In "America's Hidden Economic Engines," editors Robert B. Schwartz and Rachel Lipson spotlight community and technical colleges as institutions uniquely equipped to foster more equitable economic growth across America's regions. As Schwartz and Lipson show, these colleges are the best-placed institutions to reverse the decades-long rise…

The report provides a landscape analysis of the workforce development environment in Texas. Many organizations are performing valuable roles in ensuring that the labor markets in Texas operate efficiently, supplying employers with skilled workers and providing workers with opportunities to continue their career advancement through reskilling. The…

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) single mission is graduating students who can go on to attain higher-paying jobs. The state's funding formula was specifically designed to hold TSTC accountable to accomplish this mission. Texas statute stipulates that TSTC will offer "courses of study in technical-vocational education for which there is…

New York's workforce system is a complicated entity that engages nearly a dozen state agencies and myriad funding streams originating at the federal and state levels, and operates on the ground in ten economic development regions, 33 designated workforce investment areas, community-based organizations, labor unions and 62 counties. This report…

At the University of Houston (UH), the arrival of a new chancellor/president in 2007 resulted in a strategic environmental scan to determine areas where the university's efforts should be focused over the next ten years. Several major initiatives were launched, including one that sought to make UH a major energy university. The decision to embrace…

This hearing reviewed ways individuals can make federal job training programs more efficient and effective. Such programs are critical to fostering a competitive workforce and assisting unemployed citizens. However, serious concerns about program fragmentation and potential duplication exist that could result in significant waste. This Committee…

South Texas College (STC), created in 1993 as South Texas Community College (STCC), has developed from a concept by visionary leaders in the region to currently offering more than one hundred degree and certificate options for students from the counties of Hidalgo and Starr, including two bachelor of applied technology (B.A.T.) degrees. These…

While the Milwaukee region's economic base is rooted in its manufacturing history, many believe that the region's future prosperity will be tied to its ability to successfully transition its economy into one that is based on knowledge and innovation. Indeed, fostering innovation has become the call to action for business and political leaders…

"Linking Workforce Development to Economic Development: A Casebook for Community Colleges" is a compilation of best practice examples, which illustrate what it takes for community colleges to achieve their goal of helping people acquire education and skills, helping employers, supporting communities, and building the nation. The book is…

This series of reports explores a statewide solution to the work force problems in Texas. The previous report, A Call to Action, described the current status of the Texas work force and introduced the concept of the Human Investment System as a means to improve that status by making human investment and people-serving programs and services in…

As part of an effort to identify ways in which Midland College (Texas) and local businesses can respond to the economic needs of the community, these three papers by the Midland's Business and Economic Development Center offer various perspectives on the economic climate and labor market of the Permian Basis. The first report, "Midland's…

Focusing on the factors inhibiting the labor market's adjustment to economic change, the study examined the economic and social problems facing southern rural areas and populations, including Chicanos and migrants. Factors were in the areas of the labor market behavior, income and earnings, poverty, welfare system and welfare reform, manpower…

Drawing from an analysis of more than 50 documents related to the need for technical education and training in Texas, and from interviews with 29 individuals knowledgeable about the state's technical education and training, this report assesses the current statewide capacity to to adequately train the workforce that is the expected requirement for…

This report proposes several distinct--yet interrelated--policy opportunities that can move more Texans into the middle class. These proposals blend greater state-level investments with common sense policy changes to increase economic well-being for working Texans. While Texas policy makers have recognized the connection between workforce…

The organizational and working relationships between postsecondary education and economic development in selected states were investigated, with emphasis on identifying state-level coordinated programs in 12 geographically diverse states known to be active in linking education to economic development (Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana,…