Education and Training after Basic Schooling.

Overview & Synopsis

Various factors, including an increase in the standard of living of the population throughout the Western industralized countries, the need for better-qualified workers, and the necessity of providing alternatives to unemployment for young people, have led to increased demands for training courses provided immediately after compulsory schooling. Governments and the private sector alike have responded to this demand by developing new education, training, and work experience programs aimed at youth between the ages of 16 and 19 and by introducing changes in the organization and objectives of upper-secondary education, including general, technical, and vocational courses. Although the increasing number of new programs for youth is a promising sign, the lack of coordination among the different types of services available have created a number of new problems for planners and policymakers, employers, and the youth themselves. Problems exist in the areas of articulation, dissemination of information concerning available program options, assessment, credentials, and the transition to employment. Included among those areas that demand particular attention by policymakers are the following: (1) expansion of opportunities for disadvantaged youth, (2) reforms to encourage increased participation of females in nontraditional occupations and in such nontraditional training programs as apprenticeships, and (3) resolution of the persisting discontinuities among general, technical, and vocational education. (MN)