This article illustrates projected employment change by industry and industry sector over 2010-20 decade. Workers are grouped into an industry according to the type of good produced or service provided by the establishment for which they work. Industry employment projections are shown in terms of numeric change (growth or decline in the total…

This Issue Brief will explore the essential role that career and technical education programs play in addressing many of the issues faced by unemployed and underemployed workers. These programs target the adult learner through short-term and accelerated courses; utilize flexible learning approaches to account for students' other responsibilities;…

At a time when the academic job market is looking bleak, the author asked career experts and economic forecasters to predict where faculty job growth could come in the next decade. Many agreed that job prospects will be dim because of budget cuts and diminishing faculty pension funds that have made professors less likely to retire. In addition,…

Getting a master's degree means lots of late nights, busy weekends, and probably taking on student loan debt. The commitment raises the question: Is it worth it? This article takes a comprehensive look at how much a master's is worth, which degree one should pursue, and how one can find a balance in graduate school.

Labor market economists argue that it is difficult to fit occupations into a few skill categories, but most will agree that there are at least three. In this schema, high-skill occupations are those in the professional/technical and managerial categories. Low-skill occupations are in the traditional, in-person service and agricultural categories.…

The construction industry has long been a leader in predicting economic prosperity and in responding to customers' needs. In the last few years, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has managed to assemble the only ANSI-approved standards for green construction in the nation. During this time and with an eye toward the future, NAHB and…

The economic downturn and growing skills mismatch dramatically highlight the importance of programs that retrain workers for the demands of the current workplace. The career and technical education (CTE) system has played a large role in the development of these programs, and CTE educators are leading efforts to ensure that new and newly…

In order to jumpstart the economy, "Made in the U.S.A." needs to be synonymous with in-demand, high-quality products sold throughout the world. Recognizing the importance of the manufacturing industry and its connection to a healthy economy, President Obama addressed Carnegie Mellon University and launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership…

Malcolm Perdue faces a dilemma as challenging as the computer games he loves to play. The 19-year-old student at Atlanta Metropolitan College wants to learn how to become a game designer. Not only would doing so be a lot of fun, designers can make $80,000 a year early in their careers. But his school has limited options in the field. Nearby…

Those following recent employment trends have heard about the nursing shortage. A combination of increased demand and impending retirements means 1 million nurses will be needed in hospitals, homes, and medical facilities by 2018. That's good news for job seekers. But it is not just shortages in nursing. Allied health careers, including…

Millions of Americans remain unemployed. Yet, as of July 2010, about 3 million mainly STEM-related jobs were vacant across the U.S. economy. More firms are beginning to report that even though there are huge numbers of available workers, those workers do not have the skills the firms want. Businesses are struggling to find the talent needed to…

Improving the Russian economy depends in part on having well-educated and energetic personnel, and this is being hindered by universities in which there is an aging professoriate and students enrolled in specialties that are not in demand by employers. Higher education is expected not only to conduct programs of specialist training in order to…

One of the most important components to the discussion of emerging careers is the recognition that the American economy will need an increasingly skilled workforce. According to the recent report, "Help Wanted: Projections of Job and Education Requirements Through 2018," the American workforce will be in need of 22 million new college degrees as…

Educators must prepare today's youth not only for jobs requiring a four-year college experience, but also for careers that demand more than a high school diploma but something other than a traditional university degree. This is why technical schools can be a viable option for training students with skills needed for a particular type of…

The job market on North American campuses may be heading for the deep freeze, but hundreds of positions are opening up in the Persian Gulf as American universities scramble to set down roots in those petrodollar-rich states. The combination of money and opportunity on offer may seem hard to resist. But academics who trade the rich intellectual…