External developments and intra-professional needs, challenges, and opportunities recommend a workforce research and development agenda. In particular: (a) new models for schools necessitate customized, evidence-based curricula and school/community programs; (b) the effectiveness of every curriculum and program depends on workforce readiness,…

This report from a workshop funded by the National Science Foundation recommends how federal agencies can more effectively support STEM workforce needs. Business executives and CEOs, college and university presidents, professional associations, state leaders, and heads of federal agencies recognize that developing a STEM-capable workforce is…

Each state participates in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which prescribes certain types of activities and organizational structures for states to direct federal investments in workforce development. Participation in WIOA requires a state to create a workforce investment board with duties such as developing, implementing and…

The American education system and labor market are heavily biased toward college graduates. However, for many Americans--perhaps even the majority, who do not earn even a community-college degree--and for many career paths, positions that combine immediate on-the-job experience with employer-sponsored training offer the best opportunity to enter…

Arkansas is implementing a partner-driven approach to build business knowledge and practices around basic principles of fiscal health for licensed and registered early childhood education (ECE) providers. The overarching goal of the initiative is to gather input from established ECE administrators and directors in centers and from owners of family…

Due to discrimination, crisis and conflict, and violence, many young people have missed out on opportunities to acquire the skills and education needed for employment. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) supports second-chance education programs to serve disadvantaged, marginalized, over-age, and out-of-school children and youth to…

As the free college debate continues to gain momentum in states across the country, advocates' and policymakers' growing success in reframing access to college as a guaranteed benefit raises the question: Should federal or state governments do more to ensure that guarantee includes access to quality job training programs more generally, and if so,…

At the 2017 meeting of the Academy of Human Resource Development Annual Town Hall, four scholars discussed their diverse outlooks on the research and practice of career development in the Human Resource Development field. What follows in this curated collection of voices is a look into the perspective of each person who spoke at the 2017 Town Hall…

Institutions of higher education in the twenty-first century are undergoing a transformation locally and globally from traditional pillars of learning to being more entrepreneurial in their core business. There is increasing pressure on universities to becoming more flexible and adaptable as organizations and in the graduate attributes, they imbed…

After tracking barriers of adult education learners pursuing their GED®, the Career Learning Center of the Black Hills (CLCBH) found that high rates of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and other trauma-related experiences led to an ongoing sense of helplessness and despair among many of our adult learners, in particular Native American…

In many rural areas, the local college is the center of the community: It is the primary source of education and job training for residents; a cultural hub offering arts and sporting events; a hotspot for broadband internet access; and, sometimes, the area's largest employer. When a rural region has few other large institutions, the local college…

The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted and accelerated two trends that were already occurring in the American workplace: First, the demand for new skills and competencies, including digital skills, from workers at every level. Second, the growing importance of investing in upskilling strategies that can help two groups of workers: Those who are…

The practice of Human Resource Development (HRD) work often occurs in consulting opportunities at ongoing businesses, agencies and non-profit organizations. These are the spaces where human resources development (HRD) consultants hone their skills and affect change in work settings. Consultants in HRD utilize skills not only across the HRD field…

In 1997, Samsung received an $80 million tax abatement to build a plant in Austin, Texas amid the promise of "high paying jobs." People were excited about the company coming to town and there was great buzz, but then they learned that most of the jobs would pay minimum wage. At a meeting of non-profits gathered to learn more about the…

G. Rumay Alexander is a leader working to transform nursing education and address systemic racism within the nursing profession and the health care system more broadly. At the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Alexander serves as clinical professor at the School of Nursing and assistant dean for relational excellence at the Adams…