The Wolf Report (2011) made clear that the proliferation of low-level vocational qualifications was in need of reform. It was thought that too many of these qualifications lacked substance, had little value in the jobs market and provided a weak platform for further development. Amongst the report's recommendations, which were largely accepted and…

Opportunity America received a grant from Lumina Foundation to conduct a national research study of community colleges' credit and noncredit occupational education programs and their relationships with employers. Opportunity America contracted with Wilder Research to manage data collection and analysis for the study. The purpose of this study was…

The Higher Education Act (HEA) can promote connections to work by supporting linkages to career pathways that help youth and adults with barriers to employment obtain postsecondary credentials that lead to family-sustaining jobs with the potential for career advancement. HEA also has the potential to support partnerships between higher education,…

This short description contributes to better understanding of vocational education and training (VET) in Romania by providing an insight into its main features and highlighting system developments and current challenges. Romanian VET offers diverse paths for learners. It comprises professional and technological programmes, regularly updated to…

This report looks at strategies for sustaining and expanding Registered Apprenticeship pathways for opportunity youth amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The report draws on promising practices from workforce boards and community-based organizations, and addresses topics including the digital divide, occupational mobility, and the provision of services…

This article considers the implications of a 'managed' approach to skills policy in Scotland, in which Government policy and the role of national institutional frameworks can be seen to be influential, and which contrasts with the more marketised approach which has been a central aspect of policy in England. A number of themes within these…

Postsecondary workforce development is one of the major innovations of the modern community college. In a workforce approach, curriculum is driven by the needs of local industry, course delivery systems are sufficiently flexible to meet the diverse needs of students and industry, and students experience a mixture of work-based and classroom…

A number of states are considering policy proposals to update credential or degree requirements for early educators. Practitioners, policy experts, and researchers have expressed concern, however, that well-intentioned policies to raise educator qualifications without sufficient supports may have negative consequences for the adequacy; stability;…

This brief article describes how Alamance Community College, a mid-sized community college sandwiched between two of North Carolina's largest metropolitan markets in Raleigh-Durham and Greensboro-Winston-Salem, has developed several new study programs and initiatives to better service business and industry. Among other things, Almanac has…

The Government has a target of three million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020, and is introducing an Apprenticeship Levy on the payroll of large employers to fund this increase and to encourage greater employer engagement with apprenticeships. Concerns have been raised about whether there should be a delay to get the details right;…

This paper focuses on the proposals for the introduction of "technical degrees" in English higher education institutions advanced by the Labour Party's Liam Byrne in a document entitled "Robbins Rebooted" which was published in August 2014 by the Social Market Foundation. The context and rationale for the proposed technical…

On the federal and state levels, 2019 was an important year for Career Technical Education (CTE). In addition to creating their four-year state plans for the federal Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), at least 45 states and Palau enacted at least 208 policy actions related to CTE and career…

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the current status of workforce preparation in Washington; identify high employer demand occupations, as well as fields in which academic degree production is failing to keep pace with demand; and highlight occupation fields in which students may find expanding employment opportunities. This…

The context of this study was to examine factors contributing to significant workforce shortages in building trades in the United States. As it is, recruitment of qualified skilled trades workers is becoming increasingly difficult due to lack of a pipeline of prospective workers, and training programs. The study assumed a theoretical inquiry…

This chapter discusses the relationship between the labour market and vocational education and training in England. For decades British governments have emphasised the need for more people to stay longer in the formal education system and at the same time have attempted to improve work-based training. They have also emphasised the centrality of…