Achieving prosperity for all Americans could not be more urgent. Although the United States remains the most prosperous nation on earth, millions of citizens are losing faith in the American dream of upward mobility, and in American-style capitalism itself. This crisis of confidence has widened the divide afflicting American politics and cries out…

In January 2020, the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) embarked on the 2020 election project, releasing monthly Solutions Briefs that have been updated to address the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and are compiled in this Compendium. The objective is to analyze the most important business and economic…

The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government's plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning, including a new Skills Measure that looks at the employment and other outcomes that learners achieve. Will this give colleges and providers greater freedom to deliver for learners, or…

In this paper, the authors first discuss the Neumark and Troske piece, and then compare the U.S. context to that in Europe and Korea, as described by the Caspar, Hartwig, and Moench and the Cho and Shin contributions. Although they are in basic agreement with Neumark and Troske on the extent and depth of the current employment situation, they…

The demand for improved workplace skills in the U.S. is rapidly rising, and U.S. industries, employees, and educational systems are struggling to respond. This paper describes the Skills Advantage program, an effort led by employers and facilitated by Kirkwood Community College to address regional employment needs. This work-ready certificate…

Immigrants and others who didn't grow up speaking English are often at a disadvantage when entering the workforce. One of the best ways for non-native English speakers to level the playing field is to enroll in targeted courses and job-training programs offered through their local community colleges. The best of these programs combines important…

This hearing reviewed ways individuals can make federal job training programs more efficient and effective. Such programs are critical to fostering a competitive workforce and assisting unemployed citizens. However, serious concerns about program fragmentation and potential duplication exist that could result in significant waste. This Committee…

Women returners are women who leave the paid workforce for a period of time following the birth of their child(ren) and subsequently seek to return to paid employment. As women returners attempt to re-enter the workforce, many of them are in need of updating their skills or re-training in a new set of skills. In this study, the training and…

This publication is intended for three primary audiences: international development professionals who want to define "workforce" for program design purposes, those who seek information about field activities, and those who want to reflect on the implementation of successful, high impact programs--whether they were broad-based or…

Neoliberal governments consider global business competitiveness to be thwarted by costly bureaucratic regulation and programme duplication. In an effort to downsize the costs of operating a state, the governors now streamline job training functions via a coordinated workforce and economic development effort known as sector strategies, with…

This update reports the passing of Dr. Lane Murray, founding superintendent of the Windham School District in Texas and two time president of the Correctional Education Association. It also discusses the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). In hopes of informing deliberations aimed at the reauthorization of WIA, the prestigious…

This report projects education requirements linked to forecasted job growth in healthcare by state and the District of Columbia from 2010 through 2020. It complements a larger national report which projects educational demand for healthcare for the same time period. The national report shows that with or without Obamacare, the United States will…

This paper discusses the importance of effective training and workforce development programs as part of a broader strategy to increase the competitiveness of American workers. Although rapid technological change and increasing global competition have delivered great economic benefits to the U.S. economy overall, the development of new and more…

Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs. There will be people who identify these crucial skills as software and hardware maintenance and manipulation. Those skills just scratch the surface of future employment needs. Using technology to create a document, manipulate data, and share knowledge is now crucial for more than…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to review two accounts of the history of workplace learning and training in the USA that emphasize issues of power and control in the determination of what training occurs, and place these issues at the center of their analyses. Design/methodology/approach: The two texts are reviewed and a constructivist paradigm…