ter preparing workers to meet the challenges and the changes taking place in American businesses and industry.
Contract Training: Its Nature, Uses and Success Rate
Contract training is currently one of the most frequently used tools in workforce-development efforts. Indeed, the American Association of Community Colleges estimates that 90 - 95 percent of its member colleges are, to a greater or lesser extent, in the business of training workers for specific companies, rather than just teaching generic subjects or trades (Stamps, 1995b).
It is generally held that money is the prime reason community colleges are scrambling to form partnerships with local companies (Stamps, 1995b). However, money is not the only reason.
Many colleges see contract training as a natural extension of their mission to serve the local community. Community colleges insist they are ideally suited to serve local business interests in ways that four year colleges and universities are not (Stamps, 1995b). In addition, community colleges usually are established members of the local community and have a long-term stake in providing the best training available at competitive market rates (Craft, 1995).
The general nature and multiples uses of contract training can perhaps best be seen though an examination of one of the highly successful contract training program BusinessLink. BusinessLink, is a contract training program of the Coast Community College District in Costa Mesa, California. Regarding its nature, BusinessLink provides custom training to businesses by sending college instructors to the workplace. More than 60 businesses have contracted with the three-college district for special training courses (Forsberg, 1992).
Numerous applications and uses are associated with the BusinessLink's approach. For example, Wavell-Huber Wood Products Incorporated used BusinessLink to assess the capabilities of its employees. The company's worker...