Increasing the number of college students who earn STEM credentials and enter STEM careers remains a national priority, as does the need to diversify the population of STEM workers by race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic background. This fact sheet describes how community colleges hold potential for diversifying the STEM workforce as well as…

The U.S. energy sector has become highly innovative in developing and applying new technologies. These innovations often require higher-paid, more-highly skilled labor, yet many employers in the region report that they have difficulty filling jobs, particularly for medium-skilled (or semi skilled) positions that require only a high school…

Workforce development represents a central priority in a comprehensive effort to create wealth, industry thickening, and broad-based prosperity. From the onset of the Great Recession in 2007, the Sacramento Region experienced anemic economic growth and remained behind the nation in job creation. Contextualized in the aftermath of the economic…

This dissertation is an examination of the state of the liberal arts curriculum in community colleges in three geographic regions of the United States. From a constructivist paradigm and using globalization theory as a theoretical framework, this multiple case study examined faculty work life and administrative processes related to curriculum…

This career planning curriculum is designed for use with Chicano or Latino community college students. Addressed in the curriculum are the following topics: cultural and self-awareness; career awareness (self-assessment, assessment of jobs and organizations, economic awareness, and Hispanics in the work force); decision making and planning (making…

A two-round Delphi study was conducted to identify the characteristics of viable and sustainable employees in northeastern Tennessee in 2015. The Delphi panel selected for the study consisted of 25 experts who represented a cross-section of the businesses and communities in the 10-county area of northeastern Tennessee served by Walters State…

The 31 papers in this yearbook are organized in five sections: I. Changes in the Labor Force, which includes: "Labor Market Needs to the Year 2000" (Morgan V. Lewis) and "Occupational Adaptability and Transferable Skills: Preparing Today's Adults for Tomorrow's Careers" (Frank C. Pratzner and William L. Ashley); II. Educating Adult Students, which…

A project was conducted to improve the state of Washington's community and technical college system by developing and using an improved occupational forecasting system to assess and respond to education and training needs. First, long-term occupational forecast data from Washington's Employment Security Department were matched with technical and…