Many adults--particularly those with just a high school education--struggle to get and keep jobs that pay enough to support their families and permit upward mobility. At the same time, some employers report difficulty finding people with the right skills to meet their needs. Programs that target in-demand industries or sectors and heavily involve…

This report examines how technology and automation are changing the job market -- and what states can do to prepare adults for the new workplace. It analyzes shifts from low- to middle-skills jobs, details current education levels, and offers recommendations for retooling adult education programs.

America and the South seem to have turned a corner on the deep and prolonged recession that started in 2008. The stranglehold it has had on jobs and job prospects caught many by surprise, and it has caused education leaders to refocus state policy on the relationship between career preparation and education. This report provides updates on the…

Students need learning experiences connected with the world of work to equip them to enter the workforce and secure good jobs. This report provides an overview of funding for career and technical education and a detailed look at Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding models in Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West…

Career and technical education courses, such as agricultural education, exist, in part, to assist students in acquiring the competencies needed to achieve employability. However, whether the current secondary agricultural education curriculum meets the needs of industry leaders who employ high school graduates of agricultural education programs is…

Non-technical, employability skills are in high demand for entry-level job-seekers. As such, this study sought to describe the perceptions of Oklahoma's animal science industry leaders as it related to the employability skills needed for entry-level employment of high school graduates who had completed coursework in Oklahoma's Agricultural, Food…

A study was conducted to determine the type of documentation of students' skills desired by employers in the banking and residential carpentry industries. Data were collected by interviews with employers of random samples of banking institutions (thirty-one) and residential carpentry firms (thirty-five) in Oklahoma. Results of the study led to the…

A study, part of a doctoral dissertation at Oklahoma State University, identified those clerical occupations that fall within the realm of the office assistant program. It also determined from employers major concerns and problems encountered in terms of employee performance in selected occupations. Phase I collected data from 22 instructors of…

This guide contains a series of multiple-choice items and guidelines to assist instructors in composing criterion-referenced tests for use in the food service supervisor component of Oklahoma's Dietetic Support Personnel training program. Test items addressing each of the following occupational duty areas are provided: human relations; nutrient…

This teaching guide is designed for eleventh- or twelfth-grade consumer, homemaking, and occupational child care students in Oklahoma. This in-depth study is designed to provide basic knowledge of child development and to develop skills ncecssary to care for children. In this volume attention is focused on employment in child care occupations,…

The impacts of 20 welfare-to-work programs across the United States were evaluated to determine which clients derive the greatest benefits from different approaches to moving individuals from welfare to work. Of the 20 programs examined, 7 were characterized as employment focused, 5 provided a mix of first activities without an employment focus, 4…