In many rural areas, the local college is the center of the community: It is the primary source of education and job training for residents; a cultural hub offering arts and sporting events; a hotspot for broadband internet access; and, sometimes, the area's largest employer. When a rural region has few other large institutions, the local college…

In a rapidly changing 21st-century economy with growing competition from abroad, continuing to field a world-leading, skilled workforce is both more essential and more challenging than ever to the mission of delivering increasing prosperity for American families and preserving our nation's economic leadership. The US must therefore confront its…

California is at a crossroads in terms of STEM and health workforce development. On the one hand, California has more available entry-level STEM jobs than any other state in the country and a steadily growing health workforce, giving large segments of its population access to stable careers. On the other hand, California's public colleges and…

Purpose: The use of teams in organizations given the current trend toward globalization, population changes, and an aging workforce, especially in high-income countries, makes the issue of diverse team building critical. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of team diversity and team performance through the examination of theory and…

What directions should workforce policy in the U.S. take over the next few decades in light of major labor market developments that will likely occur--such as the retirements of baby boomers and continuing globalization? This new volume edited by Harry J. Holzer and Demetra Smith Nightingale presents fresh thoughts on the topic. This book offers…

This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Lifelong Learning for Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development: Developing a Research Agenda for the Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, 12-13 January 2011. Tom Karmel suggests that there are four implications of an ageing population: the need to improve labour force participation and…

The United States has provided generations of its residents with the prospect of advancing themselves through education and hard work, and U.S. leaders have the opportunity to make sure this continues for generations to come. To do so, they must handle the national deficit in a decisive, thoughtful manner, ensuring a prosperous future for the…

The "System Strategic Plan for the California Community Colleges" provides a comprehensive road map for restoring student access and improving student success. The Plan addresses the major demographic, economic and educational challenges that California will face over the coming decades. It presents clear system goals, specific…

The "four spheres" model of transformation, as viewed through the lens of the urban mission of California State University, Fresno, is examined through current projects in economic development, infrastructure development, human development, and the fourth sphere, which encompasses the broad vision. Local projects will be highlighted.

Human capital is a broad and multifaceted concept encompassing many different types of investment in people. However, the key aspect of human capital has to do with the knowledge and skills embodied in people. Human capital has always been an extremely important determinant of individual and social progress. In the present scenario, it is the…

Countries in the Arab region are faced with the challenge of developing their populations' skills and technical knowledge, or human capital, in order to compete in the 21st century global economy. The authors describe the education and labor market initiatives implemented or under way in four countries in the Arab region -- Lebanon, Oman, Qatar,…

This report presents a detailed assessment of the extent to which "The Pittsburgh Promise"--a postsecondary education scholarship intended to remedy the area's population decline, foster high school completion and college readiness among Pittsburgh district students, and prepare a capable and energetic workforce for the city--has met its…

Five major challenges facing vocational education are (1) the changing demographic composition of the United States; (2) the shift from a manufacturing to a service economy and decline in productivity; (3) composition of the labor force; (4) reform of preparation for work; and (5) the politics of race. (SK)

In the context of aging populations, governments in Australia and in other Western nations fear that slower growth in the numbers of people of working age (15-64 years) will have a dampening effect on economic growth. They are thus considering how to encourage older workers to remain in the workforce beyond the point at which many currently…

NEBRASKA'S POPULATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH WERE COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE NATION FROM 1910 UNTIL THE PRESENT, WITH SPECIFIC ATTENTION TO NEBRASKA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN RECENT YEARS. PUBLISHED MATERIAL WAS THE SOURCE OF THE DATA. FROM 1900 TO 1960, NEBRASKA'S POPULATION GROWTH RATE WAS ONE-THIRD THE NATIONAL RATE. THE NET OUT-MIGRATION AVERAGED…