Youth transitions to rewarding careers remain a critical problem for America's current and future workforce. In Baltimore, where only one in five graduates of Baltimore City Public Schools matriculates to a four-year college and the unemployment rate for 16 to 19 year-olds is over 40 percent, opportunities to gain meaningful training and work…

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…

Career and technical education (CTE) is increasingly seen as a major potential contributor to the recovery of the U.S. economy. However, the effectiveness and impact of the current Carl D. Perkins Act (otherwise known as Perkins IV) that governs CTE are unclear. Is the federal investment in CTE paying off? To answer this, we need to establish the…

Critical elements of career development may be ignored unless systematic intervention is planned. The objectives to be achieved in the Career Guidance Model are grouped into five phases: (1) awareness of self and society with individual orientation/attitudes; (2) awareness of self-in-society; (3) individual selection orientation/valuing; (4)…

The skill needs of 3,500 Wisconsin employers were surveyed by mail (1,850 usable returns) and by telephone those of 102 of these employers (93 percent response). Findings included the following: (1) most employers face an increasing shortage of skilled workers; (2) employees tend to be deficient in basic skills; (3) employers are striving for…

This document describes a project that developed this K-12 generic Work Experience Handbook to help Wisconsin high schools implement work experience programs. The first 13 pages describe the purpose and objectives of the project and the need for the handbook; the methods used to develop it, including the use of steering and work committees and…

To address the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) client's need for career development experience and skills, the Affirmative Action Office of Dane County (Wisconsin) and the Adult Work Experience Program (AWEP) staff plan to implement a year-long training program aimed at job exploration, internship, and personalized decision…