Managing Workforce Development in the 21st Century: Global Reflections and Forward Thinking in the New Millennium

Book excerpt: The book begins with the premise that workforce education is a global issue and is becoming increasingly competitive. It is important for the reader to understand the concept of work historically, as well as its meaning and implications to individuals. Understanding this history leads to better instruction, education, and training, which can solve many human performance problems in the workplace. Workforce Education, Occupational, Training, Instruction or Career Education, Voca-tional Education or Technical Education is used interchangeably throughout this book. The concept of today’s workforce development is universal. As a college professor, I believe I have an ethical obligation to promote learning, to ensure health and safety, to protect the public and private trust, and to promote the transfer of learning. A second premise of this book is that there are common issues and problems in the workplace. This book provides, in a single volume, the knowledge base common to all work settings for today’s students, regardless of their specialty. Thus, the book was designed for students to think globally and to understand how to be and what it takes to be competitive in the global economy.