Workplace Literacy Colleagues,
We have options for individual and program participation among our
resources this week, and some have fast approaching deadlines. Scan
through to see if there isn't just the opportunity you've been looking
for.

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 Canadian Policy Research Networks http://www.cprn.org


"Trading up-High School and Beyond: Five Illustrative Canadian Case
Studies" 
Authors Mame McCrea Silva and Susan M. Phillips examine vocational
programs at five schools in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario in
order to share best practices and identify some stumbling blocks to
sustainability of programs. For example, the authors identified these
common elements as contributing to the effectiveness of vocational
programs:  active partnerships; flexible delivery options, program
design and scheduling of instruction; marketing, recruitment and
selection processes; and early career awareness and development
programs. The report offers details about each school's programs
including how the programs fit into the local community, and the authors
conclude with recommendations to educators and policy-makers.
http://www.cprn.org/documents/47958_en.pdf 

"Risk and Opportunity: Creating Options for Vulnerable Workers"
The final report in CPRN's research series on vulnerable workers
presents the findings of six previous research studies, as well as other
recent literature, with an emphasis on their implications for public
policy.
http://www.cprn.org/documents/41162_en.pdf 

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


>From Workforce3One

Webinar Invitation
"Registered Apprenticeship and WIA Funding & Measures: How to Make it
Work"
	Many workforce professionals mistakenly think that Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) funds cannot be used for Registered Apprenticeship
because the programs are too long or the apprentice activities don't fit
WIA allowable expenses. These myths and others will be debunked as
experts explain and provide guidance on how WIA funds can be used for
Registered Apprenticeship programs and how to count apprentices towards
performance goals. The Employment and Training Administration issued
Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 2-07 on July 12,
2007, to address this need. For background info before the Webinar,
download a copy:
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=2491.
	Date:  02/12/2008 
	Time:  2:00pm Eastern (1:00pm/CST, 12:00pm/MST, 11:00am/PST) 
	Length:  90 minutes
Registration for this Webinar is limited and seating is on a first-come,
first-served basis. Please click
http://www.workforce3one.org/public/webinars/details.cfm?id=281 to login
to Workforce3 One and register today!

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


>From the Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative

http://www.aspenwsi.org/ 

There's still time to submit applications for the Sector Skills Academy,
an initiative sponsored by the Aspen Institute's Workforce Strategies
Initiative and Public/Private Ventures. The Academy is a year-long
program involving three 3-day workshops, as well as mentoring, technical
assistance, and peer support, designed to support and help grow sectoral
workforce development strategies. As an integral part of the Academy,
each participant will have the opportunity to reflect on and refine
his/her vision, strategy and implementation plan for a specific sectoral
initiative, compatible with his/her own organization's vision and goals.
The application deadline is March 3, 2008. More information about the
Academy is available at: www.sectorskillsacademy.org. Questions about
the application process or the Academy can be sent to:
wsi at aspeninstitute.org 

"Sector Strategies in Brief" is a new publication designed to provide a
concise overview of the sector field. Designed as a companion to
Sectoral Strategies for Low-Income Workers: Lessons from the Field
<http://www.aspenwsi.org/publications/07-014.pdf>, the brief describes
key outcomes of sector strategies, highlights several innovative
initiatives and underscores why this workforce approach is important.

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


>From the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce http://www.skilledwork.org


"Benchmarking for Success: Workforce Investment Boards Critical Success
Factors 2006"
Workforce investment boards (WIBs) can, should, and do play leadership
roles such as community convener, information broker of value-added
workforce intelligence, connector to strategic relationships and
alliances, and workforce intermediary. The best boards play those roles
extremely well. We believe all boards can learn from the leading edge
practices employed by the boards benchmarked in this study.
http://www.skilledwork.org/pdfs/WIB%20Benchmarking%20Critical%20Success%
20Factors.pdf 

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


>From The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

http://21stcenturyskills.org 
"Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers' Perspectives on the Basic
Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S.
Workforce"
	How can the United States continue to compete in a global
economy if the entering workforce is made up of high school graduates
who lack the skills they need, and of college graduates who are mostly
"adequate" rather than "excellent"? The quandary is particularly
problematic because it comes just as the workforce is entering a period
of realignment. As the baby-boomers retire-taking their skills and
knowledge with them-America faces a shortage of available workers. This
report indicates that the pool of talented workers available is even
smaller.
http://21stcenturyskills.org/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF09-29-06.pdf 

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


>From the Department of Health and Human Services, Tuesday, February 5,

2008
45 CFR Parts 261, 262, 263, and 265
Reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Program; Final Rule
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo
.gov/2008/pdf/08-455.pdf 

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


>From OVAE's "Thursday Notes, February 7, 2008

"Needs Assessment Tools for States Available Online"
	State directors conducting needs assessments for state plans
have new tools at their fingertips.  The Migration Policy Institute
(MPI) recently released its state-by-state analysis
http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/acscensus.cfm of the
foreign-born population updated with 2006 data. Just click on the map to
find out how much each state's foreign-born population has grown and
where new residents came from.  Program planners looking to link adult
education to jobs can find their state's key industries at Top States by
Industry http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/topstates.html, a new U.S.
Census Bureau Web page.  The page reports state-level total sales and
sales per capita by industry from the 2002 Economic Census, a
comprehensive measure of America's economy.  

"FY 2009 Budget Has Increase for College Transition"	
	President Bush released his FY 2009 budget request on Monday.
The budget contains a $5 million demonstration program, Bridge to
College, as part of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act's
(AEFLA's) national leadership activities.  The program aims to increase
the number of non-traditional adult students who enroll in postsecondary
education prepared to complete college-level work.  It will reduce the
need for remediation and increase the availability for support services
for these students.  The president's budget contains level funding of
$554.1 million for the state grant program, and dedicates $68 million of
that to English literacy/civics (EL/C) education state grants.  The
National Institute for Literacy is level funded at $6.5 million in the
request.