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The report provides a landscape analysis of the workforce development environment in Texas. Many organizations are performing valuable roles in ensuring that the labor markets in Texas operate efficiently, supplying employers with skilled workers and providing workers with opportunities to continue their career advancement through reskilling. The goal is to outline the various populations, issues, and organization roles at play in the state. The report highlights key organizations and workforce landscapes by regions within Texas.

In many of the New York City neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic, libraries are among the only trusted resources for immigrants, teens, older adults, and those on the wrong side of the digital divide. For example, in 64 percent of the city's neighborhoods, branch libraries are the sole public hub for career services and support for jobseekers. Libraries are the only local, public resource for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in 67 percent of the city--including many neighborhoods where minority- and immigrant-owned businesses are still reeling from the pandemic--at a time when thousands of lower-income New Yorkers are turning to entrepreneurship out of necessity. As the city faces the consequences of widespread learning loss, libraries are the only local, public provider of family literacy programs in over one-third of city neighborhoods--and among the only options for free, drop-in homework help. Today, the city's public libraries serve over 35 million visitors annually, with program attendance increasing 178 percent over the past decade and WiFi usage more than tripling. This study provides a detailed vision for how policymakers can harness the full potential of New York's 217 branch libraries--operated by the city's three library systems, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), New York Public Library (NYPL), and Queens Public Library (QPL)--to ensure an inclusive recovery and build a more equitable city for the long term. It expands on previous research examining the critical role of New York City's branch libraries as engines of economic mobility and social cohesion, including the 2013 report "Branches of Opportunity" and the 2014 report "Re-Envisioning New York's Branch Libraries." [For "Branches of Opportunity," see ED540171. For "Re-Envisioning New York's Branch Libraries," see ED555645.]

The United Kingdom (UK) is facing a series of long-term economic challenges. To confront increasing regional inequality, flagging productivity and an ever-widening skills gap, universities and local businesses need to work together better. University Enterprise Zones (UEZs) offer a promising solution. The report, "Our Universities: Generating Growth and Opportunity" (ED625777), listed four key recommendations for the UK Government to help enable universities to work with businesses and local government to kickstart growth and opportunity in left-behind areas of the UK. One of the key recommendations was for the government to establish a University Enterprise Zone (UEZ) in every university in England. It also recommended that devolved administrations consider similar developments in the context of UK and devolved economic policy. At the moment, UEZs are an England-only programme. However, universities are involved in similar programmes across the devolved nations, such as Interface in Scotland and Enterprise Zones in Wales. UEZs are a pre-existing programme which have been evaluated by the government to provide excellent return on investment, especially in left-behind areas.

In a rapidly changing 21st-century economy with growing competition from abroad, continuing to field a world-leading, skilled workforce is both more essential and more challenging than ever to the mission of delivering increasing prosperity for American families and preserving this nation's economic leadership. The US must therefore confront its demographic challenges, as an aging population and slowing labor force growth pose risks to the economic strength and fiscal health of the country. CED seeks to confront these challenges and offer policy makers and business leaders balanced, reasoned solutions in the nation's interest to grow and strengthen the American workforce. This paper--focused on reforming immigration policy to promote long-run US economic growth and prosperity--is the second in a series of policy briefs that, together, will help chart a path toward meeting these goals. It follows "Growing the American Workforce: Bolstering Participation Is Critical for US Competitiveness and Economic Strength," which offered reasoned, evidence-based policies for increasing near-term labor force participation and attachment as a strategy for delivering more widely shared prosperity for families, a deeper, more-skilled pool of talent for American businesses, and more robust economic growth and fiscal stability for all. Boosting Immigration also builds on and complements past CED work advocating for immigration policies to better grow the economy and meet the needs of all US citizens. The US immigration system has remained largely unchanged for decades, while other countries with which we compete for in-demand global migrants have sought to innovate and fine-tune their recruiting efforts. Further delay in improving our immigration policies will result in a continuing decline in US advantages, an ongoing rise in regional demographic and fiscal pressures, and an increasing likelihood that the next great invention or company will arise elsewhere, each with significant long-run consequences for US economic strength. Instead, CED recommends that business leaders and policymakers champion six specific reforms to better align US immigration policy with the nation's economic interest: (1) Reform the H-1B visa application and approval process; (2) Improve the H-1B visa pathway to permanent residence; (3) Increase economically motivated offers of permanent residence; (4) Pilot a "fast-track" entry program for top international recruits; (5) Set aside an annual allocation of "place-based" employment visas; and (6) Establish a Workforce and Immigration Policy Advisory Board.

In a rapidly changing 21st-century economy with growing competition from abroad, continuing to field a world-leading, skilled workforce is both more essential and more challenging than ever to the mission of delivering increasing prosperity for American families and preserving our nation's economic leadership. The US must therefore confront its demographic challenges, as an aging population and slowing labor force growth pose risks to the economic strength and fiscal health of the country. To help confront these challenges and offer policy makers and business leaders balanced, reasoned solutions in the public interest, CED has formed a new subcommittee focused on growing and strengthening the American workforce. The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board believes that long-term American leadership, prosperity, and competitiveness hinge on the contributions of our nation's workforce. Business leaders interested in having access to the best talent for their companies and helping the country prosper must take the lead in creating a welcoming work environment where all Americans, regardless of background or identity, can make contributions in line with their talent and potential. But individual action will not be sufficient. As outlined in this report, achieving these improvements will require business leaders to work with policy makers and advocate for a range of policies to incentivize work and reduce the barriers that are currently preventing workers from achieving their employment goals. This report outlines four ways business leaders and policy makers can improve labor force participation and attachment. They can: (1) Strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for adults without qualifying children; (2) Lessen barriers to participation through improved employee-employer matching and increased mobility; (3) Help parents remain connected to the workforce and meet family responsibilities; and (4) Support older workers who wish to remain working.

Cultural and creative sectors and industries are a significant source of jobs and income. They are a driver of innovation and creative skills, within cultural sectors and beyond. They also have significant social impacts, from supporting health and well-being, to promoting social inclusion and local social capital. As national and local governments reconsider growth models in the wake of COVID-19, cultural and creative sectors can be a tool for a resilient recovery if certain longer-term challenges in the sector are addressed. The report outlines international trends with new data, including at subnational scale. It addresses issues in cultural and creative sectors in terms of employment, business development, cultural participation and funding, both public and private. It provides analysis of how these sectors contribute to economic growth and inclusion, taking into account the impact of COVID-19 related crisis on jobs and firms. Finally, it offers recommendations on how to capitalise on the role of cultural and creative sectors in national and local recovery strategies. [This report was co-drafted by Ekaterina Travkina, Anna Rubin, Pierluigi Sacco, Martha Bloom, and Tahsin Mehdi.]

Our latest research assesses Metro Milwaukee's progress on a range of metrics associated with knowledge and innovation. We find our region has made strides in increasing educational attainment levels and adding scientists, engineers, and technology workers to the regional talent pool. Yet, the news is not as encouraging with regard to entrepreneurship and capital formation. Key findings: (1) The Milwaukee area's talent pool is strengthening and appears to be competitive with our peers. Educational attainment is rising and the region's workforce is competitive with our comparison metro areas in its concentration of individuals employed in occupations associated with knowledge and innovation; (2) Our region is underperforming in its rates of business development and business survival. While entrepreneurship activity appears to have slowed nationally over the long term, the problem appears to be particularly acute in our region. In addition, metro Milwaukee's rate of business survival does not appear to make up for its sluggish pace of business creation; and (3) Capital formation remains an area of concern for the region. Federal grants and federally-guaranteed loans for business startups, expansions, and R&D activities have declined at a faster rate in metro Milwaukee than nationally, and Milwaukee underperforms almost all of the peer metro areas in attracting venture capital funding. [A grant from Bader Philanthropies made this report possible.]

The concept of social innovation has recently emerged as an influential approach to address intractable social problems. Increasingly discussed in academia and policy circles, the concept draws on multifaceted practices and ideas from many disciplines. Yet despite widespread discussion and promotion, there is still limited understanding of precisely what the concept means in practice. This paper serves as a primer on social innovation. It explores the different forms, drivers, and actors involved. It distinguishes among forms such as social entrepreneurship, social intrapreneurship, social enterprise, and various types of social finance such as social impact bonds, with examples. Finally, this paper challenges the Literacy and Essential Skills (LES) field to ready itself to engage in social innovation by posing some key questions about if and how social innovation could be used to improve LES service delivery and programming. The paper refers briefly to, but does not focus on, critiques that have been developed about specific forms of social finance. A glossary is included.

"Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2014" contains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President's priorities, budget overviews organized by agency, and summary tables. President Obama believes the country must invest in the true engine of America's economic growth--a rising and thriving middle class. He is focused on addressing three fundamental questions: How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills needed to do the jobs of the 21st Century? How do we make sure hard work leads to a decent living? The Budget presents the President's plan to address each of these questions. To make America once again a magnet for jobs, it invests in high-tech manufacturing and innovation, clean energy, and infrastructure, while cutting red tape to help businesses grow. To give workers the skills they need to compete in the global economy, it invests in education and job training, supporting learning from cradle to career. To ensure hard work is rewarded, it builds ladders of opportunity to help every American and every community. [For the 2013 Budget, see ED576932.]

Forty years ago, a teenager leaving high school--with or without a diploma--could find a job in a local factory. Twenty years ago, even as manufacturing jobs moved offshore, young people could still gain a foothold in the workforce through neighborhood stores and restaurants. Amid the housing boom of the past decade, youth with some training could find a career track in the construction field. But today--with millions of jobs lost and experienced workers scrambling for every available position--America's young people stand last in line for jobs. In this KIDS COUNT policy report, the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults are neither in school nor in the workforce. With employment among young people at its lowest levels since the 1950s, these youth are veering toward chronic unemployment as adults and failing to gain the skills employers need in the 21st century. In addition to new national and state data on the issue, the report offers recommendations to support youth in gaining a stronger foothold in the economy. The core argument is that business, government, philanthropy and communities must come together to create opportunities to put young people back on track in a dynamic, advancing economy to ensure their success and to build a stronger workforce for the future. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table and 42 endnotes.) [This paper was written with the assistance from Tom Smith, Andy Sum, Linda Harris, Phyllis Jordan, and Tom Waldron.]

This report examines the link between human resource management practices and innovation. It is based on a conceptual framework in which "human resource stimuli measures"--work organisation, working time, areas of training and creativity--feed into innovative capacity or innovation. Of course, having innovative capacity does not necessarily mean that a firm will be innovative. One of the issues of this approach is that, while innovation can be directly observed, innovative capacity is a more abstract concept. The study comprises a survey of firms as well as some case studies, and the survey captures data on innovative capacity through a series of questions relating to a firm's perception of its capacity to innovate. Based on the survey data, the authors find that certain human resource practices do improve innovative capacity (or at least firms' prediction of their capacity) but they have a very weak link with innovation directly. Therefore appropriate human resources practices and the capacity to innovate can be thought of more as necessary conditions for innovation rather than as sufficient. This leads to thinking about the mediating factors that transform the capacity to innovate into innovation. The purpose of the case studies was to throw some light on these mediating factors. Key messages from this report include: (1) Human resource practices, creativity management and knowledge management impact on innovation indirectly through their effect on innovative capacity rather than impacting directly; (2) Three sets of management practices assist the development of innovative capacity: (a) people management; for example, practices such as team-based work organisation, support for training and flexible work practices; (b) the development of a learning culture; and (c) external linkages, especially with educational institutions; and (3) In the case studies the one factor that appears to assist innovative capacity translating to innovation is links with the tertiary education sector. Assistance from universities or the VET system can facilitate training and recruitment and the development of applied research to assist product innovation. (Contains 7 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.) [For "Building the Capacity to Innovate: The Role of Human Capital--Support Document," see ED529888.]

"Investing in Kids: Early Childhood Programs and Local Economic Development," a 2011 book by Timothy Bartik, Senior Economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, provides a new evidence-based approach for effective economic development. This approach is designed to support business growth and job creation by improving worker productivity and earnings both today and in the years and decades to come. In his book, Bartik argues for a comprehensive model that employs a combination of programs--well-designed business incentives and high-quality early childhood services open to all children--to build short- and long-term human capital. By supplementing a research driven package of business incentives with investments in early childhood programs, economic development agencies can meet business' immediate need for skilled workers, strengthen the workforce pipeline, and generate strong returns to taxpayers. This brief summarizes Bartik's findings on early education. His book also contains a detailed analysis of the data on business incentives and related recommendations. (Contains 8 endnotes and 3 exhibits.)

The United States is at a critical juncture. The deep recession and weak economic recovery have left one in 10 American workers without a job, and the federal budget is driving the country's debt to unprecedented levels. Business Roundtable believes that the nation's business community, the White House and Congress must work together to encourage the investment and innovation necessary to restore the nation's economic growth. This Roadmap for Growth details the organization's recommended action plan. (Contains 13 endnotes.)

Broadband touches nearly every aspect of the U.S. economy, providing Americans with unprecedented opportunities in employment, education, health care, entrepreneurship, and civic participation. For millions of Americans without adequate access to broadband, however, the possibility of falling behind in the knowledge-based economy is real. Recognizing this concern, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $7.2 billion to stimulate economic growth and create jobs by expanding the deployment and adoption of broadband services. The Administration is now announcing the first of the Recovery Act broadband awards. By leveraging federal dollars, the Administration's Recovery Act investments will expand broadband access throughout the nation and provide more Americans--in both urban and rural areas--with the opportunity to succeed in the digital age. Among the awards are investments in "middle-mile" networks, which connect unserved or underserved communities to the Internet backbone. These investments will maximize the impact of federal dollars by encouraging private service providers to build connections to homes and businesses using the publicly funded infrastructure. In rural areas and areas with low population density that are difficult to reach, Recovery Act awards will fund investments in the "last mile" of service, which will help provide connections to homes and businesses that would otherwise go without high-speed Internet access. These critical broadband investments will create tens of thousands of jobs and stimulate the economy in the near term. By providing broadband-enabled opportunities to previously underserved communities, these investments will also lay the foundation for long-term regional economic development and foster a digitally literate workforce that can compete in the new knowledge-based economy. (Contains 5 figures, 3 boxes and 3 footnotes.)

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2009 to support local workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a business; assisting entrepreneurs in business start-up; providing counseling and management assistance to small and medium sized business owners; helping businesses with government procurement opportunities; offering professional continuing education; developing training programs for unemployed and underemployed workers; and serving businesses with alternative education delivery systems, such as distance learning. The grant funds support colleges' efforts to help companies grow by providing economic development assistance at costs they can afford and by providing needed technical and English language training to upgrade workers' skills. This paper highlights the community colleges' activities for fiscal year 2009. In summary, Illinois community colleges provided workforce and economic development services to a total of approximately 165,000 businesses and individuals. These services resulted in the start up of over 330 companies, expansion of more than 190 companies, and retention of 550 companies. In addition, nearly 2,700 jobs were created and nearly another 14,300 jobs were retained.

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) that serve minority populations are unique both in their missions and in their day-to-day operations. Some of these colleges and universities are located in remote regions of the country, while others serve congested urban neighborhoods. Their constituents range from Native Americans, the country's oldest residents, to Hispanic Americans, who count themselves among its most recent arrivals. Some minority-serving institutions (MSIs), like Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), are only a few decades old, while historically black colleges and universities have been in existence for more than a century. MSIs are both integral and essential to their communities. Through executive orders and special legislation enacted over the past 20 years, the federal government seeks to strengthen the prominent role these colleges and universities play in their communities and provide a structured means for these institutions to access federal funds. As part of this federal outreach effort, the Office of University Partnerships (OUP) in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administers four grant programs for MSIs. This publication highlights the accomplishments of those four programs: (1) The Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) program; (2) The Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) program; (3) The Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP); and (4) The Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities (AN/NHIAC) program. Furthermore, it illustrates the important role that MSIs play in improving their local communities and the nation as a whole. Chapters 1 through 4 provide background about MSIs, their unique history and mission, and the challenges they face as they serve their target populations. Chapters 5-7 highlight the important work that 18 MSIs are doing to revitalize their communities, support local businesses, and help at-risk individuals and families build better lives for themselves. Chapter 8 illustrates how OUP funds are helping five TCUs enhance their infrastructure and expand their campuses so they can serve more students. Information about all minority-serving institutions that have received a grant from the Office of University Partnerships (OUP) since 1998 is appended.

Considering science as the main contributor to contemporary developments has encouraged us to raise a scientific discussion regarding the role of statistics in business decision-making and economic development. Statistics, as an applicative science, is growing and being widely applied in different fields and professions. Statistical thinking is becoming a daily necessity in enterprises. The main purpose of this survey was to ascertain in what levels main enterprise managers in Kosovo are using statistical methods in their business decision-making. For this purpose 85 managers of the main companies in Kosovo have been interviewed. The analysis of the gathered data was performed by Chi-Square Test, Asymp.Sig(2 sided) and Cramer's V. These analyses comprise the central focus of this survey. The data was processed by Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS). Statistical approach and methodology used in this research has made it easier for us to draw conclusions and recommendations. (Contains 3 tables and 5 footnotes.)

The export of Malaysia higher education sector can enhance the business environment locally of which we had seen a RM 1.5 billion contribution to the government in 2007. World-class higher education requires a wide array of quality area among others--research activities. The main concern of this study is to review the readiness and willingness of the educators to participate in research activities from the past research and studies. Thus, the study will look at the importance of research in academic colleges and the contribution towards the Malaysia's economy today and in future.

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2008 to provide workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a business; assisting entrepreneurs in business start-up; providing counseling and management assistance to small and medium sized business owners; helping businesses with government procurement opportunities; offering professional continuing education; developing training programs for unemployed and underemployed workers; and serving businesses with alternative education modalities, such as distance learning. The grant funds allow colleges to help companies grow by providing economic development assistance at costs they can afford and by providing needed technical and English language training for upgrading workers' skills. This paper highlights the community colleges' activities for fiscal year 2008. Illinois Community colleges provided workforce and economic development services to a total of nearly 185,000 businesses and individuals. These services resulted in the start up of over 250 companies, expansion of almost 260 companies, and retention of more than 850 companies. In addition, nearly 2,750 jobs were created and more than another 13,000 jobs were retained.

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2007 to provide workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a business; assisting entrepreneurs in business start-up; providing counseling and management assistance to small and medium sized business owners; helping businesses with government procurement opportunities; offering professional continuing education; developing training programs for unemployed and underemployed workers; and serving businesses with alternative education modalities, such as distance learning. The grant funds allow colleges to help companies grow by providing economic development assistance at costs they can afford and by providing needed technical and English language training for upgrading workers' skills. This report highlights the community colleges' activities for fiscal year 2007. Illinois Community colleges provided workforce and economic development services to a total of more than 175,000 businesses and individuals. These services resulted in the start up of nearly 350 companies, expansion of almost 300 companies, and retention of 500 companies. In addition, over 4,500 jobs were created and more than another 9,500 jobs were retained.

Innovation, from high profile scientific discoveries to lower profile changes in processes or practices, is crucial to Australia's economic development. However, its impact on the wider community is usually relatively small. Promotion of innovation across all sectors is required to produce the biggest changes. This report focuses on the roles of the vocational education and training (VET) sectors of Finland and Singapore--countries with strong track records in innovation. It argues that a whole-of-government approach supporting a national innovation system could benefit Australia. Further, the national VET sector is ideally placed to have a more direct role in the promotion and diffusion of smaller scale innovations provided incentives in the form of specific funding are put in place. This activity could also enhance the sector's links with business, particularly small to medium sized enterprises and those in regional areas. Appended are: (1) Finland: New linkages between vocational education and training and a national innovation system; (2) Singapore: The high skills path to a knowledge economy; and (3) List of interviewees on Australia's national innovation system and the implications for vocational education and training. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper is a response to the collective interests expressed by a network of the leadership of ten U.S. community college systems to better understand how community colleges can support emerging state cluster-based economic development strategies. The intent is to proved concrete applications of a cluster-based model that inform both workforce and economic development policy and decision makers, bringing together two agendas that states usually pursue separately. The paper presents an initial model of a cluster-based workforce delivery system based on: (1) college practices observed and studied in the U.S. and around the world; (2) direct experience with cluster building strategies; (3) emerging theories and innovations; and (4) the experience and wisdom of members of the network. According to the authors, industry clusters have become the new mantra for economic development policy. Regional technical institutions are best able to focus on and respond to regional economies. Therefore, the paper argues, these institutions would do well to practice institutional and system-wide cooperation in order to develop specific expertise that will help them to become a particular business cluster's center of excellence. The paper presents an assortment of special features that some colleges have added to address the needs of clusters. The choices colleges make should reflect industry and student needs; local availability of and access to programs, services, and budgets; and long-term development plans of the state and region. (Contains 13 references.) (NB)

This document argues that regions that sustain economic growth or recover rapidly from economic slumps are often the same communities that have aggressively developed and continue to strengthen collaborations with business and industry, universities, community colleges, high schools, and other key public and private sector entities. In San Diego and Imperial counties in California there are 6 community college districts, serving a total of more than 200,000 students each semester. These community colleges have developed a multi-faceted approach to ensuring that they are matching job-training programs to the workforce needs of the 21st century. The districts have developed the San Diego-Imperial Counties Community College Association, which aims to collaborate on training programs. The Association includes university administrators in its meetings, and intends to expand to include business and industry at the leadership level. This document describes the collaboration between the community colleges and the bioscience industry in the San Diego region. The colleges work with a bioscience association, as well as with individual companies, to plan for future and current workforce needs. Also describes regional economic development centers funded by the state of California, which include the Center for Applied Competitive Technologies at San Diego and Workplace Learning Resource Centers. (NB)

This paper reports on the Canadian college system's collaboration with industry and community services in the development and delivery of non-credit e-commerce courses offered through continuing education departments at community colleges and institutes of technology. The paper argues that, in today's changing economy, the accelerated need for skills training and retraining may be most widely felt among students. The paper details the offerings at Canadian colleges by region: British Columbia and Yukon Region; Alberta and Northwest Territories Region; Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nunavut Region; Ontario Region; Quebec Region; and Atlantic Region. Highlights of these offerings are as follows: New Brunswick Community College's Saint John Campus offers a two-year diploma degree in Business Technology, while other programs, such as Marketing and Office Technology, are being permeated with courses related to e-commerce. The Cegep regional de Lanaudiere offers five college programs in the field of electronic commerce. There is a computer science diploma, and four certificates in other areas. The Assiniboine Community College in Manitoba is seeking funding approval for a two-year diploma program in Business Computing. The program will be offered jointly by the Business and Tourism Division and the Information Technologies Division. In addition, colleges are involved in conferences connected to e-commerce, either as hosts, presenters, or participants. (AUTH/NB)

This working paper is intended to enrich an initial description of alternative businesses and A-Way Express Couriers, in particular. (A-Way, a 12-year-old community organization, is a psychiatric survivor-run alternative business.) The paper begins with a brief commentary on the psychiatric survivor movement and research on it. The paper traces the emergence and entrenchment of learning as a key feature of psychiatric survivor-run or alternative businesses. The methodology used is to re-read previous research projects and results through the lens of informal learning. Early research on psychiatric survivor-run businesses is reviewed in view of a definition of social learning with these three dimensions: solidarity learning, reshaping the definition of self, and organizational learning. A more detailed examination of informal learning processes at A-Way builds on a previously generated profile and is organized according to the three dimensions of social learning. Comments are based on face-to-face interviews with five employees from each of these three groupings within A-Way: couriers on commission, part-time office staff on salaries, and full-time management on salaries. The final section constructs a narrative account of one woman's learning at A-Way--how over nine years she moved from courier to executive director of the business on a journey that evokes the richness and complexity of informal learning in this context. (YLB)