Most high school girls are caught up in the Cinderella syndrome: they plan only for early marriage and lives as homemakers. This article recommends more realistic life-planning and outlines the advantages of careers in skilled trades for women: flexible hours, good pay, and high interest level. (DC)

THE TRADES GUILD OF LEARNING WAS FOUNDED IN LONDON, ENGLAND IN 1873 BY THE REVEREND HENRY SOLLY TO PROMOTE THE VOCATIONAL AND FURTHER EDUCATION OF ARTISANS. NOT A TRADE UNION ORGANIZATION, IT INVOLVED SKILLED WORKERS OUTSIDE THE UNIONS AS WELL AS TRADE UNIONISTS. A SERIOUS CONFLICT BETWEEN SOLLY'S PATERNALISTIC PHILANTHROPY AND THE PRINCIPLES OF…

The author summarizes the International Productivity Symposium, "Productivity and Employment," held in Washington, D.C., in April 1988. This symposium dealt with such topics as (1) preparing for a changing economy, (2) employment effects of productivity growth, (3) worker participation in decisions about work processes and organization,…

The authors look at the advantages of skill-based pay, the situations in which it seems to be particularly effective, and how such a pay plan works in actual practice. (Author)

A Michigan school district asked local trade specialists to identify school building problems and estimate repair costs. A citizens' committee reviewed the recommendations and the community approved a bond issue to finance the school improvements. (MLF)

A study addressed the effects of technological change using a new, rich source of firm-level data on technology usage and labor force composition. The empirical investigation is based on a survey of Long Island manufacturers' usage of computer-integrated manufacturing systems (CIMS) or advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs). The study also…

Future developments in industrial training are considered in a paper presented by a regional training officer of the Engineering Industry Training Board. (MS)

Discusses the changing nature and growing need for more effective maintenance training. (Editor)

Printing industry workers, managers, and union representatives and college vocational printing programs were interviewed (n=48). Technological changes were devaluing craftwork, but computers offered new challenges. Companies were changing faster than colleges could respond. A need to identify principles that transcend printing media was…

Describes the work of itinerant librarians in the United States who organized library collections across the country from 1887-1915. Positive results included the widespread adoption of standard classification and cataloging schemes and the training of local librarians. However, low salaries and the practice of employing untrained people were also…

Employment and earnings increased in nonmetro areas during the 1990s, but less than in urban areas. The metro-nonmetro earnings gap reached a historical high in 1998 as businesses that used advanced technologies avoided rural locations where professional and skilled workers were in short supply. Metro and nonmetro employment and income data by…

Although the current Labour government is committed to developing the UK as a high skills society, there is much confusion as what such a society might look like and from where it might draw its inspiration. Some academic commentators have also expressed the need for a clearer vision of the kind of society to which the UK might choose to head for…