Greetings, Workplace Literacy Discussion List Members,

I want to report that we have had several new members join the list in
the last couple of weeks.  We now have 713 members! Several have
indicated that they will introduce themselves to the list soon. 

For those of you who are new to the list (and as a reminder to "old"
members), it often happens that the URLs for the resources I introduce
on Thursdays (or late Saturday night in this case!) wrap from one line
to the next, and you may have to copy both halves of the URL into the
address box of your browser in order to link to the resource.  

You will find a wide variety of resources below.  Hopefully at least one
will be of special interest 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 


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>From Jobs For the Future  http://www.jff.org/  


"Breaking Through: Helping Low-Skilled Adults Enter and Succeed in
College and Careers"
	This project seeks to answer the question, "How can low-skilled
adult learners seeking family-supporting careers navigate more
efficiently and more quickly through ABE/ESOL, developmental, and degree
programs to attain a degree?"
http://www.breakingthroughcc.org/index.php  

"Pushing the Envelope: State Policy Innovations in Financing
Postsecondary Education for Workers Who Study"
	This policy brief profiles 12 states that are leading policy
efforts to improve college access for working adults by expanding,
changing, or creating innovative funding programs.
http://www.jff.org/Documents/BTPushingEnvelope.pdf  

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>From the American Association of Community Colleges

http://www.aacc.nche.edu  
"Noncredit Enrollment in Workforce Education: State Policies and
Community College Practices"
	Noncredit courses play an important role in meeting shifting
workforce demands and addressing employers needs.  This report offers
recommendations to help ensure that noncredit courses meet the needs of
students and employers.
http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ResourceCenter/AACCPubli
cations/Reports1/noncredit.pdf  

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>From the Economic Policy Institute http://www.epi.org/  

 
"Income Picture: Median income rose as did poverty in 2007"
	The U.S. Census Bureau's annual release of poverty, income, and
health coverage August 26, 2008 held some good news for Americans, but
drilling down below the surface revealed a continuing erosion of the
economy for working people. Although median household income increased
slightly and the poverty rate was essentially unchanged from 2006 to
2007, incomes for working families (as opposed to retirees) actually
dropped. The decline was especially significant when compared to median
income in 2000, which is a better comparison because--like 2007--it was
the final year of a cycle of economic growth. Given current conditions,
income levels will surely decline further in 2008.
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_income_2008082
6  

"Jobs Picture: Payrolls contract for eighth month in a row" 9/05/08
	The Economic Policy Institute JOBS PICTURE is published each
month upon release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' employment report.
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_jobspict_20080
905  

"Jobs Picture: Increase in unemployment not due to extension of jobless
benefits" 9/09/08
	In today's economy, unemployment is not about deciding whether
or not to accept job offers, it is about the absence of job offers.
Since January, the economy has shed 605,000 jobs, including an average
loss of 81,000 jobs per month over the last three months.
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_jobspict_20080
909  

"Jobs Picture: Job market much worse compared to year ago for blacks,
Hispanics" 9/05/08
	For the first time in three years, the African American
unemployment rate has entered the double digits. This August's jump in
the African American unemployment rate was driven by an increase in
black women's unemployment, which increased 1.7 percentage points, from
8.3% in July to 10.0% in August. The Hispanic unemployment rate for
August is up 2.5 percentage points over the past year, growing from 5.5%
in August 2007 to 8.0% in August 2008.
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_jobspict_20080
905b  

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>From the Center for American Progress  http://www.americanprogress.org



"From Bad to Worse: Unemployment Rate Hits Working Americans Across the
Spectrum"
	Economists are still debating if the country is in a recession,
but today's figures leave no doubt that the labor market situation will
feel like a recession to most families who work for a living.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/bad_to_worse.html   

"Green Recovery: A New Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a
Low-Carbon Economy"
	This report demonstrates how a new Green Recovery program that
spends $100 billion over two years would create 2 million new jobs, with
a significant proportion in the struggling construction and
manufacturing sectors. It is clear from this research that a strategy to
invest in the greening of our economy will create more jobs, and better
jobs, compared to continuing to pursue a path of inaction marked by
rising dependence on energy imports alongside billowing pollution.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/pdf/green_recovery.pdf  

"Challenges Facing American Workers (Testimony by Michael Ettlinger,
Vice President for Economic Policy, Center for American Progress Action
Fund, before the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income
Security and Family Support United States House of Representatives)"
	That American workers are indeed facing challenges is difficult
to deny. This isn't the great depression but it is a period
distinguishable from any in the post-war era. It's statistically
distinguishable by a number of measures, but it's also distinguishable
beyond each of these measures in two important ways. The first is simply
that the challenges are coming on so many fronts. Things have gotten
worse before, but we are now headed in the wrong direction, or at risk
of heading in the wrong direction, in several areas that are critical to
working Americans. Wages are stagnant or declining, costs are rising,
access to health care is declining, retirement security is in
decline-and most recently, the value of the family nest-egg in the form
of their homes has fallen dramatically. The second way today is
different is that the public, while holding to optimism for themselves,
doesn't see these problems being addressed at the societal level or for
their children.
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/american_workers_testi
mony.html  

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>From the Wall Street Journal  http://online.wsj.com   


"Skilled Trades Seek Workers"
	Even as the economy slumps and unemployment rises, strong demand
for power plants, oil refineries and export goods has many manufacturers
and construction contractors scrambling to find enough skilled workers
to plug current and future holes. With the shortage of welders, pipe
fitters and other high-demand workers likely to get worse as more of
them reach retirement age, unions, construction contractors and other
businesses are trying to figure out how to attract more young people to
those fields.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910464115051361.html  

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>From the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN)  http://www.cprn.org 

"Pathways for Youth to the Labour Market: A Synthesis Report" 
	This report summarizes the findings of eight CPRN studies
carried out over the past two years on the school-to-work transition and
identifies the policy implications of this research. The report notes
the traditional straight-line path from school to work has given way to
a non-linear path that sees young people "zigzag" between schooling and
work as they seek to find their way. Students are taking longer to
complete their education and become established in the workforce. A key
finding is that career development programs and services can reduce
dropout rates, increase aspirations and achievement, help people find
jobs that match their talents and interests and help employers meet
skill needs. The best programs begin early (by grade six).
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910464115051361.html  

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>From Organisation For Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

http://www.oecd.org/home/0,3305,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html  

"Education at a Glance 2008: OECD Indicators"
	The indicators look at who participates in education, what is
spent on it and how education systems operate and at the results
achieved. The latter includes indicators on a wide range of outcomes,
from comparisons of students' performance in key subject areas to the
impact of education on earnings and on adults' chances of employment.
http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_41266761_1_1_1_1,
00.html