Skills have long been associated with productivity and economic well-being. A large body of evidence shows the value of academic and technical skills in the workplace. And in recent years, soft skills--skills that make for an effective employee, such as time management and communication--have also become increasingly valued in the workplace.…

Concept mapping is a technique to represent relationships between concepts that can help students to improve their meaningful learning. Using the cognitive theories proposed by Ausubel (1968), concept maps can help instructors and students to enhance their logical thinking and study skills by revealing connections among concepts that can simplify…

Supporting youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the transition to adulthood is challenging. This article provides a description of how Project SEARCH, a model transition program for youth with disabilities, was used to help youth with ASD gain competitive employment. This article includes two case studies and a thorough description of the…

A large majority of adults with intellectual disabilities are unemployed. Unemployment of adults with intellectual disabilities is a complex multidimensional issue. Some barriers to employment of individuals with intellectual disabilities are the lack of job experience and skills training. In recent years, video-based interventions, such as video…

This manual for training supervisors in the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) contains a set of guidelines and suggestions organized into seven sections. Section 1 is a brief introduction. Section 2 describes determining training needs and contains a sample task statement. Section 3 covers designing the training program. It includes an…

The majority of employment and training programs are designed as one-size-fits-all, leaving approximately 85 percent of participants unsatisfied, unmotivated, or forced back into a job with no chance of advancement. In targeting a clientele of single parents and dislocated workers, an action research project, called Chance to Advance, conducted in…

This curriculum was designed to help teachers to prepare youth for employment. It is targeted for youth who are not academically oriented, have a low reading level, and are easily distracted, but it is intended to be flexible enough to challenge academically advanced youth as well. This curriculum was developed to serve as a teacher's manual, a…

An unemployed poet obtained a CETA public service job as a teacher's aide in Marin County, California, where he has guided elementary children's imaginative projects. His experiences are described. He has published a volume of the children's verse under the title "Love Is Like a Squished Banana." (AJ)

This book is a "how-to" volume on implementing a career ladder program for challenged youths in transition from school to adult life. It presents an approach to career exploration, training, placement, and ongoing development that coordinates career-oriented activities with classroom activities. The core of the program is the community classroom,…

This document, which was developed through a decade of research and field testing involving more than 700 people, offers step-by-step strategies that educators, employment specialists, occupational therapists, and other professionals can use to help youths and adults with mild, moderate, or severe disabilities make their own employment choices.…

To aid "at risk" students in their transition from school into meaningful employment and a quality adult life, this handbook lists and describes California programs and services that are in wide use and have broad support. The handbook is divided into three sections, covering preschool through eighth grade, ninth through twelfth grade,…

This article describes the Bay Area Personnel System, a consultative resource program which provides supported employment services for individuals with dual sensory impairments (and often severe mental retardation). A case study details a specific instructional mobility program, focusing on job tasks at a pizza restaurant and instructional…

Youth development lies at the heart of the Workforce Investment Act and the Youth Opportunity Movement. Like employment training programs for adults, employment training programs for youth should focus on acquisition of skills, gainful employment, and productive citizenship. Beyond these three characteristics, it is essential that programs for…

Adult basic education practitioners in Florida are being faced with new work force development program requirements as a result of recent legislation. This technical assistance paper is designed to provide local adult education administrators and teachers with information to help them to implement Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Workplace…

The results of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) project at 10 Job Corps centers nationwide with 5,379 trainees indicate that effects of CAI after about 60 hours of classroom instruction are small and achievement gains are not significantly different from those of students taught conventionally. CAI may help motivate students. (SLD)