Government reports and documents claim that building a high skill society is critical for national success in China. In this paper, eight policies in relation to the government's espoused priorities of upskilling are examined. Applying the principles of critical policy analysis, the paper aims to expose the ideological presuppositions made in…

As state political leaders look toward a postpandemic era, they are being presented with complex economic and workforce development challenges that will require intensive, intentional collaboration between business, higher education, and state government. Workforce participation rates remain far below prepandemic levels, businesses continue to…

U.S. strength in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has formed the basis of innovations, technologies, and industries that have spurred the nation's economic growth throughout the last 150 years. Universities are essential to the creation and transfer of new knowledge that drives innovation. This knowledge moves…

Progress in educational development in the world since 1900 has been slow and uneven between countries. Providing basic education for all children in developing countries has been and remains an unmet challenge of governments and international organizations alike. This is in sharp contrast to recent findings in the economics literature on the…

Universities transform lives. Going to university leads to new ways of seeing the world, to new horizons and networks, and to significantly enhanced job opportunities, but not everyone benefits in the same way. Fewer students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds go to university, and when they do they tend not to do as well as…

Recognizing that higher education, including community colleges, four-year colleges, and research universities, cannot help drive economic growth in their states unless students' academic success is linked to the needs of the marketplace, governors and state policymakers are beginning to move beyond their focus on getting more students to get…

The publication is based on the "Adult Readiness Roundtable" Project co-sponsored by CAAL and the National Center on Education and the Economy on April 6-7, 2009. It is not a transcript of the Roundtable discussion; instead it reports on a two-day discussion meeting among a group of exemplary adult-education-for-work programs from around the…

Regions around the country are grappling with current and anticipated skills shortages and, in some cases, labor shortages. Economic prosperity depends heavily on the quality of the workforce, and yet far too few regions have recognized their best underutilized asset: the mature workforce. Because mature workers are nearing traditional retirement…

This report finds that now more than ever, New York needs a strong workforce development system--but declining funds and uncoordinated programs are obstacles to progress. In December 2003, the Center for an Urban Future and the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals released a report, "Seeking a Workforce System,"…

Examination of best practices for training and school-to-work transition in Germany, Sweden, Japan, and Singapore revealed commonalities: national full-employment policies; commitment to high-skill, high-wage economy through investment in education and training; continual upgrading of worker skills; and diffusion of costs across the public and…

Reviews education and training aspects of Clinton proposals and recommends funding of prenatal care, Head Start, and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); parenting training for WIC, Head Start, and welfare recipient parents; revival of career education; expansion of cooperative education and tech prep; assessment of national standards and…

The role of labor planning in Canadian universities is examined with regard to new economic imperatives and data production initiatives by the federal employment and immigration agency. Conventional labor planning is rejected and guidelines for improving university-labor market linkage within existing policy and institutional frameworks are…

This report continues the California Postsecondary Education Commission's ongoing examination of the nexus between postsecondary education and workforce development, focusing on the projected needs for skills and knowledge in a 21st century global economy. This is the second in a series of policy briefs developed for that project. The first brief…

The literature shows a strong connection between education standards and economic development, but the mechanisms are many and complex. Four human capital development approaches are available: redesigning and rebuilding the foundation (scrapping the back-to-basics approach); stressing applications skills required by high-performance organizations;…

Work force issues regarding technological change, international trade, and changes in job skills were the subject of a series of studies of work force changes in U.S. industries. The studies examined the characteristics of employees in 61 manufacturing industries in 1960, 1970, and 1980 through data obtained from the Labor Demographics Matrices…