In today's labor market, students increasingly need greater levels of postsecondary education and training to enter or advance in many industries. Meanwhile, employers are calling for the education system to better align with industry needs, as their demands for a skilled workforce continue to rise. In response to the increasing emphasis for…

More than half of Idaho's high school seniors are already enrolled in college. Dual enrollment programs, in which high school students enroll in college courses, have gained traction nationally in the past two decades, but Idaho's "Advanced Opportunities" initiative has been particularly successful. When students reach seventh grade,…

Technical and vocational education helps to empower marginalized sections of society by increasing their employability. However, access to skills training provided by formal technical and vocational institutions is often limited for these sections of society. Women from poor communities are especially disadvantaged in this regard due to community…

Over half of jobs in the U.S. require training beyond high school but not a four-year degree. These skilled jobs are the backbone of America's economy, and filling them is critical to America's success in the 21st century. Every day, in communities coast to coast, working people, students, and families are looking for opportunities to get ahead.…

Opportunity America received a grant from Lumina Foundation to conduct a national research study of community colleges' credit and noncredit occupational education programs and their relationships with employers. Opportunity America contracted with Wilder Research to manage data collection and analysis for the study. The purpose of this study was…

Can the U.S. keep its dominant economic position in the world economy with only 30% of its population holding bachelor's degrees? If the majority of U.S. citizens lack a higher education, can the U.S. live up to its democratic principles and preserve its political institutions? These questions raise the critical issue of access to higher…

The Certification Data Exchange Project (CDEP) was launched in 2012 to provide a model for sharing industry-recognized credential attainment data. Increasingly, employers and education leaders are recognizing the value of industry credentials to verify the knowledge, skills and abilities that students bring to the workforce. As states take steps…

The authors look at the roles that vocations, vocational streams and productive capabilities can play in improving links between mid-level qualifications and occupational outcomes. Support for vocational streams and productive capabilities varied by industry but there is the potential to progress these concepts in each of the industries…

The role of nonformal university adult education (UAE) in revitalizing vocational education and training (VET) in marginalized neighborhoods in Ireland was examined. First, an examination of the barriers affecting participation in VET in marginalized neighborhoods identified the following barriers: situational barriers arising from individual life…

Rural school districts in five Arkansas towns set up school-based development corporations (SBDCs) to provide vocational and career training relevant to the needs of rural high school students and the community and to improve the economic and social welfare of the community as a whole. Each SBDC owned and operated businesses using student labor…

Designed to meet the informational needs of both business leaders and educators who wish to develop mutually beneficial cooperative ventures, this packet contains three separate reports on public-private sector partnerships. An overview examines the contemporary focus on business and education links, the nature of partnerships at secondary and…

The Closing the Gap Clearinghouse was established by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to bring together evidence-based research on overcoming disadvantage for Indigenous Australians. The Clearinghouse provides access to a collection of information on what works to improve Indigenous people's lives across the building blocks identified…

This report sets out to comprehensively analyse major reviews and evaluations of programs relevant to Indigenous labour market outcomes, including national mainstream and Indigenous-specific policies. The main evaluations covered relate to the Aboriginal Employment Development Policy, the Indigenous Employment Policy, the Community Development…

In a global society and economy, education and training is essential to a nation's competitiveness and to the standard of living of its people. The need to open the doors of higher or further education beyond the relatively limited enrollments in elite and selective universities has spawned a movement to develop or expand institutions that are…

In 2004, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) developed a national Indigenous VET research strategy in partnership with the former Australian Indigenous Training Advisory Council. The research strategy provides a comprehensive program until 2006 to fill the major gaps in knowledge identified through a midterm review of…