Top companies realize how vital training is to their success and continue to invest in it, even in trying times. This article presents "Training" magazine's 11th annual ranking of the top companies with employee-sponsored workforce training and development. First-time No. 1 winner Farmers Insurance puts such a premium on learning that its new…

This paper evaluates a United Kingdom pilot study designed to test whether a means-tested conditional cash transfer paid to 16- to 18-year-olds for staying in full-time education is an effective way of reducing the proportion of school dropouts. The transfer's impact is substantial: In the first year, full-time education participation rates…

Internships have become a prime form of professional capital, but many remain unpaid, and poorer students suffer. However, colleges--mostly small, private institutions--are coming to their aid, offering modest grants to make the all-important opportunities viable for a more diverse population. The programs reflect not only colleges' increased…

Although self-directed learning (SDL) has been promoted by businesses as being needed by managers, traditional business schools have not promoted this type of learning. In addition, some adult learners are not ready for SDL, and some subjects (such as accounting) are not suitable for SDL. The concept of self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) can…

The results reported in this document are from a large scale survey of employers, apprentices, Local Learning and Skills Councils (LLSCs), and providers carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) between June 2005 and March 2006, which explored their views and experiences of the use and impact of training allowances.…

To explore options to establish Federal Individual Training Accounts (ITAs), a study reviewed Pennsylvania's Individual Learning Accounts, Cedar Company's Individual Learning Accounts, ITAs under the Workforce Investment Act, and the United Kingdom's Individual Learning Accounts. ITAs were defined as a base amount of resources--dollars or…

In Australia, the Youth Allowance (a form of government income support) is being changed to require that most youth under 18 who receive it be engaged in full-time education or training. This change has positive and negative potential impacts on young people, schools, families, technical and further education, adult and community education, and…

This publication explores the enlistment potential of college-market youth by examining the characteristics of the college-market population and the implications of these characteristics for designing effective recruiting policies. Chapter 1, "Introduction: Trends and Theoretical Considerations" (M. Rebecca Kilburn, Beth J. Asch), provides an…

Seventeen small and mid-sized employers from Annie E. Casey Foundation Jobs Initiative sites addressed the challenges of recruiting, retaining, and promoting frontline workers. Employers shared collaboration experiences with Jobs Initiatives sites to develop effective, efficient strategies to prepare and support low-income residents. Firms relied…

Identifies the top 100 U.S. companies in terms of the amount spent on training and development, the number of hours of training per employee, percentage of payroll spent on training, and tuition allotment per employee. Describes best practices in succession planning and leadership development, mentoring, and job shadowing and provides a detailed…

The U.S. Congress asked the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to determine the following: (1) to what extent states were spending their Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds and whether the Department of Labor's (Labor's) data accurately reflected available funds; (2) what Labor did to assess how states were managing their WIA spending; and (3)…

Evaluation of the role of structured on-site training (SOST) in the Employment Training Panel's (ETP's) training program involved 10 case studies of active ETP projects with SOST, survey of 50 recently closed projects with SOST, face-to-face interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders, Delphi survey of consultants, and quantitative analysis…

The extent of employer-supported education and training in Australia was examined by analyzing data from the Training Expenditure Surveys (TES), which gathered information from firms, and the Surveys of Education and Training Experience (SETE), which gathered information from workers. The TES showed an approximately 10% decline in the hours of…

Identifies the top 100 companies in terms of the amount spent on training and development, the number of hours of training per employee, percentage of payroll spent on training, and tuition allotment per employee. Describes best practices in succession planning and leadership development, mentoring, and job shadowing and provides a detailed…

Data from an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey of approximately 350 employers were reanalyzed to determine the effects of organization size and geographic location on the implementation of User Choice, which provides public funds to training providers chosen by apprentices and trainees. Among the respondents, 41.1% were small and…