WORKPLACE EDUCATION FOR HOURLY WORKERS

Concerns about U.S. competitiveness have increasingly focused the atte ntion of policymakers on the workforce and mechanisms that could be us ed to enhance both the quality and quantity of human capital in the wo rkplace. This article focuses on basic skills education of hourly work ers, precisely the type of human capital which is likely to be most un derprovided by the private market. Five questions are addressed: First , what is the nature of workplace education programs? Second, why do s ome firms provide workplace education programs while others do not? Th ird, what, if any, characteristics distinguish those firms that provid e workplace education programs from seemingly comparable firms that do not? Fourth, what, if any, evidence can be found identifying the effe cts of these programs on the firms that sponsor them? Fifth, what poli cies appear most likely to stimulate additional workplace education?