As lifelong learning and workforce education grow increasingly more important in American life, the mission of community colleges is shifting more and more toward continuing education, certificate training, and workforce training. The lack of a standard set of indicators has led to a variety of approaches to the assessment of noncredit workforce…

This brief, the ninth in a series, explores issues and promising practices in paving career and technical education (CTE) pathways to high-STEM occupations--a key piece of the STEM college and career readiness puzzle. Other briefs focus on related parts of the puzzle, such as the role that math and science standards play in students' college and…

Washington could add as many as 110,000 new jobs by 2017 by closing skill gaps--the mismatch between the skills people have and those employers need, according to a March 2013 Washington Roundtable report. STEM professions face the most critical demand. Of the 25,000 jobs vacant for three months or more due to a shortage of qualified candidates,…

Unemployment rates continued to fall slowly as the economy gains strength following the longest recession in over half a century. This report addressed the challenges of the community colleges attempting to reach the unemployed and underemployed. Responses from a survey conducted by the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama, were…

This report expands on previous analyses to describe the skills needed to fill infrastructure occupations nationally. More than 14.5 million workers--or 11 percent of the entire U.S. workforce--are employed in infrastructure-related activities, many of which operate different physical assets and extend far beyond construction projects. In turn, a…

Community colleges are the primary point of access to higher education in California and the nation. This report, which is part of the Student Success Initiative, aims to provide analysis on how to close achievement gaps, improve outcomes for the system's 2.1 million students and present an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability on…

There are lots of ways to enter a high-paying career without having a bachelor's degree. An associate's degree, a postsecondary non-degree award, or a high school diploma--often coupled with work experience in a related occupation, on-the-job training, or both--can lead to a job that really pays off. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor…

The Workforce Training and Economic Development (WTED) Fund was established in 2003 as part of the Grow Iowa Values Fund and is currently funded through the Iowa Skilled Worker and Job Creation Fund. This fund has become an important source of financing for community college new program innovation, development, and capacity building, particularly…

The U.S. energy sector has become highly innovative in developing and applying new technologies. These innovations often require higher-paid, more-highly skilled labor, yet many employers in the region report that they have difficulty filling jobs, particularly for medium-skilled (or semi skilled) positions that require only a high school…

Certified education aimed at developing and documenting professional growth is an important issue for lifelong learning in developing countries. Some firms and educational institutions have applied different educational models to keep up with technological innovations. This study examines a Turkish programme for employees in the automotive sector…

The ethnic and racial diversity of the residents of the United States of America is one of the country's unique strengths; however, Black, Latinx, Pacific Islander, Native, and certain Asian American workers face wide racial inequities in educational attainment, employment, and income. Additional workforce policies are needed now to counter…

The Geospatial Technology Apprenticeship Program (GTAP) pilot was designed as a replicable and sustainable program to enhance workforce skills in geospatial technologies to best leverage a $30 billion market potential. The purpose of evaluating GTAP was to ensure that investment in this high-growth industry was adding value. Findings from this…

As of 2012, 35,064 Missourians have filed for unemployment benefits and technical institutes are providing training that is becoming vitally important to secure employment in the 21st century. Marketing as a way of attracting prospective students to attend a vocational college is dependent on recruitment incentives. Consequently, the purpose of…

In an era of exploding online enrollment and tight budgets, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) struggles to meet the needs of online students. CPCC librarians went one step towards solving that problem in 2009-2010 by launching an embedded librarian program. CPCC's program became so successful that it struggled to meet demand. In 2013, CPCC…

When the deepwater horizon offshore oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, 11 crewmen were killed; the accident led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Forty workers on the rig managed to escape the catastrophe, thanks largely to a safety-training program they had taken at community colleges in the Louisiana Community…