This playbook provides ways in which Governors and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Governors play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

Apprenticeship is a learning model and a proven strategy for (1) developing a talented and trained pipeline of workers for employers; and (2) expanding family supporting careers for individuals not pursuing a traditional four-year college track (without foreclosing their opportunities to pursue college down the road). Yet in Pennsylvania, as in…

In today's evolving economy, state policymakers, education leaders, workforce system leaders and employers are all looking for opportunities to meet rapidly changing workforce needs. Economists project that shortages of workers with postsecondary education -- some college, an associate degree, bachelor's degree or higher -- could lead to nearly…

Researchers suggest that the economy of the future will consist of jobs that do not currently exist, there will likely be a shortage of individuals with necessary education and credentials to fill those jobs, and if the nation does not produce this workforce, there will likely be a $1.72 trillion loss in productivity by 2030. Considering these…

In recent years, two-year colleges have tried various strategies to improve student outcomes and remediate skill deficits in order to promote academic and employment success. Promising approaches include career pathways, dual-enrollment, competency-based credentialing, sectoral strategies, wrap-around services, and acceleration. Taken together,…

Postsecondary education and credentials are key to economic mobility for individuals and economic competitiveness for our nation. Although the economic return to credentials varies significantly by field of study, generally workers with higher levels of education have higher wages, work more hours, and suffer lower rates and shorter durations of…

Governors are increasingly aware that the emerging economy will provide few well-paying jobs for workers who have not earned a postsecondary degree or a relevant workforce certificate. Fifty years ago, nearly 80 percent of all jobs required only a high school diploma or less and most paid a good wage. Fast-forward to data from 2013 and that number…

How much does college matter for getting ahead in America? Having a postsecondary education--broadly defined as a credential beyond a high school diploma--continues to be one of the most important factors in getting a good job and advancing in the workforce. By one estimate, 64 percent of jobs in 2018 will require more than a high school diploma,…

Institutions--even entire sectors of the education system--too often operate independently of each other, maintaining discrete student-record systems. This makes it difficult to trace a student's progress through higher education and into the workforce--and that disconnection hampers efforts to improve the system. Only by systematically collecting…

This study addresses the fundamental question, "Are Kentucky's public community and technical colleges training enough students with the relevant skills to fill job openings in Kentucky's middle-skill jobs?" By examining student interests in occupational programs, labor market demand for trained middle-skill employees, and their…

From 1989 until 1998 the U.S. Department of Education administered the National Workplace Literacy Demonstration Program. During that period, over $130 million supported some 300 projects where adult education programs partnered with thousands of businesses, agencies, and organizations to provide work-based skills to employees. While only seven…

Trends that will influence Kentucky's future were examined along with policy options for responding to those trends. According to the analysis, the effects of the new economy on Kentucky has been mixed. Although many Kentuckians have benefited from the new economy, the state's least educated and poorest residents are falling further behind the…