This article focuses on the human performance improvement and human resource development task of providing an organization with a skilled workforce. We begin by describing the U.S. demographic trends and the changing job skill requirements that will lead to a shortage of skilled workers and that highlight the importance of considering the various…

The expansion of higher education in Taiwan starting from the late 1980s has successfully raised the average level of education. Using the concept of the education Gini, we find that the educational inequality declined as average schooling rose during the period of 1976-2003. The impacts of a rising average schooling and a declining educational…

The purpose of this case study was to explore how low-skilled workers who participated in a health care training program learned to acquire the technical, cognitive, and developmental competencies they needed to gain skilled employment in higher-level positions in the field and thus advance their careers. The data methods used were: (1) in-depth…

The sweeping impact of our times has affected all segments of society, universities included. Society's perception is that universities have not responded to changes, and criticism has been directed at tuition costs, access and willingness to reach out to the community. Yet universities are key if this country is to maintain its leadership as an…

Provides general information about apprenticeships, including a definition of the term, reasons for becoming an apprentice, how to select a trade, how to qualify for a program, and resources for further information. (NRJ)

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth aptitude scores confirmed that differentials in union-nonunion wages are highest for workers with low measured skills and lowest for workers with high measured skills. Results suggest that unions are more successful where skills are homogenous and unionized employers are reluctant to hire both the most as well…

Recent economic and technological developments have led to a growing international demand for highly skilled human resources. The increased competition for human capital has determined numerous OECD countries to take special measures for attracting and retaining human capital in such fields as: information technology, biotechnology,…

This article focuses on how a worker's relationship with either a place of work or employer--or with what the skilled worker does very well--contributes to very different forms of work identity. Work identity that reflects a determination on the employee's part to commit to the values of the work group is vocational identity, which is important…

THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN THIS STUDY GUIDE WAS PLANNED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE STATE EDUCATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE ROOFING TRADE AND WRITTEN BY AN APPRENTICE TRAINING SPECIALIST AND OTHERS TO BE USED AS RELATED CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION IN THE APPRENTICE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ROOFERS. THE UNITS INCLUDE (1) BUILT-UP ROOFING, DAMPPROOFING,…

The standard is used to grade all nonsupervisory jobs involved inplanning and fabricating complex research and prototype instruments, made from a variety of materials, which are used to detect, measure, record, and regulate heat, pressure, speed, vibration, sound, illumination, biomedical phenomena, and other areas of interest to scientific,…

The study outlined here indicates that managers and skilled and unskilled workers hold different perceptions of the meaning of retirement and different expectations about what they can achieve during this stage in their lives. The implications for preparation for retirement programs are examined, and suggestions made as to appropriate content and…

The author offers a long-term view on the nature of skill in society, the way in which it is defined, and the meaning of skill shortage. (Editor)

In a tight labor market, those who have the skills that the marketplace is demanding--expertise in information technology, sales, marketing, customer service, and manufacturing--can replace a lost job or find a new one relatively easily. (JOW)