Work Analysis in the Knowledge Economy

Work Analysis in the Knowledge Economy

Author: Ronald L. Jacobs

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-01-10

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 3319944487

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Work analysis seeks to breakdown the work behaviors that people do and the characteristics of people who successfully perform the work, and then to reassemble the information in a form that has many uses in practice. The information can be used to specify job expectations, establish quality standards, develop training programs, document work processes, and anticipate safety risks, among many other uses. This book is a practical guide to using the work analysis process for improving performance in the workplace, particularly with the emergence of knowledge work. Work has undergone much change, and the trend is towards increased complexity, demanding employees to use their cognitive abilities to a greater extent. Work analysis has often been criticized for its historical focus on documenting simple, observable, and routine behaviors performed by individuals involved in low-skilled production work. But it doesn’t have to be so, as readers will discover. Indeed, the demands of organizations and societies in the digital age has placed greater emphasis on documenting the changing nature of work. This practical book addresses the questions of how does one perform a work analysis? How can complex work be documented? How can the information be used by organizations, technical schools, and government agencies? Readers will find detailed descriptions of numerous work analysis techniques, along with case studies and example documents from actual organizational and national workforce development situations. This book serves as a relatively comprehensive resource for human resource development professionals in range of settings. The book should also be useful for human resource managers, line managers and supervisors, and other professionals such as quality and safety staff. Readers will value the information in the book, based on the author’s extensive experience, which is presented in a clear and concise approach.


Transforming the U.S. Workforce Development System

Transforming the U.S. Workforce Development System

Author: David Finegold

Publisher: ILR Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 9780913447017

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book brings together leading scholars and practitioners working in the job skills field to examine what research tells us about the current state of the U.S. skills system in comparative perspective and the changes that are required for the future.


Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce

Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-06-04

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0309440068

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Skilled technical occupationsâ€"defined as occupations that require a high level of knowledge in a technical domain but do not require a bachelor's degree for entryâ€"are a key component of the U.S. economy. In response to globalization and advances in science and technology, American firms are demanding workers with greater proficiency in literacy and numeracy, as well as strong interpersonal, technical, and problem-solving skills. However, employer surveys and industry and government reports have raised concerns that the nation may not have an adequate supply of skilled technical workers to achieve its competitiveness and economic growth objectives. In response to the broader need for policy information and advice, Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce examines the coverage, effectiveness, flexibility, and coordination of the policies and various programs that prepare Americans for skilled technical jobs. This report provides action-oriented recommendations for improving the American system of technical education, training, and certification.


Workforce Development in Emerging Economies

Workforce Development in Emerging Economies

Author: Jee-Peng Tan

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2016-07-06

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1464808511

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Investing in skills has risen to the top of the policy agenda today in rich and poor countries alike. The World Bank supports its partner countries on this agenda in multiple ways: development finance, research and analysis, global knowledge exchange, and technical assistance. This report was originally conceived as a contribution to this catalog of the World Bank’s work, but its topic and findings are relevant to all policy makers and analysts interested in skills-building to drive economic growth and improve human well-being. The book examines workforce development (WfD) systems in emerging economies around the world and presents novel systems-level data generated by the Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER)-WfD benchmarking tool, which was created to implement the World Bank’s 10-year Education Sector Strategy launched in 2012. A key theme in the book is that WfD entails a multi-layered engagement involving high-level policy makers, system-level managers, as well as leaders at individual institutions. Too often, the conversation and actions are fragmented by intellectual, administrative and operational silos which undermine effective cooperation to solve the deep challenges of building job-relevant skills. The book’s findings, based on cross-sectional data for nearly 30 countries and time-series data for five countries, identify successes and common issues across countries in the sample. In lagging countries, the biggest difficulties relate to: forming and sustaining strategic partnerships with employers; ensuring equitable and efficient funding for vocational education; and putting in place mechanisms to enhance training providers’ accountability for results defined by their trainees’ job market performance. By framing WfD in the broader skills-for-growth context and drawing on lessons from countries where well-designed WfD strategies have helped to drive sustained growth, this book offers clear guidance on how to enable a more effective approach to the inevitably complex challenges of workforce development in emerging economies.


A Database for a Changing Economy

A Database for a Changing Economy

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-05-11

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 0309156165

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Information about the characteristics of jobs and the individuals who fill them is valuable for career guidance, reemployment counseling, workforce development, human resource management, and other purposes. To meet these needs, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 1998 launched the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which consists of a content model-a framework for organizing occupational data-and an electronic database. The O*NET content model includes hundreds of descriptors of work and workers organized into domains, such as skills, knowledge, and work activities. Data are collected using a classification system that organizes job titles into 1,102 occupations. The National Center for O*NET Development (the O*NET Center) continually collects data related to these occupations. In 2008, DOL requested the National Academies to review O*NET and consider its future directions. In response, the present volume inventories and evaluates the uses of O*NET; explores the linkage of O*NET with the Standard Occupational Classification System and other data sets; and identifies ways to improve O*NET, particularly in the areas of cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and currency.


Education Policy Analysis 2001

Education Policy Analysis 2001

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2001-03-23

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9264192352

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The five chapters in this book draw upon the policy experience and trends in OECD countries to examine various aspects of lifelong learning.


Strategies for Attracting, Maintaining, and Balancing a Mature Workforce

Strategies for Attracting, Maintaining, and Balancing a Mature Workforce

Author: Hughes, Claretha

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2019-12-27

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1799822788

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There is no end in sight as the Fourth Industrial Revolution becomes more prevalent across the world. Artificial intelligence (AI) is making it imperative that machines and technology be integrated within the workplace. As the workforce ages, there has to be a way to acquire the tacit and explicit knowledge of these workers. The fields of human resource development and workforce development must lead in efforts to train and develop these workers for continuous technological change. Strategies for Attracting, Maintaining, and Balancing a Mature Workforce is an essential reference source that examines efforts for engaging, retaining, and utilizing an aging workforce in a workplace that is increasingly becoming more technology-centered and provides reskilling and upskilling strategies to address the skills gaps. The title compiles vital human resource and workforce development strategies that assist these professionals with helping all employees at all levels within the workforce attain work, keep their jobs, and grow in their development to assist others. Featuring research on topics such as organizational culture, career learning, and agile workforce, this book is ideally designed for managers, executives, recruiters, hiring professionals, managing directors, human resources professionals, business researchers, industry professionals, academicians, and students.


The Knowledge Economy and Lifelong Learning

The Knowledge Economy and Lifelong Learning

Author: D.W. Livingstone

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-09-07

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9460919154

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book presents some of the most trenchant critical analyses of the widespread claims for the recent emergence of a knowledge economy and the attendant need for greater lifelong learning. The book contains two sections: first, general critiques of the limits of current notions of a knowledge economy and required adult learning, in terms of historical comparisons, socio-political construction and current empirical evidence; secondly, specific challenges to presumed relations between work requirements and learning through case studies in diverse current workplaces that document richer learning processes than knowledge economy advocates intimate. Many of the leading authors in the field are represented. There are no other books to date that both critically assess the limits of the notion of the knowledge economy and examine closely the relation of workplace restructuring to lifelong learning beyond the confines of formal higher education and related educational policies. This reader provides a distinctive overview for future studies of relations between work and learning in contemporary societies beyond caricatures of the knowledge economy. The book should be of interest to students following undergraduate or postgraduate courses in most social sciences and education, business and labour studies departments, as well as to policy makers and the general public concerned about economic change and lifelong learning issues. D. W. Livingstone is Canada Research Chair in Lifelong Learning and Work and Professor Emeritus at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. David Guile is Professor of Education and Work at the Institute of Education, University of London.