Readers,
We are approaching the COABE Conference, and I took the following from
the COABE 2007 website. I know not everyone will be in attendance, so I
suggest that those of us who are able to attend share our "insights
gained" from sessions we are able to attend with the list in the days
following the conference.  Here's an overview of the Workplace strand
sessions.
Donna

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The 2007 COABE Conference will be held in historic Philadelphia, March
26-28. For more information or to register for the conference, go to the
conference website at http://coabe2007.org/  


Following is a list of the COABE Sessions with a Workplace focus.

Industry Clusters and High Priority Occupations-Using Labor Market
Information in ABLE Programs
Presenter: KayLynn Hamilton
ABSTRACT: This workshop will provide ABLE agencies with an introduction
to Pennsylvania's adult education work with identified High Priority
Occupations and their respective Industry Clusters. Participants will
become familiar with available labor market information and learn how to
use this information to plan instruction. Participants will also review
the Foundation Skills Framework to determine skills needed for jobs in
demand, which may be appropriate for adults in ABLE programs.

Beyond the GED; Preparing Students for Entry Level Positions
Presenter: John Greenwell
ABSTRACT: This interactive workshop focuses on preparing students for
entry-level positions in the workplace, with emphasis on communication
and problem solving skills. Participants will receive Customer Service
workshop curriculum, a free DVD with four Workplace Essential Skills
programs, as well as a WES correlation-crosswalk to the National Work
Readiness Credential. 

Minorities in Transition: Navigating Within the Workplace
Presenter: Betty Johnson
ABSTRACT: Administrators and instructors will obtain strategies that
will help them educate minorities on how to navigate more effortlessly
within the workplace. This format will be interactive, you will get the
chance to personally witness how minorities have to navigate through the
educational and workplace systems, differently from other culutures due
to barriers that are unique to their population.  

Ohio ABLE Career Readiness Credential (CRC) Field Test
Presenter: Traci Lepicki
ABSTRACT: ABLE Evaluation Design Project staff will present results from
the Career Readiness Credential field test conducted in Ohio with five
ABLE programs. The process, assessment instruments, outcomes, issues and
implications for statewide implementation will be discussed.

Excel Philadelphia: Community Collaboration to Advance Adult Literacy
Presenter: Sallie Glickman
ABSTRACT: A team of presenters, representing a range of different
entities, will offer detailed information on Philadelphia's innovative
approach to convening community stakeholders to address the importance
of workforce literacy. This group will discuss the obstacles they have
encountered in this endeavor and how they have effectively confronted
these challenges.

Workforce Literacy: Building and Improving Partnerships
Presenter: Sallie Glickman
ABSTRACT: A panel comprised of employers and the literacy providers that
they have collaborated with to offer workplace literacy services will
provide detailed information on what services employers need and what
steps literacy providers have taken in Philadelphia to create
successful, mutually beneficial partnerships.   

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

In addition to these regular sessions at COABE, there is a  Workforce
Education pre-conference on March 25, the day 
prior to the actual start of the conference.  This year's
Pre-conference, Adult Educators as Workforce Development Partners, will
provide participants a unique perspective of how our field not only
provides basic skills to our adult learners, but also plays an important
role as a partner in workforce development.  Anyone planning to attend
is asked to report on the work that is developing within their state, so
you will be hearing what is happening around the country during our
state reports.  For additional information, contact KayLynn Hamilton,
"Kaylynn Hamilton" <klh267 at psu.edu>.
 
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Other Thursday resources for this week:

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>From Women Employed http://www.womenemployed.org/

Bridges to Careers for Low-Skilled Adults: A Program Development Guide
(2005)
	This 125-page guide provides concrete guidance on how to develop
and implement "bridge programs," which help adult students improve their
basic skills and succeed in college. The guide contains information and
interactive worksheets that program developers and managers can use to
help with program design, curriculum development, funding,
implementation, and evaluation.
http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/BridgeGuideFinal.pdf

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>From MDRC http://www.mdrc.org/index.html

Between Welfare Reform and Reauthorization: Income Support Systems in
Cuyahoga and Philadelphia, 2000 to 2005
This report, part of MDRC's Project on Devolution and Urban Change,
describes how - in the early 2000s, a time marked by an economic
downturn, state budget cuts, and welfare time limits - Cleveland and
Philadelphia met the three main challenges of welfare reform: how to
assist recipients in moving from welfare to work, how to serve
recipients who have multiple or severe barriers to employment, and how
to provide work supports to low-income families.

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>From Economic Policy Institute (EPI) http://www.epi.org/

A New Social Contract: Restoring Dignity and Balance to the Economy, by
Thomas Kochan and Beth Shulman 
	This policy paper analyzes the shift in values that has
subordinated the interests and security of workers to stock prices and
short-term gains that benefit the fortunate few. [Among other policy
suggestion, the report includes an analysis of funding for training so
that America's workers can be competitive in this global economy, and
states that America cannot aspire to be a knowledge-driven economy if it
fails to invest adequately in keeping the skills and knowledge of its
workforce current.] http://www.sharedprosperity.org/bp184.html