Based on the Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey conducted in Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Mexico (Nuevo Leon), Norway, and the United States of America in 2003 and 2004, this book presents an initial set of findings that shed new light on the twin processes of skill gain and loss. The book opens...

The public service in central and eastern Europe has to adapt to an enormous number of changes in a very short time. The staff is faced with a constantly changing regulatory framework which needs implementation and enforcement, as well as new demands from the growing private sector and the...

Austria proudly claims to be the first country to make training firm work compulsory in secondary commercial schools and secondary colleges for business administration. In its other secondary schools offering vocational training and colleges, training firms may be chosen as an additional programme.

In the ongoing public debate on globalisation, concerns have been expressed about the economic, social and environmental impacts of deepening international trade and investment ties and about the activities of the multinational enterprises. These concerns focus on a variety of issues including...

Recent years have witnessed growing concern over the controversial issue of trade and labour standards. In a context of intensified international competition, alleged cases of child labour exploitation or of denial of rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining in some developing...

The expanding geographical sweep of supply chains reflects important advances in the area of logistics management. Some of these advances are linked to progress in computing, telecommunications and robotics technologies as well as to the accumulation of management expertise. Managers have...