The strength of our nation's economy is dependent on a workforce that is highly skilled, and skilled workers are in high demand. Institutions preparing these individuals for employment have high expectations to meet. Since 1998 when the Department of Labor released the Workforce Investment Act, employers, and the nation as a whole, have been…

The 2013 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 49th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The Digest has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American…

In light of the current economic downturn, thousands of Iowans are unemployed and this is the ideal time to build the skills of the workforce to compete in the knowledge-based economy so businesses and entrepreneurs can compete in a global economy. A tool for assessing the skills and knowledge of dislocated workers and students as well as…

Lawmakers this year on Capitol Hill will weigh critical issues of importance to the nation's community colleges. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) will be hard at work to ensure the interests of two-year institutions are well represented. This article takes a brief look…

The Perkins Act and the Workforce Development Act (WIA) brought major changes to the arena of nontraditional employment and training. Perkins eliminated set-asides for displaced homemakers, single parents, and single pregnant women but mandated increased enrollment in high-wage nontraditional training. With the WIA, the Nontraditional Employment…

This Policy Brief is intended to help the National Commission on Adult Literacy consider state and federal policy strategies that hold promise for increasing the number of lower-skilled adults, including those with limited English skills, who earn postsecondary credentials that can open the door to family-supporting jobs and careers. It examines…

The 36-year effort to provide a second chance at labor market success for disadvantaged and dislocated youth and adults was reviewed. The following issues were considered: (1) current legislative proposals; (2) lessons from past employment and training programs; (3) the labor market challenges faced by young adults, older workers, dislocated…

Keeping the existing information technology (IT) workforce viable and rapidly increasing the number of these workers presents a United States public policy workforce development (WD) challenge at all government levels. Public policy human capital investments have been undertaken to address the IT workforce supply and demand mismatch. States seem…

Despite 6 years of economic growth, California's workforce investment system faces the following challenges: (1) meeting the needs of workers who do not earn enough to bring their families significantly above the poverty level; (2) meeting the needs of employers who face continuing shortages of workers with needed skills; and (3) meeting the needs…

This guidebook is intended as a road map to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III) for career-technical education (CTE) practitioners and policymakers in Illinois. The following topics are among those covered: (1) framework for Perkins III (national educational reform, Illinois provisions for quality CTE,…