A

ABE

Adult Basic Education: Educational programs for adults who lack competence in reading, writing, speaking, problem solving, or computation.

Accessibility

This means the extent to which a program or service can be reached by those who want or need them.

Adult Literacy

Adult literacy is the ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, achieve one's goals, and develop one's knowledge and potential.

Alignment

The process of linking workplace education efforts, and the evaluation of these efforts, to an organization's overall business strategy.

Annual Performance Reviews

A systematic, periodic review and analysis of an employee’s job performance by a superior, to compare that performance to a set of predetermined standards, identify strengths and weaknesses, and develop a plan to improve an employee’s performance.

Apprenticeship Training

This is a formal process by which individuals learn their jobs through a combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training from a skilled expert in their specific job.

Assessment

B

Baseline Information

This is information that is collected before a program begins to provide a basis for planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Basic Skills

These skills include reading, writing, speaking, listening, and elementary math. These are the essential skills and knowledge that all emerging, incumbent, and transitional workers need to function effectively and safely in any workplace. These are keyed to effective performance in a broad range of jobs, used together (integrated), and are portable across workplaces. These are also referred to as foundation skills.

Benchmarking

This is a continuous, systematic process for evaluating products, services, or work processes of programs or organizations in order to make improvements.

Business Size

This is generally defined as follows: Small - fewer than 100 employees, Medium - 100-500 employees, or Large - over 500 employees.


C

CareerOneStop

This is a resource and information site for jobseekers, employers, students, and workforce professionals. It has links to local One-Stop centers across the U.S. See: http://www.careeronestop.org/

Carl D. Perkins Act of 1998

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 provides funding for secondary and post-secondary vocational education programs. The Perkins Act of 1998 provides funding from 1998 - 2003, covering program years July 1, 1999 - June 30, 2004.

The re-authorized Act has a number of changes from the original act of 1990. Perhaps the most significant change in the re-authorized Perkins Act is the emphasis placed on academic standards. Where the 1990 Act focused solely on the integration of academic and vocational proficiencies, the 1998 Act identifies development of rigorous academic standards and accountability as additional priorities. The Secretary of Education is not involved in the development of state performance measures, as each state determines its own. However, power is given to the Secretary to impose sanctions on states that fail to meet performance levels for two or more consecutive years.

CASAS

This is short for the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System. CASAS provides essential tools and resources for assessment, instruction and evaluation. A non-profit organization, CASAS is the only adult assessment system of its kind to be approved and validated by the U.S. Department of Education in the area of adult literacy. For details see:
http://www.casas.org/

CASAS National Consortium

The CASAS National Consortium promotes the role of quality, learner-centered assessment as an essential component of an integrated learning system by addressing and developing assessment policy, products, and standards, and by identifying and disseminating exemplary practices. It provides a forum for leadership and advocacy for quality lifelong learning for family, work, and community.

Collaborative Learning

This is an education environment that stresses interaction among learners and with instructors, mutual support and respect rather than competition, and the construction rather than transmission of knowledge; learners often work together in pairs or small groups on a common problem.

Computer Literacy and Applications

This stands for training in the use of computer software, including off-the-shelf applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, graphics and communications, among others. Also includes training in company specific software applications. It does not include training in computer programming languages.

Contextualized Instruction

This involves developing skills, knowledge, and attitudes in the context in which they will be used, using real-life materials and situations from that context. In terms of work-based learning, this would mean using actual workplace materials and situations.

Continuous Improvement

This refers to a commitment to improving performance using a team approach to decision-making using systematic collection and analysis of performance data.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

This is a process to compare the costs of establishing an intervention (such as a workplace education program) with the benefits (such as increased productivity, less waste or fewer errors, lower absenteeism, better communication, etc.).

CWDP

The Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) program was created by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals as a means of recognizing the training, experience and expertise of individual workforce development professionals.

Customized Instruction

This refers to specially designed curriculum and instruction tailored to meet the specific needs, goals, and interests of a certain group/s (such as employers and workers).

D

DOE

U.S. Department of Education See: http://www.ed.gov/index.jsp

DOL

U.S. Department of Labor See: http://www.dol.gov

E

Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS)

An EPSS is an integrated computer application that uses any combination of expert systems, hypertext, embedded animation, and/or hypermedia to help a user perform a task in real time quickly and with a minimum of support by other people.

eLearning

This refers to the use of interactive electronic technology (i.e. Internet, CD-ROM) in developing learners’ knowledge and skills.

Eligible Training Provider (ETP)

Certified providers are required to be on the ETP list to accept ITAs (see below).

Equipped for the Future (EFF)

A National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) project that studied ways adults can become more effective workers, citizens, parents, and family members. EFF standards are divided into four categories: communication skills, decision-making skills, lifelong learning skills, and interpersonal skills.

ESL

This is the acronym for English as a Second Language education and training; also known as ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages).

Evaluation

This describes an analysis that is done to determine the impact of workplace education programs. This is targeted at the program level as opposed to the individual level (where assessments of learning are done).

F

Foundation Skills

These skills include reading, writing, speaking, listening, and elementary math. These are the essential skills and knowledge that all emerging, incumbent, and transitional workers need to function effectively and safely in any workplace. These are keyed to effective performance in a broad range of jobs, used together (integrated), and are portable across workplaces. Also referred to as basic skills.

G

Group/Team-based Compensation

This is an alternative pay system in which employees receive all or a portion of compensation depending on the performance of their particular team or work force.

Groupware

This is an integrated computer application that supports collaborative group efforts through sharing of calendars for project management and scheduling, collective document preparation, email, shared database access, electronic meetings, and other activities.

H

Higher Order Skills

These are thinking skills used to integrate basic skills and knowledge to solve problems, make decisions, and better understand information, situations, and people. They include critical and creative thinking as well as metacognition (being aware of and managing one's thoughts and thought processes).

High Performance Organization (HPO)

A workplace in which employees solve problems, improve the work process, and monitor the quality of the product or service through increased communication, feedback, and teamwork; committed to excellence, product quality, and customer satisfaction.


I

Incentive Compensation

This is an alternative pay system in which employees receive all or a portion of compensation depending on their own performance. Examples of incentive compensation systems include piece-rates, sales commissions, and pay-for-performance.

Incumbent Workers

This term refers to individuals who are already employed; may include recent hires as well as individuals who have been employed for some length of time.

Individual Competencies

This is a record of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of an organization’s employees in key, predefined areas.

Individual Development Plan

This refers to a specific course of action designed jointly by an employee and a supervisor to outline the employee’s career development objectives and associated training needs.

Interpersonal Skills

These skills include the ability to participate as a member of a team, teach others new skills, serve clients/customers, exercise leadership, negotiate, and work with diversity.

International Standardization Organization (ISO)

An organization that sets international standards for quality assurance management systems, and establishes an organizational structure for ensuring consistent and agreed upon level of quality of production of goods and services. Many countries and companies will not do business with companies that do not meet these standards.

ITA

This stands for Individual Training Account; the voucher-like mechanism used by adults to pay for training.

J

Job-Specific Technical Skills

This is training that focuses on the procedures, including the use of technology, to create products, deliver services, or engage in business processes. It is typically provided to workers who use technology or machinery in their jobs.

Job Task Analysis

This is a process of breaking a job task into its component parts and sequencing the parts in order of importance for performing the job.

Job Rotation or Cross Training

This refers to programs in which employees are trained to do multiple jobs, or employees rotate among different jobs.

K

Kirkpatrick's Scale for Training Evaluation

In the late 1950s, D.L. Kirkpatrick developed a four-level scale for evaluating work-based education programs that is still in use today. From the simplest type of evaluation to the most complex, the scale is as follows: Level 1 - measure learners' response to work-based learning; Level 2 - measure what the learners actually learned; Level 3 - measure affect of work-based learning on the individual's job performance; Level 4 - measure affect of work-based learning on organizational results.

Knowledge-Based Economy

This is an economy whereby the main source of wealth creation is found in the continuous development of new knowledge and skills. In a knowledge-based economy, the competitiveness of firms and nations depends on the accumulation of knowledge and its rapid and efficient mobilization in the process of the production of goods and services.

Knowledge / Skill-based Pay

This is an alternative pay system in which compensation is linked to the mastery of certain skills or work-related information, rather than to employee position or length of tenure.

L

Learning Technologies

This refers to electronic technologies used to facilitate the development of skills and knowledge.

LINCS

The Literacy Information aNd Communication System - is an online information and communications network for adult and family literacy. LINCS is the literacy community's gateway to the world of adult education and literacy resources on the Internet. The goal of LINCS is to bring adult literacy-related resources and expertise to a single point of access for users throughout the world. For details, see: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/

Literacy Task Analysis (or Audit)

This is a systematic approach (similar to job task analysis) to identify and prioritize the basic or foundation skills and knowledge needed to complete a job task. The results can be used to develop customized workplace basic skills instruction.

M

Malcolm Baldridge Education Criteria for Performance Excellence

This is a self-assessment that allows education providers to use criteria to identify organizational strengths and to target key opportunities for program improvement and performance excellence. It measures a wide range of key organizational performance indicators of learner/stakeholder outcomes, education service and outcomes, and operations. See: http://www.quality.nist.gov/Education_Criteria.htm

Mentoring

This refers to serving as a model for others to learn from. It includes both the physical modeling of a task or behavior as well as the mental (thinking) steps required to effectively perform the task or behavior.

Metrics

This is another name for measures. These are the specific pieces of data that management will attempt to change, as an indicator of the health of the organization.

MOU

This is short for Memorandum of Understanding, a document that spells out roles of partners in a One-Stop Center.

N

National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB)

NAWB represents business-led Workforce Boards that plan and oversee state and local workforce development and job training programs. It supports and promotes the work of its members through a comprehensive program of advocacy, technical assistance, and communications activities. Services are designed to help Board volunteers advance the public-private model among key policy makers, secure the role of the business sector in workforce development, enhance members' capacity and effectiveness, and learn from networking opportunities with the nationwide job training community. See: http://www.nawb.org/

National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP)

The NAWDP is a professional association of those working in the field of workforce development. It has endorsed and administered the Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) credential since 1999.

National Skill Standards Board (NSSB)

A coalition of business, labor, education, and community and civil rights organizations founded in 1994 to establish a voluntary national system of skill standards, assessment, and certification systems to help the U.S. workforce compete in a global economy. See: http://www.nssb.org/

National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) Skill Scales Companion Guide

This is a publication examining both the work-oriented and the worker-oriented components of skills that provides guidance on establishing the level of skill and knowledge required for each skill standard.

NEG

This is short for National Emergency Grant; the mechanism for the Department of Labor to get funds to states to deal with large-scale layoffs.

NIFL

The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) is a federal organization that shares information about literacy and supports the development of high-quality literacy services so all Americans can develop essential basic skills. See: http://www.nifl.gov

NRS

This acronym stands for National Reporting System for Adult Education. It is an outcome-based reporting system for state-administered, federally-funded adult education programs. See: http://www.nrsweb.org/

O

Occupational Safety / Compliance

This refers to training provided to meet environmental health and safety requirements, Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action requirements, right-to-know requirements, and government-mandated training.

Occupational Skill Standards

A U.S. Departments of Labor and Education and National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) initiative to establish a national system of voluntary occupational skill standards and occupations.

Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)

The office of the U.S. Department of Education that oversees federally-funded vocational and adult education initiatives. See: http://www.ed.gov/index.jsp

Organizational Approach

In a workplace education program, this examines basic skills within the context of workplace culture and other workplace issues; recognizes that learning and using skills is integrated into all aspects of an organization.

Outcome Measures

From the National Reporting System, these measures include educational gain, entered employment, retained employment, receipt of secondary school diploma or GED, and placement in postsecondary education or training.



P

Peer Review of Performance (360 degree feedback)

This is a performance appraisal system in which employees' work performance is evaluated, at least in part, by co-workers

Performance Standards

These are benchmarks, or specified levels of achievement, for expectations for educational outcomes that provide a basis for measuring learning outcomes.

Personal Qualities

These qualities include the following traits – self-esteem, sociability, self-management, integrity, and honesty.

Professional Skills

This refers to training in a specialized body of knowledge or expertise such as accounting, engineering, manufacturing systems, computer science, optics, electronics, mechanics, material science, chemistry, physics, legal, medical, financial services, banking, and consulting. This category of training is discipline- and or industry-specific.

Profit Sharing or Gain Sharing

This is a plan under which the company credits shares of company profits or growth to participating employees. The amount may be available immediately or at retirement.

Program Quality Indicator

These are program characteristics or practices that provide evidence of the ability of an adult education program to deliver services, to satisfy customer (learner or employer) needs and aspirations, to continuously improve, and to be accountable.

Q

Quantitative Data

This is data that lends itself to numerical representation and arithmetic manipulation.

Qualitative Data

Data that are characterized by narrative description and interpretation; the collection and interpretation of data are not constrained by predetermined categories or responses.

Quality Competition and Business Practices

This is training in Total Quality Management, business process re-engineering, benchmarking, resource planning or business fundamentals.

Quality Consciousness

This refers to knowing how and why inspection is performed to ensure quality, how quality is achieved, and one’s role in contributing to quality.



R

Release Time

This is when employers allow workers to take time off work to participate in education or training activities. It may be paid or unpaid release time.

Return on Investment (ROI)

S

Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)

A commission formed to advise the Secretary of Labor on the level of skills necessary to enter the workforce. The commission published two reports: What Work Requires of Schools, and Learning a Living: A Blueprint for High Performance. These two reports provide an outline of skills and competencies needed in today’s workplace. See http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/

Soft Skills

These are also referred to as employability skills, and include personal management skills, interpersonal skills, and leadership skills. These are qualitative skills that relate to a person's ability to interact with customers and employees.

Self-Directed Work Teams

This refers to groups of employees with complete responsibility for the quality and quantity or their outputs. Self-directed work teams may have responsibility for work schedules, performance appraisals, personnel management, budgeting, or setting performance targets and production quotas.

Simulator

This refers to a device or system that replicates or imitates a real device or system. These are used to provide realistic training simulations.

Skill Certification

A formal process used to ascertain and distinguish the mastery of a set of skills according to predefined standards. This may be linked to either a particular occupation or trade, or a particular job or process.


T

TAA

This is short for Trade Adjustment Assistance; program of assistance to trade impacted workers (also NAFTA-TAA for NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance).

TANF

This is short for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; program of public assistance under new welfare reform law.

Task Forces, Problem-Solving Teams, or Quality Circles

This refers to groups of employees that meet regularly to come up with solutions to problems concerning processes and productivity.

Thinking Skills

These skills include the ability to think creatively, make decisions, solve problems, visualize and reason.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

This is an integrated approach to organizational improvement and increasing production and service quality whose core ideas include doing things right the first time, striving for continuous improvement, and a devotion to understanding and meeting customer needs.

Training Information System

This is a computer-based system for assessing, tracking, and improving employee performance. Systems may include employee training history reports, training course scheduling and registration, individual development plans, and training expenditure tracking.

Train-the-Trainer Courses

These are training courses that teach nontraditional training staff members such as managers, subject matter experts, and team leader skills such as instructional design and group facilitation to enable them to deliver formal training to other establishment employees.

Transitional Workers

These are workers who lose their jobs because of plant closings or layoffs and those who leave a job for any reason and are seeking employment and/or education and training.


Tuition Reimbursement
This refers to partial or full payment for courses that employees take at educational institutions (can be either paid to the institutions or reimbursed to employees).

W

WARN

This is short for the Worker Advanced Retraining and Notification Act; procedure for the notification of workers and public officials of mass layoffs and plant closings.

Work-based Learning

The individual’s acquisition and construction of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to obtain, maintain and increase meaningful employment.

Worker-Centered Education

This refers to curriculum and instruction that focuses on workers' experiences and construction of knowledge rather than those of the instructors or employers.

Workforce Excellence Network (WEN)

The Workforce Excellence Network (WEN) is an initiative of the National Association of State Workforce Board Chairs and the National Association of Workforce Boards to build the capacity and enhance the performance of the nation’s public workforce development system. WEN’s vision is of a national workforce development system that operates at the highest standard of performance excellence. See: http://www.workforce-excellence.net/

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998

This is federal legislation designed to coordinate and streamline all components of the nation's workforce development system, including employment, job training, education, and vocational rehabilitation services for youth (ages 14-21), adults, and dislocated workers.

The Workforce Reinvestment and Adult Education Act of 2003 (HR 1261) passed the House on May 8 by a vote of 220-204. The bill, which would make significant changes in WIA, now goes to the Senate for consideration.

WIB

This is short for Workforce Investment Board (LWIB refers to local boards, SWIB to the State Board). There are more than 600 WIBs across the U.S. They act as “boards of directors” for a range of activities in local labor markets. WIBs, collectively, oversee more than $4 billion of federal funds being invested in various workforce development programs. They also oversee the One-Stop system of service delivery in their communities and make policy decisions that govern access to employment and training services.