Websites - Tools

Key Skills in Vocational Areas is one of several interactive resources for teachers and learners at all levels from the The National Grid for Learning Cymru (Wales).

The National Work Readiness Credential is a certification of work readiness for entry-level work as defined by employers. It is the first national, standards-based assessment for entry-level workers to provide a universal, transferable, national standard for work readiness.

Development tools by Learning Resources, Inc. provide employers and workforce developers with 'mini-simulations' that can be integrated into academic and career courses or work-experience to help people better understand the soft skills employers seek.

This online training tool allows you to create a customized industrial skills assessment test or choose from a growing list of industry-related online assessment tests. Category examples include risk, quality, safety, mechanical, electrical, maintenance and engineering assessments.

Websites - Events

2011 National Consultation on Career Development and Workforce Learning
This major Canadian event will bring together over 500 leaders representing business, labor, practitioners and policy makers to address the latest in career development and workforce learning programs and practices.

Websites - Reports

Expanding Horizons: Pacesetters in Adult Education at Work is a report that looks at initiatives to expand adult education for work and career pathway systems. Among the best are the 20 programmes that took part in the April 2009 Readiness Roundtable. These programmes are located in 15 states and vary greatly in size and range of services

Effective Employer Engagements: The Year Up Model is the second in a series of studies on how successful programs engage employers in the education and training of young adults.

Counting the Hidden Assets: First Steps in Assessing the Impact of Community College Noncredit Education Programs on the Workforce and Local Economies is a report that makes the case for the training hour as the basic unit of measurement and proposes a taxonomy to classify and describe the range of noncredit activities delivered by community colleges.

Employers, Low-Income Young Adults and Postsecondary Credentials is a report that investigates education and training programs that involve employers in efforts to help disadvantaged young adults attain postsecondary credentials leading to career track employment.

Re-imagining Community Colleges in the 21st Century discusses policies on community college-transfer, occupational and developmental activities as well as collaborations among four-year institutions, community-based organizations, business and industrial partners.

Functional Context Education: Making Learning Relevant is a workshop report that includes research on adult literacy education as well as case studies in applying the design of programs that integrate (or embed, contextualize) basic skills and vocational or parenting education (workplace literacy, family literacy).

Expanding Horizons: Pacesetters in Adult Education at Work looks at initiatives to expand adult education for work and career pathway systems

Workplace Literacy & Essential Skills: What works? And why?: Literature Review presents the findings of a survey of research, policy and practice in workplace literacy from Canada, the United States, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

New Ways to Build a Quality Workforce: An Employer's Guide aims to engage businesses in developing high quality workforces by inspiring creative thinking, providing an alternative model for talent development, providing resource materials and encouraging long-term engagement.

The Ill-Prepared U.S. Workforce: Exploring the Challenges of Employer-Provided Workforce Readiness Training examines corporate practices on training newly hired graduates at three educational levels: high school, two-year college, and four-year college.

Partnerships, Pathways and Proportional Investment is a report from the Workforce Alliance that argues for at least two years of post-secondary training for all U.S. workers. Support and access for basic skills development is also discussed.

Preparing Low-Skilled Workers for the Jobs of Tomorrow

This report from Australia looks at how combinations of formal, informal and non-formal learning can be used to prepare workers to gain, maintain or progress through jobs.
(http://www.ncver.edu.au/research/commercial/op03830.pdf)

A Canadian report looks at the interplay between formal and informal learning for low skilled workers. Learning paths, trigger events and decisions that engage basic level workers are described.
(http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/interplay/methods.pdf)

Career Pathways Toolkit is a new resource for state and local leaders working to expand education, training and learning opportunities for America's current and emerging workforce.
(http://www.communitycollegecentral.org/careerpathways/index.html)

All Signs Point to Yes: Literacy's Impact on Workplace Health and Safety is a new report that explores the connections between literacy skills and workplace health and safety. 
(http://www.conferenceboard.ca and go to E-Library for free download)

Reach Higher, America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce, a report by the National Commission on Adult Literacy, presents powerful evidence that our failure to address America's adult education and workforce skills needs is putting our country in great jeopardy and threatening our nation's standard of living and economic viability.
(http://www.nationalcommissiononadultliteracy.org/report.html)

Testing and Accountability in Adult Education
This report provides resources for designing, delivering and evaluating workplace literacy programs. Testing and accountability in adult literacy programming is also discussed.
(http://www.nald.ca/library/research/sticht/testing/testing.pdf)

Websites - General

Workplace U - Productive Workers (radio story series)

College Scholarships, Colleges and Online Degrees provides an online directory of college and university admission, scholarship and financial aid offices.

Strengthening State Adult Education Policies for Low-Skilled Workers is a brief report outlining state adult education policies and programs. It recommends improvements for better job advancement opportunities for lower-skilled adults and older youth.
(http://www.clasp.org/publications/policy_brief_-_adult_education_2_.pdf)

The U.S. Department of Labor's Senior Community Service Employment Program competitively awards funds to pilot programs designed to benefit older workers.
(http://www.doleta.gov/seniors)

Workplace Education: Twenty State Perspectives is a new paper describing various aspects of current workplace education programs in 20 states. Prepared for the National Commission on Adult Literacy, it examines inputs and outcomes of the programs, strategic plans and future policy options.     
(http://www.nationalcommissiononadultliteracy.org/pandp.html)

A new report by the Migration Policy Institute identifies English acquisition as a serious challenge for both legal and illegal immigrants. Businesses are encouraged to invest more on English instruction as a way of improving workforce capacity. (http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/NCIIP_English_Instruction073107.pdf)

ISO standards help to ensure processing quality, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability in the delivery of goods and services. The widespread adoption of International Standards means that suppliers can base the development of their products and services on specifications that have wide acceptance in their sectors.

Congress Receives Annual Report on Adult Education Performance: A report from the Task Force on Workforce Development, Learning Partnerships: Strengthening American Jobs in the Global Economy, proposes "bottom-up partnerships" of government, educators, labor leaders, and employers to analyze job opportunities and workforce needs, and to develop effective training.

U.S. Department of Education

American Society for Training and Development

ROInet : An online discussion group of human resource development professionals interested in evaluating the effectiveness of workplace education

The Evaluation and Return on Investment Online Learning Community of the American Society for Training and Development

CareerOneStop : A resource for job-seekers and businesses

Foundation Skills Site (PA)

Workforce Improvement Network (PA)

Ilinois Skill Standards

CAELA offers a digest on planning, implementing and evaluating workplace ESL programs.

Grants.gov

What Works Clearinghouse provides educators, policymakers, researchers, and the public with evidence of what works in education.

Business Value Assessment toolkit helps education practitioners and their employer partners assess the business value of their workforce services.

Workforce³ One
A new collaborative effort between the US Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the Center for Employment Security Education and Research (CESER), which is the 501c3 affiliate of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), and the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB). This collaboration represents the merging of national, state, and local leadership into one system that is committed to embracing and installing a demand-driven culture in the publicly funded workforce system.

Websites - Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard Institute
An independent source of information on applications of the balanced scorecard to the public sector.

Balanced Scorecard Collaborative
education, training, advisory, research, and development organization that facilitates the worldwide awareness, use, enhancement, and integrity of the Balanced Scorecard.

Corporater Balanced Scorecard
Java based Balanced Scorecard developed according to specifications given by Balanced Scorecard Collaborative BSCOL.

Free Balanced Scorecard Software - Dialog Strategy
Define your business strategy, assign measures and monitor your business performance. Based on the Balanced Scorecard approach to Strategic Management.

Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc.
Dedicated to the worldwide awareness, use, enhancement, and integrity of the Balanced Scorecard as a value-added management process.

Balanced Scorecard - What Is BSC?
Translate strategy into action. An introduction to the Balanced Scorecard, online example scorecards, presentations, White Papers, and free software downloads.

SAS Solution for Balanced Scorecard
Focuses on providing a strategic feedback system that enables you to make better decisions.

Balanced Scorecards For Implementing Strategy
How to use the balanced scorecard to implement strategy, focus people on core objectives, reduce waste, and increase performance - without massive investments in IT.

What is the Balanced Scorecard?
What is the Balanced Scorecard? A new approach to ... The Balanced Scorecard and Measurement-Based Management. The balanced scorecard methodology ...

Balanced Scorecard Software: PM-Express
Balanced Scorecards for your organization. Web-based, easy-to-use solution. Flexible, configurable software with remote setup, collection, reporting, and dynamic graphing. Needs no browser plug-ins, easy to set up and manage.

Balanced Scorecard Newswire
newsletter covering the Balance Scorecard approach to management.

Balanced Scorecard of Performance Measures
The balanced scorecard concept, developed by Professor Robert Kaplan of the Harvard Business School and David Norton, has been embraced by a rapidly growing number of large corporations as a vehicle

BSC & Knowledge Management
An independent source of information on applications of the balanced scorecard to the public sector.

The Balanced Scorecard for Government
helps government organizations and the military service use the Norton Kaplan methodology.

Performance Management using the Balanced Scorecard
Guide explains the balanced scorecard methodology with special reference to application in government. Contains seven chapters of detailed information.

ActiveStrategy
provides enterprise strategy execution software to automate the balanced scorecard management system as well as develop, implement, deploy, and manage strategies.

2GC
focuses on improving organizational strategic management, strategic control and performance measurement. 2CG consultants deliver using a range of tools and techniques including the 3rd Generation Balanced Scorecard.

Websites - Workplace Basic Skills

Basic Skills and Communication for Construction Workers

GED Career Bridge to Hospitality Curriculum

The WoLLNET Project developed a web-based, user-friendly Toolkit to enable employers, providers and unions to evaluate the impact of workplace basic skills training programmes on learning, and individual and organisational performance. Included is advice on how to measure  the Return on Investment in workplace basic skills training.

Bridging the Employment Gap - Clerical Manual

Bridging the Employment Gap - Grounds Maintenance Manual

Bridging the Employment Gap – Retail Manual

Bridging the Employment Gap – Janitorial Manual

Bridging the Employment Gap - Kitchen Help Manual

On the Job: ESL and Essential Skills for Work: Document Use

Shifting Gears helps Midwestern states address adult education and workforce development issues in support of expanding job opportunities for low-skilled workers.

Marketing Guide for GED programs

Building Basics: ESOL Toolkit for General Construction, Landscaping, Painting and Plumbing

Literacy in the Workplace: Five Fact Sheets

Communicating at Work is a free web resource for immigrant adults. Interactive features, dialogues, scenarios and quizzes are designed to help adult learners improve their communication skills with supervisors, co-workers and customers.
(http://aaca-boston.org/caw/)

Route 21 provide an online interactive tool that demonstrates how 21st century skills can be supported through standards, professional development, assessments and curriculum and instruction.
(http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/)

Programs in the Workplace: How to Increase Employer Support examines approaches to workplace literacy training in Canada that have proven effective in engaging employers in workplace literacy initiatives.
http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2007/literacy

Office of Adult and Vocational Education –
Department of Education

WorkplaceBasicSkills.Com

LINCS - Workforce Education Site

National Institute for Literacy

Literacy Directory

International Adult Literacy Survey

Workplace Basic Skills Network

List of United States Literacy Organizations

Workplace Essential Skills and GED

Workplace Literacy and Basic Skills

America’s One-Stop System

Test of Workplace Essential Skills

National Center on Adult Literacy

Literacy.org

Bestimation is a report that looks at how imaginative use of calculators can enhance learning in adult numeracy classes. It suggests activities to develop estimation and problem-solving skills, providing learners with opportunities for self-directed learning.

TV411 provides free, interactive lessons for improving adult literacy skills. Video, print and online resources are used to teach reading, writing and math skills.

On the Job: ESL and Essential Skills for Work: Oral Communication

On the Job: ESL and Essential Skills for Work: Thinking

On the Job: ESL and Essential Skills for Work: Working with Others

On the Job: ESL and Essential Skills for Work: Reading Text

On the Job: Essential Skills for Work: Numeracy