Since the 1980s, capital mobility and state restructuring have increased precarity in older industrial regions, such as eastern Connecticut (CT). These changes reconfigured labor markets, changing the work available, including the types, conditions, and skills required. Greater responsibility devolved onto poor and working-class people to navigate…

In late 2020, Connecticut community colleges participated in a national study of community college workforce education. Connecticut was one of 14 states where education authorities volunteered to encourage colleges to respond early enough in 2020 to receive preliminary statewide results in January 2021. This brief compares Connecticut to the 14…

This report examines the structural divide between for-credit and noncredit postsecondary education and the problems it presents for people seeking better jobs with higher pay. It highlights innovative ways that some community colleges are trying to bridge the gap nationally--creating more seamless pathways between credit and noncredit…

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…

"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 thesis attempts to deal with difficult methodological problems of program evaluation; the particular programs considered are two types of manpower training programs: institutional or "classroom" training and government-subsidized on the job training. Characteristics of cost-benefit analysis are investigated and the method is…

This document reports on degrees and certificates awarded by the Connecticut community colleges during the 2001-02 academic year, using a set of eight categories. The colleges awarded 3,977 degrees and certificates in 2001-02. This represents a 1.3% increase over the previous year, and a 7.2% decrease since 1998. The colleges awarded 735…

Because their fiscal health depends on having a large base of high-wage taxpayers, states have an economic interest in increasing their citizens' skill levels. In today's global economy, high wages are increasingly tied to the high skills required to function successfully in high performance work organizations. Employer-provided skill upgrading…

As part of the effort to create a labor force that is competitive across the world, Connecticut is planning a School-to-Career System that would give high school students the opportunity to extend learning into the community and workplace. The state would provide schools with information about the fastest-growing jobs and skills needed for…

The training needs of Connecticut's small businesses and their employees are not being adequately met. Small businesses face an economy placing increasing demands on them: a worsening labor shortage, an aging work force, and changing skills in the workplace. Gaps in private and public sector training programs impede small businesses from meeting…

A study was done to determine the extent of current employment, expected job growth, necessary job skills, and the educational background preferred by employers in the solid waste field. Eight different questionnaires were developed and representatives of the solid waste management industry from 1,004 state agencies, municipalities, and private…

This document contains the reports on audits of the one-stop systems in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Vermont. The overall audit conclusions were as follows: (1) the states have made substantial efforts toward forming new comprehensive workforce investment systems as mandated by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA); (2)…

This document records the oral and written testimony of witnesses at a U.S. Senate hearing on education, small business, and the economy. During the hearing, representatives of the public schools, vocational and technical training, and community colleges, as well as representatives of large and small businesses and persons involved in linking…

The Connecticut State Council on Vocational-Technical Education made recommendations to improve education that would help students prepare for the work force. The council evaluated the following: its belief statement; the Connecticut economy; the state's ability to support technical jobs; and education and training for work in Connecticut,…

Increasingly, small and mid-sized businesses are becoming just as focused on work force training as large corporations are. The training being provided by smaller companies is extending beyond nuts-and-bolts instruction into the area of core business skills, such as leading, managing, thinking creatively, and solving problems. States are…