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More and more Americans lack the basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills necessary to function at an acceptable level in the world of work. They are unable to learn quality improvement tools and techniques or the job-specific skills needed to keep up with new technology. Since workers are uneducated, their ability to produce competitively priced, quality products is greatly diminished.
In Improving Workforce Basic Skills: The Foundation for Quality, author Larry Moore presents small- and medium-sized organizations with a cost-effective, efficient model for designing an educational program to bring employees to higher levels of basic skills proficiency. His approach is unique in that it combines general education with specific job skill development, while discussing basic skills education in the workplace, private sector, and community.
Moore explores traditional and non-traditional approaches to basic skills programs, provides a series of steps to help clarify employee needs, identifies common materials and resources, and examines the motivations and barriers that help and hinder adult learning. Moore also presents a case study, based on his experience at Plumley Companies, to demonstrate the importance of an organization's commitment to education.
Upper-and middle-level managers of small-and medium-sized companies will find the information contained in this text valuable in guiding their efforts to improve employee skills through systematic education and training.