The United States is currently experiencing a decline of skilled talent in the workforce, with healthcare occupations suffering the most due to a loss in workforce talent and the onset of an aging population. This talent shortage is attributed to a "skills gap." The current case study used qualitative methodology to examine the expansion…

This paper asks the question: Is now the right time to consider a statewide policy initiative to support increased access for Massachusetts community college students to paid internships that can help them improve their employment and earnings trajectory? Is this something that employers, colleges, and state leaders would see as a welcome…

Throughout Baltimore, men and women, from young adults to older workers, are seeking meaningful employment opportunities that offer family-sustaining wages and support personal well-being. Labor markets are tight, meaning that skilled workers are in great demand, and a unique prospect exists to open doors to quality jobs, particularly for those…

This occasional paper provides an overview of the development of Australia's national training system and is a key knowledge document of a wider research project "Consistency with flexibility in the Australian national training system." This research project investigates the various approaches undertaken by each of the jurisdictions to…

The community-managed mental health sector is facing a crisis. Funding is less certain, demand for services is increasing, and retaining a skilled and competent workforce is proving a challenge. In order to respond to this workforce crisis a literature review was conducted on the effectiveness of higher education scholarship programmes, as a…

Youth transitions to rewarding careers remain a critical problem for America's current and future workforce. In Baltimore, where only one in five graduates of Baltimore City Public Schools matriculates to a four-year college and the unemployment rate for 16 to 19 year-olds is over 40 percent, opportunities to gain meaningful training and work…

WorkAdvance is a sectoral workforce development program designed to meet the needs of workers and employers alike. For unemployed and low-wage working adults, the program provides skills training in targeted sectors that have good-quality job openings with room for advancement within established career pathways. For employers in those sectors,…

The demand for workers (employers, self-employed people and employees) having research training extends beyond the researcher workforce itself and is increasing. The research workforce is not uniform but segmented according to disciplines and the economic and sectoral contexts in which researchers work. The growth of cross-disciplinary and…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative (2008-2011), funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, was created to build the capacity of community colleges nationwide to develop programming that engages the plus 50 learner. The Initiative supported a pilot group of 13 two-year institutions to develop or expand college…

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2009 to support local workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a…

The authors studied 50 organizations to find which have the most successful career development programs and why. The results are codified into 12 principles, including stay specific, tailor program to culture, build from a conceptual base, formalize, design multiple approaches, co-design and manage the project, ensure top management support, and…

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2008 to provide workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a business;…

The Vocational Education Amendments of 1968 have the potential for a major breakthrough in all education, vocational and otherwise. The Vocational Education Act of 1963 established broadened objectives and enlarged appropriations but did not tie funds to performance. Lacking that tie, no effective leverage existed to entice federal, state and…

States that are successfully integrating three development programs--economic, work force, and technology--are focusing on the results as the first step in the process and have an easier time developing, monitoring, and improving their strategies. To structure their integration efforts around results, states need to begin with a vision of a…

This 4-volume research guide to New Careers programs, which was derived from personal interviews with approximately 100 respondents in individual and group sessions, is intended to serve a variety of uses, such as: (1) to encourage program planners and operators to utilize research as a means of contributing to problem solving, and (2) to…