The U.S. economy has changed dramatically in recent decades, from one that was heavily industrial to one that is mostly service and knowledge based. In the process, demand has grown for workers with higher levels of education and a different mix of skills. This period of rapid change is far from over. Population aging, the rise of new…

Micro-credentials vis a vis competency-based certifications of skill domains have existed for decades across vocational-technical education and the professions. What appears to be changing is the "priority" ascribed to different micro-credentials along a credentials continuum that has focused on formal degrees and certificates. This…

At a time with an increasing focus on return on investment, employers must adopt business strategies that are scalable; driven by their own data; and inclusive of students and workers of all ages, experiences, and backgrounds. Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) is a workforce strategy that focuses on the development and delivery of talent from…

This article critically reviews the World Bank's latest high-profile report on skills development in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the Report's prescriptions and recommendations are broadly in line with those of national skills development strategies elsewhere in both the developed and developing world, its overall analysis is quite limited and…

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the United States was overdue for a transformation of its postsecondary education and workforce development systems to meet the vast skill and employment needs of today's workers and employers. The pandemic has exponentially increased this need for change, with millions of Americans permanently out of work and in…

This report argues that the education and skills individuals possess have become increasingly important to their overall quality of life. As technology and automation continue to alter the workplace and the nature of work, the ability of individuals to acquire and augment their skills will remain a key challenge. Changes in the nature of work over…

Given changes in the 21st century workplace and expectations of employers, the notion that a bachelor's degree is the sole pathway to sustainable employment and a middle-class life in the United States has become obsolete. Many (e.g., Fleming, 2016) have argued that employers are now seeking employees with technical skills, digital literacy, and…

Manufacturing in advanced open economies has experienced significant disruption. Rapid technological change, outsourcing and off shoring have beset manufacturing resulting in a general and steady decline in manufacturing employment. Despite this turbulence, there remains a strong nostalgia for manufacturing resulting in frequent public policy…

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…

Dr. Jacobson's analysis of "hard to serve" is well founded, especially from an academic and theoretical perspective, yet the author is left wanting. Is the solution to merely change the language, the terminology of the legislation, or the terminology used by policy makers as well as practitioners? Are these adults hard to serve or ill…

Over the past 35 years, a range of 'new' policy actors and networks has emerged from the private sector under the rationale of efficient, free-market alternatives to traditional public policymakers. Under a critical policy studies framework, this paper uses discourse analysis and interviews with key stakeholders to examine how one regional…

Globalization presents Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with opportunities for economic growth and transformation, as many of these nations face economic challenges such as the need for a diversified knowledge-based economy because of the finite resource of hydrocarbons. This requires the development of human capital providing workers with…

Development economists have considered physical infrastructure to be a precondition for industrialization and economic development. Infrastructure investments play a particularly important role in expanding overall employment opportunities either directly by absorbing workers or indirectly by crowding in private investments, technology adoption,…

Amidst academic societies and agencies that accredit computing education there is a growing enthusiasm to reexamine the efficacy of the traditional model of curricular description that focused on areas of knowledge. The knowledge model informed the architecture and design of programs of teaching and learning in post-secondary, degree-granting…

The American dream promised that if you worked hard, you could move up, with well-paying working-class jobs providing a gateway to an ever-growing middle class. Today, however, we have increasing inequality, not economic convergence. Technological advances are putting quality jobs out of reach for workers who lack the proper skills and training.…