Concerns over the quality of education in the United States and the increasing demands of international competition have resulted in increased calls for the development and implementation of industry-based skill standards. A series of 22 pilot projects that were initiated by the National Skills Standard Board to strengthen the education-employment…

Service learning contextualizes student learning and provides an environment in which students can acquire organizational, team, problem-solving, and other skills and attitudes necessary for future work and learning. Although service learning has been classified as a form of work-based learning, students participating in service learning receive…

Increasing globalization has spotlighted a range of international approaches to career and technical education (CTE), including the German dual system, the British National Vocational Qualifications and General National Vocational Qualifications, and Australia's Vocational Education and Training and Technical and Further Education systems. Across…

Portfolio assessment is an alternative form of assessment that is particularly attractive to adult, career, and vocational educators because it includes the assessment of active learning and performance rather than the mere recall of memorized facts. Portfolio assessment serves the interests of business and industry by forging a connection between…

Options for flexible work schedules such as job sharing, compressed work weeks, reduced hours, work at home, and flextime have provided employees with the means to realize a better balance between work and family and engage simultaneously in more than one endeavor (for example, school and work or two careers). The same options can also lead to…

The dynamics of a diverse work force characterized by organizational change, competition, and complex communication are increasing attention toward finding new ways of avoiding the costly and destructive outcomes of relationship dysfunctions. Litigation and legal negotiation are two of the most expensive ways of conflict resolution; and…

The World Wide Web is changing not only how individuals locate jobs but also the ways existing jobs are performed. Individuals seeking work will need to know how to use the Web as a tool for enhancing their job performance. The enhanced global communication made possible through Internet technology and the increase of marketing plans combining…

Recent changes in the workplace have given rise to the following misconceptions or "myths" about the future of career development: loyalty and job security have disappeared; contingent employment reflects the "end of the job"; and the workplace of the future will continue to be youth focused. In reality, concerns over loyalty and job security have…

Women and minorities are underrepresented in technology-related careers for many reasons, including lack of access, level of math and science achievement, and emotional and social attitudes about computer capabilities. Schools and teachers can use the following strategies to attract women and minorities to high-tech careers and prepare them for…

The linear career path that once kept people working in the same job is not the standard career route for today's workers. Instead, many workers are now pursuing varied career paths that reflect sequential career changes. Although job mobility no longer carries the stigma once associated with job change, it can still be emotionally stressful. Job…

Although large companies are more apt to provide training than smaller companies are, size is becoming less of a predictor of training than complexity of the environment, degree of market competition, and internal makeup of the company. The increasingly technological nature of the workplace has prompted many small businesses to increase their…

Many studies have verified that education beyond high school results in higher earnings. The highest earnings benefits depend upon certification or degree achievement. Not obtaining a degree results in some penalty: individuals who have some college credit but no degree earn less than associate degree holders. Professional and vocational…

It is a myth that skills alone ensure employment. Other keys to workplace success include continuous learning, emotional intelligence, networking, flexibility, and commitment to business objectives. Although academic degrees, skill certifications, and other documentation of accomplishments provide access to employment, they are significant only at…

Because emotional well-being is increasingly being recognized as a predictor of success in school, family, and work life, many are advocating that emotional intelligence be promoted as early as elementary school. Emotional intelligence involves two competencies important to career success: (1) the ability to recognize personal and others' feelings…

New information technologies, changing work force demographics, rising customer expectations, transnational companies, and cost pressures are altering traditional views of what constitutes a workplace and have given rise to a new trend: the mobile worker in the flexible workplace. Two factors promote acceptance of telework or telecommuting: (1)…