This document presents five papers, each describing different experiences in the introduction, promotion and implementation of innovative adult training approaches aimed at achieving more flexibility in skill development. An introduction (Anatoli Tchaban) presents background information and a synthesis of the studies covering definitions, concepts…

A study explored why differential learner performance exists across work-based learning providers. Attention focused on retention, achievement, and completion as key indicators of work-based learning performance. Findings showed providers should encourage take-up by learners; provide a process to get learners started; provide teaching and learning…

This book looks at ways European governments can create changes in institutions that will foster cooperation among states, focusing on company investment in general skills and using data from France and Germany. Chapter one provides a general description of the challenges governments face in developing policies to change company-level vocational…

To take community seriously in the conduct of educational research, the researcher should consider taking down epistemological walls and the "real" ones that confine the processes and products of academic labor to artificially isolated settings. Epistemologically, the question of walls relates to the kinds of knowledge competed over,…

This paper discusses the impact of life history and everyday life in the context of training unskilled adults for social work in Denmark. It describes origins of these two texts used as empirical material: a discussion by a group of long-term unemployed skilled adult male workers who went through a 2-year training program to obtain permanent…

Trends in job placement in Europe and the effects of advances in information and communication technologies on job placement practices were examined through case studies of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The case studies revealed that the market shares of public employment services (PES) are generally higher than those…

Successful employer engagement requires that colleges in the United Kingdom secure employers' involvement in the design, development, management, and delivery of post-16 learning so that the skill needs of employers and the workforce will be met and the increased productivity, competitiveness, and efficiency of individual organizations and the…

This document introduces the concept of electronic human resources (eHR) and its application. Chapter 1 presents a brief overview of the guide's development, purpose, and structure. Chapter 2 defines the concept of eHR as "the application of conventional, Web, and voice technologies to improve HR administration, transactions, and process…

Lifelong learning and skill flexibility are especially important for workers in China, where structural economic adjustment has generated 22 million layoffs from state-owned enterprises since 1997. Skills that were in huge demand in previous years, such as accounting, international trade, and language translation, are now facing serious oversupply…

In 2000, approximately 877 million adults worldwide were illiterate and 113 million children did not attend school. More than two-thirds of those individuals lived in East and South Asia, and two-thirds were females. Functional illiteracy remains high in developed and developing nations alike. The reasons include weak training in how to teach…

This document, which is intended as the companion to a two-volume study of European trends in the development of occupations and qualifications, contains reference materials to assist policymakers and practitioners in accessing research findings and formulations on key issues of training and development. The document begins with an overview of the…

These 24 papers represent the proceedings of a program presented by the research network on vocational education and training (VET). They include "School-Arranged or Market-Governed Workplace Training?" (Ulla Arnell-Gustafsson); "Prospects for Mutual Learning and Transnational Transfer of Innovative Practice in European VET"…

Interviews with representatives from nine states (Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Ohio [Canton City Schools only], Oregon, Rhode Island, and West Virginia) and two nations (Australia and the United Kingdom) provided a context for the development of a certificate of basic or foundational skills as an indicator of an adult's…

Research into workforce development (WD) considered the relationship between corporate assessments of workers' development needs and WD strategies; how learning at work takes place; and what learning methods are used and their effectiveness. Focus was on practice in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Methodology included a literature…

This book brings together leading scholars in the study of the Latino population in the United States. The papers include: "Introduction: The Research Agenda" (Marcelo M. Suarez-Orozco and Mariela M. Paez); (1) "`Y tu que?' (Y2K): Latino History in the New Millennium" (George J. Sanchez); (2) "Islands and Enclaves:…