, suggesting that mere availability of training programs does not…

Sweden and Denmark are becoming aware that the "at risk" group of unemployed young people present a double-edged risk in that they are economically and socially disadvantaged and constitute a risk for society at large. Sweden and Denmark differ in their responses to the problem. (BRR)

The increasing use of job training or retraining and employment programs in response to high rates of unemployment in France has spurred interest in program evaluation to see what results have been achieved. The contribution of traditional standardized evaluations and of emerging methodologies is being examined. Traditional evaluation methods…