The goal of the current study was to explore how psychology majors decide whether to enter the workforce or attend graduate school. Thirty-two psychology alumni, including 22 women and 10 men ("M"age = 28.88 years, SD = 5.25) participated in semi-structured interviews about their ending time as an undergraduate and figuring out next…

As states continue movement toward ambitious attainment goals, many are calling increased attention to post-graduation outcomes--including workforce development and graduate impact on a state's economy. Along with state initiatives and task forces, an increase in workforce development legislation highlights a movement toward codifying progress.…

States are introducing and enacting an increasing number of bills targeted toward workforce development and career and technical education. The increase in legislation illustrates a shift toward creating collaborations between higher education institutions and employers in the state as one strategy to enhance workforce development and…

As educational attainment grows increasingly more essential to individual and societal prosperity and simultaneously more expensive, policymakers' appetite for evidence of the return on the investment in a college education has swelled and they increasingly want to equip prospective college students and their families with concrete information…

This publication shares research from site visits conducted to construction pre-apprenticeship programs in Baltimore, Hartford, Milwaukee and Portland (OR). Findings from the site visits, which included interviews and focus groups with pre-apprenticeship program staff, public officials, philanthropic leaders, construction industry leaders and…

Governors are increasingly aware that the emerging economy will provide few well-paying jobs for workers who have not earned a postsecondary degree or a relevant workforce certificate. Fifty years ago, nearly 80 percent of all jobs required only a high school diploma or less and most paid a good wage. Fast-forward to data from 2013 and that number…

No doubt career and technical education (CTE) is integral in preparing a skilled workforce for today's jobs. Hands-on training is an important element of the CTE classroom, and when that occurs in an actual workplace setting, it may be called internship, apprenticeship or cooperative education. Whatever term is applied, it is another way in which…

This report focuses on the 15 states of the West (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming), their ability to educate minorities, and the resulting impact on their workforces and economies. The foundation of the Western U.S. economy rests on…

This report describes the Latino workforce in Oregon, outlining employment, income, education, and unemployment data. A brief history of Hispanics in the state notes that most of Oregon's Hispanics are of Mexican origin and that the state's Hispanic population grew 66 percent between 1990 and 1997. The history of migrant agricultural labor in…

Labor force issues do not take place in a vacuum. Most individuals base labor force decisions on a multitude of cultural and social factors, such as the environment in which they were reared, family obligations and responsibilities, divorce or the death of a spouse, or because of governmental policies. Sections in this document on demographics,…

Organized labor in Oregon supports a high-skill, high-wage economic development strategy. The Oregon AFL-CIO Committee on Worker Education and Training has made policy recommendations that support this strategy. The Oregon AFL-CIO believes that fundamental reform of education is needed and recommends the following: emphasis on a high level of…

The following presentations are included in this document: "A Nation of Students" (Lamar Alexander); "Businesses Are Clamoring for Skilled Workers" (Betsy Brand); "We Need to Be Partners in Reality" (Roberts Jones); "The Value of a Working Parent as a Role Model" (JoAnne Barnhart); "Human Capital Is…

This document evaluates the present needs and future shape of the Oregon workforce and recommends strategies for both public and private sectors and for communication. The first section provides a background to the issues of the state's changing economy by describing global and national economic changes and recent state legislative responses, and…

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,…

The extent of coordination and integration of welfare and work force development systems was examined in a study that involved site visits to 12 localities in 6 states. The following factors were found to promote coordination: a previous history of coordination; a strong local economy and low unemployment; access to technology; greater financial…