Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way of organizing learning environments to accommodate people with a wide array of learning preferences, needs, and ways of expressing and receiving information and demonstrating competency. This brief provides an overview of how applying UDL to Registered Apprenticeships can result in a more welcoming…

Today's young adults want and need a diverse array of education options, including, but not limited to, two- and four-year degrees to help them connect learning with earning. Young people and employers alike are eager for effective, efficient, work-aligned pathways to employment that enable people not just to say, "I know a lot, and here's…

With this paper, we deepen and expand upon our body of research into the public awareness and reputation of nondegree pathways, focusing on the beliefs and attitudes of young people, their parents, and their teachers. For those looking to pursue, or encourage someone to pursue, a nondegree pathway today, there are no easy answers. Information…

An underdeveloped talent supply pipeline has resulted in a skills gap and a skilled labor shortage in the manufacturing sector across the United States. This is potentially the result of a lack of diversity in educational opportunity offered to students, an emphasis on college enrollment rates as a high school performance metric, and the…

As of March 2018, there were 6.6 million job vacancies in the US, signaling a shortage of skilled workers. Furthermore, a 2017 McKinsey survey of young people and employers reported that 40 percent of employers said a lack of skills was the principal reason for entry-level job vacancies, which demonstrates that the current education and training…

The IT industry is dynamic and quickly evolving. As a surge of diverse training models across subsectors and occupations is becoming available, this is a unique opportunity to enhance training practices and better align them to meet industry and employer needs. This brief offers recommendations for IT training providers to strengthen their work…

The driving force of California's growing innovation economy is talent. However, there is also a growing mismatch between the type of talent in demand and the type of talent in supply. This paper describes why one of California's best options for closing this talent gap is to expand and modernize the State's apprenticeship system. [Additional…

Hiring people who have served prison sentences has never been a priority in the United States. For men and women who were once incarcerated, finding any job is difficult; finding a sustainable, family-supporting job is nearly impossible. Today the country is at a critical crossroads on this issue, and it's time for change. As the nation works in…

This report looks at strategies for sustaining and expanding Registered Apprenticeship pathways for opportunity youth amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The report draws on promising practices from workforce boards and community-based organizations, and addresses topics including the digital divide, occupational mobility, and the provision of services…

The rapidly changing economy is raising the stakes on states to address the skilled workforce needs of employers and to expand economic opportunity to more people and places. To guide the policy actions of states, Jobs for the Future (JFF) designed a comprehensive policy agenda for increasing attainment of postsecondary credentials valued in the…

Despite the growing popularity of apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and in-school youth apprenticeships in the United States, young adults who lack the credentials and connections to seamlessly enter postsecondary pathways remain overlooked. Young-adult-serving agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs) are underutilized key actors in…