In the United States, people often feel like they need to choose between pursuing a conventional four-year college degree or working, leaving millions of people with no opportunity to achieve the professional and economic advancement that comes with a bachelor's degree. What if this is a false choice? Apprenticeship Degrees offer a hybrid option…

Virtual Reality Job Interview Training (VR-JIT) and Virtual Interview Training for Transition Age Youth (VIT-TAY) demonstrated initial effectiveness at increasing employment among transition-age youth with disabilities engaged in pre-employment transition services. We characterized activities and estimated the labor and non-labor costs required to…

The Families Forward Demonstration (FFD) examined new strategies to increase the earnings of parents who owe child support but are unable to fully meet their obligations due to low earnings. It also focused on "responsive" child support services that helped parents understand their support obligations, and even suspended certain…

A growing number of U.S. companies across a range of industries are designing apprenticeship programs to give workers access to on-the-job learning opportunities that allow them to transition into in-demand jobs and careers. This discussion paper provides a snapshot of the current state of apprenticeship in the United States based on interviews…

In a previous randomized controlled trial (RCT), "Virtual Interview Training for Transition Age Youth" (VIT-TAY) enhanced employment for autistic youth receiving transition services. For this study, a nonrandomized hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial evaluated whether VIT-TAY maintained its core implementation and effectiveness…

This study synthesizes lessons learned about the promising role of "career navigators" at community colleges to aid students in the transitions through disjunctures in their careers. Career navigators are student support personnel who follow students from recruitment, through their studies or training programs, to job placement. Findings…

The basic components of apprenticeships are the same today as in 1937, when the National Apprenticeship Act set the foundation for apprenticeships in the United States. Apprentices enter into a structured training program of classroom and paid on-the-job training under the guidance of a mentor. As their skills increase, so do their wages. Upon…

A national provider of afterschool and summer programming plans to expand quickly into new regions, bringing its successful model of out-of-school learning to more children in disadvantaged schools and neighborhoods. A large number of staff members must be trained in the provider's program model in a short window of time. The organization needs to…

In 2007, Michigan undertook a bold mission: to retrain tens of thousands of adults to qualify for jobs in emerging and expanding sectors of the economy. The state's proposal to jobless, dislocated, and low-income residents was simple but appealing: enroll in up to two years of postsecondary education, and Michigan would cover up to $5,000 in…

A survey of 498 firms that applied for Michigan Job Opportunity Bank-Upgrade grants received 157 responses, including 66 grant recipients. Data showed receipt of grants associated with large, significant (though one-time) increase in training hours and lasting reduction in product scrap rates. (SK)

General and targeted programs and agencies in the Michigan Departments of Education, Social Services, and Labor that address the employment and training needs of the State's Hispanic population are described and analyzed in this report. Three different papers, each dealing with programs offered by one of the three departments, are bound together…

Describes a study of companies served by workforce training programs offered at 25 Michigan community colleges. Indicates that 90.6% (n=264) of business and industry respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their training program, and that 94% thought the programs were important or very important. Discusses implications of the findings…

This evaluation of programs conducted in fiscal 1978 under the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) consists of an overall picture of the 1978 YEDPA program experience and case studies of programs in 12 states. Findings and recommendations are presented concerning the implementation of YEDPA programs by Comprehensive Employment…

A study examined Work Incentive (WIN) Demonstration programs in four states. The following programs were reviewed: Employment and Training Choices (in Massachusetts), Michigan Opportunity and Skills Training, the Employment Services Program (in Texas), and JOBS (in Oregon). A strict, across-the-board analysis of the programs was difficult because…

A cooperative program in Benton Harbor, Michigan, joins schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and a university to address local work force issues and needs identified by area employers and to place program graduates in jobs with a livable wage in an area of high unemployment and crime. The program consists of two major instructional…