Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1991. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [87]-112).

Thesis (doctoral)--Tampereen yliopisto. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 604-626).

Liu, Ye. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-149). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese; appendix II in Chinese.

The study focused on identifying ways in which to improve and increase the quality of training and supply of skilled artisans in the South African construction industry (especially in Gauteng Province) in terms of short and medium term approach. The construction industry is facing a severe skills crisis and this has made it so difficult to recruit competent artisans. This may be as a result of artisans being regarded as the lowest in the hierarchy of construction worker positions. In addition, these artisans warrant less training than those at executive- and managerial levels. This negative attitude towards artisans training has plunged the industry into crisis. Those involved find it difficult to successfully complete projects on time, within budgeted project costs and within the required quality specification due to lack of competent artisans. However, serious attention is required towards enhancing artisan training in the industry. It is imperative and vital to ensure the survival of the industry. The cardinal aim of this research project was to demonstrate a guiding solution towards the skills crisis. Thus, in order to initiate a tremendous change in the skills profile, certain measures are required, e.g. expanding training institutions to local regions; upgrading and aligning facilities in the training institutions to industrial demands and the dissemination of vital information that will ensure the attractiveness of the industry. This will safeguard the construction organisations operating in Gauteng Province. Although the industry is a major player in the economy, there is need for special attention in order to ensure sustainable growth and economic development. The Government, construction industry stakeholders and training institutions personnel should collaborate to salvage the skills crisis by strategically developing programmes (in accordance with industrial requirements) that will benefit prospective learners. The researcher adopted the descriptive- and analytical survey method, which entailed the use of questionnaires and a review of the related literature for gathering relevant data. The methodology used in the research was the quantitative data analysis. The feature findings of the research concluded that the skilled artisans profile is insufficient to meet industry demands. In addition, training institutions and primary- and secondary educational systems are characterized by ninadequacy and incompetency to produce skilled artisans. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of harmonization between the training institutions and the vindustry’s requirements. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents acknowledged that training of their workers is an important aspect to them, but few of these organisations indicated that they make use of formal training institutions such as FET colleges. The recommendation include that all the stakeholders in the construction industry should form collaborations to strategically develop programmes that would upgrade the existing training institutions. This could be done through provision of adequate funds and resources and the dissemination of vital information that is capable to promote the attractiveness of the industry image.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

This paper investigates in what way employment for low-skilled workers is connected to the wage dispersion in a country by comparing Sweden to six European countries. Previous research on this topic used cross-section analysis, but this essay takes another approach by comparing the changes in the wage dispersion and employment and by breaking down the change in the wage dispersion into parts and studying the change in the wage for different percentiles. The paper finds that wages in Sweden have not converged, which likely contributed to the increase in the employment gap between people with high and low skills. Two countries with different development were Germany and Norway. In line with recent research, in Germany, wage inequality increased and the employment gap between people with high and low skills decreased. In comparison, the case of Norway has not received much attention among researchers. Wages converged more in Norway than in Germany, yet employment increased more in Germany. The paper suggests a potential explanation: wages for the bottom percentiles of the earnings distribution fell in Germany, which it did not in Norway.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:32:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Reynaldo Antonio Forte Junior.pdf: 2611571 bytes, checksum: 8482e8d83e5e0732293785f83fee5cca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-18 / Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo / This study examines textbooks and other multimedia materials produced for the Professional Qualification Program (Programa de Qualificação Profissional, PEQ, in Portuguese), one of the measures of the Department of Employment and Labor Relations (Secretaria do Emprego e Relações do Trabalho, SERT, in Portuguese) in the State of São Paulo, established in 2007 after a full diagnosis at the state level with the purpose of promoting workers -- or those looking for employment -- qualification. In search of evidences to corroborate this analysis, we seek to understand the articulations of SERT with their partners and the methodological approaches used in the creation and development of the course. In order to this, we followed a teachers training program at the Paula Souza Center, sponsored by FUNDAP. We took part in the PEQ students first reception at the Paula Souza Center and interviews were held with the mulimedia materials producers on TV Cultura and with the technicians of SERT. Moreover, important documentation from the Department of Employment and Labor Relations was read. In the period this research, some of the main activities of SERT were articulated projects in qualifying workers. For the development of the research and data analysis, a survey was applied to twenty-five teachers working in partner schools. Data collection looks for evidence of efficient taking in use of the multimedia materials and its suitability to students who are, in general terms, badly-off, low educated people with problems of self-esteem. Research data shows that a worker qualification program, when offered with a good methodological content and developed in multimedia materials is capable of availing unemployed workers in finding a new job. These actions are boosted by the diffusion in complementary media, by an institution responsible for social programs / Esta pesquisa analisa os materiais didáticos do Programa de Qualificação Profissional PEQ, elaborado em mídias integradas, uma das ações da Secretaria do Emprego e Relações do Trabalho SERT em São Paulo, implantado em 2007 a partir de um amplo diagnóstico a nível estadual com a finalidade de promover a qualificação de trabalhadores ou daqueles em busca de emprego. Na investigação de indicativos para subsidiar a análise, procura-se entender as articulações da SERT junto às suas parcerias e as concepções metodológicas empregadas na criação e desenvolvimento do curso. Para isto, acompanhou-se uma capacitação de professores no Centro Paula Souza promovida pela FUNDAP. Participou-se da recepção dos alunos do PEQ no primeiro dia de aula na unidade escolar do Centro Paula Souza e realizaram-se entrevistas com os elaboradores dos materiais didáticos na TV Cultura, com os técnicos da SERT. Além disso, realizou-se o estudo de documentos institucionais da Secretaria do Emprego e Relações do Trabalho. Destacam-se, durante a pesquisa, ações articuladas da SERT na qualificação dos trabalhadores. Para o desenvolvimento do trabalho e análise dos dados, foi aplicado um questionário a 25 professores atuantes nas escolas parceiras. A coleta dos dados busca indicativos da apropriação eficaz do material elaborado em múltiplas mídias e sua adequação ao perfil do aluno que se encontra em desalento profissional, com baixa escolaridade e estima. Os resultados da pesquisa evidenciam que o curso de qualificação do trabalhador oferecido com conteúdo metodológico e desenvolvido em materiais didáticos em múltiplas mídias é capaz de favorecer a inserção do trabalhador desempregado no mercado de trabalho. Essas ações são potencializadas pela veiculação em mídias complementares, por meio de uma instituição articuladora de programas sociais

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine relationships between gender and race, disability status, single parent status, and economically disadvantaged status of students enrolled in Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology advanced manufacturing skills programs. Furthermore, this study determined if there were significant relationships between race and disability status, single parent status, and economically disadvantaged status of students enrolled in Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology advanced manufacturing skills programs. Finally, differences in completion rates between female and male students as well as differences in completion rates between white and nonwhite students enrolled in Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology advanced manufacturing skills programs. Archival data from Fall 2014 were collected from the Office of Research and Assessment at the Tennessee Board of Regents for each student at the point of enrollment. Chi-square tests of independence were used to determine if significant relationships existed between demographic variables and completion rates. Significant relationships were found between gender and race where there more white females and males than nonwhite females and males. Significant relationships between gender and disability status were discovered where there were more students of both genders who were not disabled than were disabled. Significant relationships between race and single parent status were found in that more nonwhite students were single parents than white students. Significant relationships between race and economically disadvantaged status indicated more nonwhite students were economically disadvantaged than white students. Significant differences between gender and program completion rate were realized in that more males completed their programs of study than females. Finally, significant differences were discovered between race and program completion rate revealing more white students completed their programs of study than nonwhite students. However, there were no significant differences found between race and disability, between gender and economically disadvantaged status, and gender and single parent status.

The U.S. manufacturing industry produces products that ship all over the world. Because of the shortage of skilled labor, some manufacturing human resource professionals lack the strategies and processes necessary to acquire and retain skilled employees. Guided by Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the strategies and processes that manufacturing human resource professionals use to acquire and retain skilled employees. Data were gathered from a population of manufacturing human resource professionals in Giles County, Tennessee from individual interviews; focus group; and participants' internal documents, public documents, and websites. Transcribed interview data and focus group data, along triangulated data from other gathered documents, were inductively coded following Yin's approach to analysis. Six themes emerged as key strategies to acquire and retain skilled employees: company culture, succession, benefits, finding new employees, incentives, and employee attraction and retention. These findings may contribute to improving business practices in manufacturing industries or human resource management. The implications for positive social change include the potential for the community to become more attractive for other industries and improve the quality of life for individuals who reside in the community.

O entendimento dos fatores locacionais que afetam a inovação ajuda a compreender a localização das atividades inovativas, dentre os quais há a mobilidade de trabalhadores qualificados (trabalhadores com Ensino Superior ou em ocupações técnicas e científicas). Em razão de o conhecimento estar atrelado às pessoas, a transferência desses trabalhadores para outras regiões impacta nas possibilidades e oportunidades de se compartilhar conhecimento. Assim, o objetivo desta tese é avaliar se a mobilidade de trabalhadores qualificados influencia os resultados da inovação no nível regional. A partir dos microdados da Relação Anual de Informações Sociais Identificada (RAIS ID), foi analisada a mobilidade dos trabalhadores formais entre as microrregiões brasileiras em todo o país entre os anos de 2003 e 2008. Os microdados foram inseridos em um banco de dados relacional (PostgreSQL), o que permitiu a criação de indicadores de mobilidade de trabalhadores, construídos para três recortes de trabalhadores: totais, com Ensino Superior e em ocupações técnicas e científicas. Foram calculadas as mobilidades para todas as atividades econômicas e para atividades econômicas selecionadas (Agricultura, Indústria Extrativa e de Transformação), gerando indicadores, a fim de mapear a mobilidade de trabalhadores no Brasil; em seguida, foram realizadas estimações econométricas baseadas na função produção do conhecimento. Entre os principais resultados, observa-se que, em todas as atividades econômicas e ao serem excluídos movimentos de trabalhadores intrarregiões metropolitanas, a entrada de trabalhadores nas microrregiões é benéfica para a inovação. Já para a perda e para a mobilidade bruta de trabalhadores, verifica-se o efeito dos benefícios gerados pela circulação de conhecimento nesses ambientes. Ao se analisar a mobilidade nas atividades econômicas selecionadas, constata-se a importância da mobilidade de trabalhadores qualificados para a inovação, cujo benefício está relacionado com a importância do conhecimento para as atividades inovativas e com a sua exploração nas atividades econômicas selecionadas. O desenvolvimento de capacidades de absorção em determinadas áreas facilita a assimilação e a acumulação de conhecimentos que podem ser derivados da circulação de novos trabalhadores em uma região. / The analysis of the locational factors that have influence over innovation is the key to understand the localization of innovation. The mobility of skilled workers is one of these factors. The mobility of skilled workers can be important for innovation activities because the knowledge, that is an input for innovation, is embodied in people. So when people move to other location the possibilities to share this knowledge are increased. In this way, the aim of this thesis is to evaluate if the mobility of skilled workers can influence the regional innovation in Brazil. The mobility of workers was analyzed with micro-data of formal workers between the micro-regions of Brazil on the years of 2003 to 2008. The micro-data were inserted in an open source relational database (PostgreSQL). The indicators of mobility were created for workers in general, workers with higher education and workers in technical and scientific occupations and economics activities (Agriculture, Extractive and Manufacturing). With this data it was possible to map the mobility of workers in Brazil. Afterwards the knowledge production function framework at the regional level was used to estimate the impact of the mobility on regional innovation. When the mobility of workers was calculated for all activities and excluding mobility within the same metropolitan region, the empirical approach shows that the influx of workers is beneficial for innovation. Furthermore, for the analysis of the outflow and the gross mobility it was possible to notice the benefits of circulation of people and the benefits of knowledge share. For the evaluation of mobility of workers in selected economics activities, it was possible to notice the benefits of mobility of skilled workers for regional innovation. The benefits of circulation of skilled workers are related with the importance of knowledge in innovation activities and also with the possibilities of exploration of knowledge by local agents. Furthermore, the development of absorption capacity in selected areas ease the assimilation and accumulation of new knowledge derived from circulation of new workers in one region.