Dear Workplace Literacy Discussion List Members,
Your Thursday Resources are many this week after my two week absence.
In with the resources are a number of announcements, so read down
through the list carefully so as not to miss something important to you.

Donna


Donna Brian
Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List
Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu 

To post a message:
workplace at nifl.gov 

To subscribe/unsubscribe/change options/access archives:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/workplace 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



>From AARP    http://www.aarp.org   

Older Worker Training: What We Know and Don't Know / Research Report 
October 2006- Training issues and questions that must be addressed to
ensure the productive employment of older men and women are highlighted
in this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper in which Neil Charness
and Sara Czaja summarize the literature on the ability of older persons
to learn new skills. (36 pages) 
http://www.aarp.org/research/work/issues/2006_22_worker.html   

Several additional AARP reports and documents dealing with what various
states are doing to prepare for an aging workforce are available at
http://www.aarp.org/research/work/issues/. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

According to the Digest of Education Statistics, 2006,
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/    
"The number of General Educational Development (GED) credentials issued
rose from 332,000 in 1977 to 648,000 in 2001, before falling to 406,000
in 2004 (table 103). The status dropout rate-that is, the proportion of
16- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and have received
neither a diploma nor an equivalency credential-declined over this
period, from 14 percent in 1977 to 9 percent in 2005 (table 104)."  The
complete report is at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d06/.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From the U.S. Department of Labor  http://www.dol.gov   

News Release: "Four organizations win limited competition to train older
workers: Programs to help older workers gain and maintain employment"
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that four organizations
have been competitively awarded more than $3.1 million to support pilot
programs designed to benefit older workers. A range of activities in 16
states will provide older Americans with the skills needed to enter
growing industries and better prepare employers for incorporating these
workers into their workplaces. 
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20071494.htm  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) 

Energy Skilled Trades Summit: Reports and Outcomes Now Available
	On August 27th and 28th, the Employment and Training
Administration convened the Energy Skilled Trades Summit in conjunction
with the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting in Biloxi, MS.
Nearly 300 participants attended representing industry, economic
development, education, and workforce communities. On day one, breakout
sessions were designed for participants to discuss the four major
workforce challenges faced by the Energy Skilled Trades industry: Career
Awareness and Outreach, Untapped Pools of Labor, Funding Strategies, and
Policy and Education. On day two, participants formed state teams (some
multi-state teams) to develop action items as part of a state strategic
plan. The conference proceedings and significant output capture from the
various state discussions are now available on
http://www.workforce3one.org/content/public/esummit.cfm.

Additional announcements of interest from NAWB
Workforce Information Driving Regional Economies Conference
The Employment and Training Administration is inviting you to attend a
very important training session on the use of workforce information.
Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) is
transforming talent development in the US. It focuses efforts on
regional economies and the assets available within them to develop a
globally competitive region. The need for cutting-edge workforce
information has never been greater. Businesses, job seekers, and
investors need real-time information about regional economies. With this
in mind ETA is hosting Workforce Information Driving Regional Economies
in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 30 - 31, 2007. The conference's goal
is to underscore the role of workforce information in supporting
regional economies and to provide attendees access to national experts
in the areas of use of workforce information and the latest cutting edge
tools. http://www.branchassoc.com/form/index.asp 
 
Ready for College: Adult Education Transitions Program Grant Awards
On September 27, 2007, President Bush issued an Executive Order on
Strengthening Adult Education.  The EO establishes an Interagency Adult
Education Working Group with participation from the Secretary of Labor,
and outlines the functions to be undertaken by the Group. 
	On the heels of the EO and to support states and colleges that
are working to increase adults' access to a post-secondary credential,
the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) announced today four
grant awards. The Ready for College: Adult Education Transitions Program
will allow community college systems in four states to work with 25
local adult education programs to improve college readiness for
out-of-school youth.  
Following are the states and grant award amounts.
Colorado Community College System - $875,009
Essex County Community College (N.J.) - $737,808 
North Carolina Community College System - $733,865
Kansas Board of Regents - $500,000
 
Community-Based Job Training Grants - ETA Amendment
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) published an
announcement in the August 8, 2007 FEDERAL REGISTER regarding the
availability of funds for Community-Based Job Training Grants to support
workforce training for high-growth/high-demand industries through the
national system of community and technical colleges.
http://www.doleta.gov/business/Community-BasedJobTrainingGrants.cfm 
An amendment to the solicitation was published in the September 25, 2007
FEDERAL REGISTER.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From the Aspen Institute, Workforce Strategies Initiative

http://www.aspenwsi.org 
"Sectoral Strategies for Low-Income Workers: Lessons from the Field" 
This new publication from WSI takes a comprehensive look at the "sector
approach" to workforce development - its past record of achievement, its
growth over time and its potential for greater uptake and adaptation.
Content was based on interviews with workforce program leaders, program
visits and survey responses from more than 225 workforce organizations.
The publication includes case studies on dozens of innovative
initiatives that illustrate key aspects of the sector strategy. In
addition, WSI has posted on its Web site seven in-depth profiles of
projects taking different sectoral approaches, to showcase the rich
diversity that exists in the field today. 
Download free PDF http://www.aspenwsi.org/publications/07-014.pdf 
Read on-line profiles of various sector initiatives
http://www.aspenwsi.org/WSIprofiles-program.asp 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA)

http://www.cal.org/caela/ 
"Workplace Instruction and Workforce Preparation for Adult Immigrants"
Adult educators across the country are seeking ways to ensure that
foreign-born adults will be successful in gaining English proficiency
and in entering and advancing at the workplace. This brief, written by
Miriam Burt and Julie Mathews-Aydinli. reviews the three venues in which
federally funded instruction to help immigrants become successful at
work is offered - at the workplace, in vocational classes, and in adult
English as a second language (ESL) classes.
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/work.html 
or http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/WorkplacePrep.pdf 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


>From Verizon Thinkfinity Literacy Network

http://literacynetwork.verizon.org 
	On October 15, 2007, the Verizon Foundation and its national
partners will host the National Literacy Summit.3 - Competitive
Literacies for the Global Economy: Building Learning Communities.  The
Webcast event will convene global thought leaders to discuss and
demonstrate how technology drives the definition of literacy and
learning required in a competitive global economy.  
	The goals of the summit include:
Establishing a dialogue about perpetuating literate communities - the
most fundamental unit to global competitiveness. 
Examining the global context that drives the urgency to improve literacy
and educational achievement in America. 
Defining the literacy skills that are driven and enabled by technology,
and that are required for competitiveness in the U.S. and global
economies. 
Establishing a clear definition of the "literate community." 
Demonstrating resources and technology-driven solutions that enable
communities to increase access and achievement to empower today's
workforce. 
	Click here for a detailed agenda and to register online for the
Summit.3.
http://client.uvault.com/verizon/101507/ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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

"Rewarding the Work of Individuals: A Counterintuitive Approach to
Reducing Poverty and Strengthening Families" 
	In this article in "The Future of Children" journal, MDRC
President Gordon Berlin answers the question: If you could do one thing
to reduce poverty in America, what would it be? He explores the
potential advantages of expanding the federal Earned Income Tax Credit
to all low-wage adults who work full time - whether they have children
or not and whether they marry or not.
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/443/overview.html