The new corporate landscape and workforce skills: what firms want, how they get it, and the role of education, training and community colleges

The economy of the 1990s has been characterized by significant transformations in work practices and firm structure that require ever-increasing levels of workforce skill. In this report, the authors analyze the process of corporate restructuring and focus on the role of postsecondary institutions in meeting this increased need for training and skill development. Case studies reveal the ways in which firms are forming partnerships with community colleges, making them part of a broad skills development system that includes such 'soft' skills as oral and written communication, critical thinking, and problem solving. Although encouraging community colleges to play a central role in workforce development poses perplexing issues that require further study, the authors suggest that community colleges hold the potential to meet the changing workforce needs of American firms.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less