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A group of 2,594 employers identified as having hired a new employee prior to 1981 served as the population for a study of the provision and outcomes of on-the-job training of new employees. Respondents were asked how much time the new employees had spent on four types of training activities during their first 3 months of employment. A simple theory of training investment was constructed, and a multivariate analysis of the determinants of training investment was offered. Training effectiveness was analyzed in relation to training provider, establishment size, and generality of training. On average, new employees spent 47.3 hours watching others, 10.7 hours in formal training programs, 51 hours receiving informal training by management, and 24.2 hours receiving informal training by coworkers. Training resulted in substantial increases in workers' productivity during their first year on the job. Informal training by coworkers and training by watching others had higher benefit/cost ratios than informal training by management. The benefit/cost ratio for formal training depended on how the model was specified; however, the marginal rates of return to training appeared to be quite high. Highly general training had a larger effect on wage growth than specific training. (Contains 12 tables, 32 references.) (MN)

The key to high school student motivation is recognizing and rewarding academic effort. Compared to the United States, students in foreign countries study harder and their parents demand more of the schools because labor market success is determined by how much is learned in high school. Schools in the United States, however, reward students for time spent in school, but offer few benefits for students who study hard. This failure to reward academic achievement is the result of the following phenomena: (1) the labor market fails to reward effort and achievement; (2) college admission is based on relative measures, such as Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and class rank and grade point average (GPA); (3) classmates actively discourage academic effort that would result in an upward shift of the grading curve; and (4) parents do not demand higher standards that would place students at risk of not graduating, but would not improve SAT scores or GPAs. The following reforms are suggested: (1) institute statewide achievement tests; (2) establish new graduation credentials; (3) expand the Advanced Placement Program; (4) replace the SAT; (5) modernize the cognitive content of the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB); (6) encourage employers to use high school grades and a spectrum of achievement tests for hiring; (7) require all applicants for civil service positions to submit school and college transcripts; (8) base admission to the armed forces on competence in science and technical subjects; (9) extend school operations; (10) require students who are experiencing academic difficulty to attend remedial programs; and (11) institute cooperative learning strategies. Statistical data are presented in one table and seven graphs. A 63-item bibliography is appended. (FMW)

The research literature on the preparation of young people for work proves that policy recommendations are based on two false premises--academic skills are good substitutes for occupation-specific skills and increases in job turnover and skill obsolescence rates have caused a decline in the return to occupation-specific training by schools. Analyses provide strong evidence that both generic technical competence and occupation-specific competencies have large effects on worker productivity and other indicators of labor market success. The decline in occupational turnover means the social returns to occupational skills training have increased. The rapid obsolescence of skills implies greater need for occupational skills development, not reduced need. If vocational students learn less mathematics and science than many academic students, it is because they take less demanding, not fewer, academic courses. School-based occupational training produces four effects: within-job productivity, technology-skill transfer, job access, and job stability. Because getting a training-related job is essential for the training to pay off, greater emphasis needs to be given to ensuring that graduates find such employment. The payoff to teaching computer applications is very large. Most high school vocational students could develop their skills more rapidly if their program presented greater challenges and expected more of them. (Includes 12 figures and 18 tables. Appendixes contain 172 references and 38 endnotes.) (YLB)