The Council on Postsecondary Education (Council) is charged with guiding the reform efforts envisioned by state policy leaders in the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997 and is Kentucky's statewide postsecondary and adult education coordinating agency. To gain better insight into economic conditions and workforce trends,…

The authors of this report aim to understand the health of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and labor market in the Appalachia region -- defined as the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia -- with a focus on the mining and extraction industry. This report is the third in a three-part series.…

Technical efficiency is the ability of a firm to produce its maximum output using a set of inputs or to minimise the use of its inputs to produce a certain level of output. When a firm is operating at its most efficient, operating costs can be minimised, profits maximised and competitiveness improved. This study investigates the role of a firm's…

The Committee for Economic Development (CED) believes the nation must focus on effective pathways to help students from all backgrounds and educational attainments successfully transition to careers as members of a skilled US workforce. To further that goal, this report looks at three tools to better serve those students whose initial entry into…

This second of five annual reports focuses on employment and wages in energy and advanced manufacturing-related industries and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education indicators in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region, comprising twenty-seven counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Together,…

This first of five annual reports focuses on employment and wages in energy and advanced manufacturing--related industries and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education indicators in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region. Together, these reports will capture trends over the next four years to (1) inform the…

The Certification Data Exchange Project (CDEP) was launched in 2012 to provide a model for sharing industry-recognized credential attainment data. Increasingly, employers and education leaders are recognizing the value of industry credentials to verify the knowledge, skills and abilities that students bring to the workforce. As states take steps…

Every person deserves the opportunity for dignified employment that provides living wages and potential for advancement. However, for many in America today, this is far from reality, as they are caught in a cycle of low-wage work, earning poverty wages, and unable to move up in the economy. Local leaders, firms, and workers need to adapt quickly…

This paper examines evidence from the HESA DLHE six-month Censuses and 3½ year ('longitudinal') surveys relating to three aspects of the flows of those who have left university with Higher Education Engineering qualifications, to test the robustness of the conclusions of SKOPE Research Paper No. 122 (Dixon, 2015), which showed strong evidence that…

Fewer than 40 percent of Americans have a college degree. As the economy grows ever more dependent on a highly skilled workforce, this statistic speaks volumes about the future prosperity of the nation and its least-advantaged members. It also raises a critical question: What is being done to improve the educational attainment of the workforce?…

Fewer than 40 percent of Americans have a college degree. As the economy grows ever more dependent on a highly skilled workforce, this statistic speaks volumes about the future prosperity of the nation and its least-advantaged members. It also raises a critical question: What is being done to improve the educational attainment of the workforce?…

Over the past several decades, the demand in California for college-educated workers has grown. But the supply of college graduates has not kept pace with demand, and it appears that this "workforce skills gap" will not only continue but widen. This study examines the causes, magnitude, and likely consequences of the potential mismatch…

Despite growth in the service sector, manufacturing remains a vital part of the rural South's economic base and is related to lower poverty rates. However, manufacturing is changing, adopting new technologies and management practices, and seeking more highly skilled labor. Poor rural schools, an unskilled workforce, and absence of community…

The Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC) collaborates with Wyoming's seven community colleges to provide educational experiences that strengthen, support and enrich communities and prepare students to successfully meet life's challenges and recognize and profit from opportunities. Wyoming's seven community colleges provide affordable,…

In the past, economic development in the rural United States, particularly in the rural South, relied principally on the attractiveness of a low-wage work force to mass-production manufacturing industries. Now however, the viability of the traditional mass-production economy's organizational structure and operating procedures has been eroded by…