Since its introduction in the early 1900s, the codification of vocational education has made explicit that one purpose of the American public education system should be preparation for the workforce. Over three-quarters of high school students participate in present-day career and technical education, nearly half of undergraduate degrees conferred are sub-baccalaureate degrees, and almost 3 million individuals have accessed over 70,000 publicly-funded training programs in the past 5 years. In recent years, states have placed a renewed effort on workforce training, and on a national level, employers frequently reference a "skills gap" between the skills necessary for work and the skills that workers possess. Despite high levels of participation and growing consensus that this training benefits both participants and employers, relatively little is known about how the US education and training system at various levels prepares people for the workforce. In this dissertation, I analyze this preparation at three levels. The first paper aims to understand between- and within-school differences in high school career and technical education course offerings, engagement, and college-going. The second paper measures the impact of a policy aimed at increasing dual enrollment access and smoothing the pipeline to community colleges on participation, college enrollment, and college completion. The third paper describes access to the system of workforce training options, both within and outside of institutions of higher education, for adults with high school diplomas but without bachelor's degrees. I situate each paper with the knowledge that low-income, Black, and Latino workers are most likely to participate in workforce training. This work broadens workforce development research by providing a robust description of training across an entire state (Papers 1 and 2) and across the US (Paper 3). It also deepens this research by analyzing equity in access to various types of training, as well as outcomes from participation. These findings have important state- and federal-level policy implications and school-level practice implications for policymakers and practitioners seeking to expand access or target funding to workforce training. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]