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Based on an explorative study of sectoral training systems, this paper looks at the opportunities and limitations of a sectoral approach to training from the perspective of the knowledge economy. After the definition of the sector concept, the paper presents a theoretical analysis of the main elements and processes of sectoral training systems, considered as dynamic social systems unfolding in time through joint interactions of sectoral agencies and bodies. Four basic elements are described: sectoral agencies and bodies; training agreements between agencies; sectoral training policies and provisions; and training activities at the level of the firms. A discussion of these four basic processes follows: articulation, negotiation, policy creation, and implementation. An overview is given of the actual state of affairs in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, three countries with well-developed sectoral training systems in a number of branches. Discussed next are the opportunities of sectoral training systems in relation to the educational system and in relation to employment and innovation, such as flexibility of the educational system, adaptation of qualifications, reduction of unemployment, and transfer of innovations. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main limitations of a sectoral approach to training. (German, English, and French versions appear in side-by-side columns. (Contains 15 references.) (YLB)

Focuses on the increased teaching of French as a foreign language in colleges and the formation of a French Foreign Language Society. These developments are the result of several factors, including superior methods of teaching French, cooperation with countries previously colonized by France or Belgium, and the threat of economic domination by English- speaking peoples. (CK)

The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, as part of its effort to revive French in Louisiana schools, arranged for a number of teachers from Belgium, France, and Quebec to assume teaching positions in that state. This report describes the experiences and attitudes of those teachers. Attitudes toward language maintenance, and specifically toward the issue of standard French versus Cajun, were varied and to some extent correlated with the teacher's country of origin. The adaptability of the teachers and the interplay between common linguistic heritage on the one hand and cultural differences on the other are central concerns of the report. A narrative of personal experience, in French, by one of the teachers involved is included. (JB)

Focuses on the accomplishments of Iris Schaedler, a blind coed from Liechtenstein who became exposed to the European cultural melting pot at the age of six. After receiving her bachelor's degree, she earned a diploma from a business school near Zurich, the first blind person from her country to receive such a degree. (CK)