Linking Workforce Development to Economic Development


Book Description

"Provides 28 case studies demonstrating how community colleges identify and address the continuous learning needs of their communities and how they develop individuals, help employers, and support communities as they fill the workforce training needs of the country"--Provided by publisher.







Growing Fairly


Book Description

Tested, practical ideas to meet current and future skilling needs of both workers and employers The labor market in the United States faces seemingly contradictory challenges: Many employers have trouble finding qualified applicants for current and future jobs, while millions of Americans are out of work or are underemployed—their paths to living-wage jobs blocked by systemic barriers or lack of adequate skills. Growing Fairly offers workforce development reforms that meet the needs of both workers and employers. Based on the experiences of hundreds of leaders and workers, the authors set out ten principles for designing a more effective and equitable system that helps workers obtain the skills necessary for economic mobility. The principles outlined in the book argue for a more comprehensive view of the skilling needs of current and prospective workers. They spell out the attributes of effective programs and make the case for skill-based hiring, widely distributed performance data, and collaboration. The book emphasizes the importance of local action to overcome the structural barriers that challenge even the most determined would-be learners. Growing Fairly shows cross sector leaders how to work across organizational boundaries to change the trajectory of individuals struggling to make a living wage. This is not a book of untested theories. Instead, it is written by practitioners for practitioners. Much of it is told through the voices of those who run programs and people who have taken advantage of them. While the issues the book addresses are profound, its take on the subject is optimistic. Between them, the authors have spent decades searching out and supporting effective practices. Even more critically, they have learned how to knit competing agencies and organizations into cohesive systems with coordinated missions. Their practical ideas will benefit a wide range of readers, from practitioners in the field to students and scholars of the American labor system.




Connecting People to Work


Book Description

With many Americans striving to build their skills to get jobs in a rapidly changing economy, the workforce development field has seen a significant increase in sector strategies, which focus on the specific skills that employers need and address the real-world challenges facing low-income workers. Maureen Conway and Robert P. Giloth deliver a robust volume featuring perspectives from prominent nonprofit and philanthropy leaders, academics and researchers to capture how sector-based workforce development, in industries ranging from health to construction, has evolved over 30 years - and how it can continue to grow and inform future investments and policy decisions. The book offers lessons for policymakers, philanthropic investors, researchers and local leaders interested in policies and practices that support strong businesses while helping struggling Americans connect to good jobs. Connecting People to Work features case studies of organizations implementing sector-based workforce development strategies in the health care, construction, manufacturing and restaurant industries, and highlights how policy and economic changes and new practices among education and training institutions are affecting workforce development efforts. It also includes evaluation results and a review of major sector-financing strategies. The book discusses the need for these workforce strategies at a time when many people are out of work or underemployed and face a labor market that is difficult to navigate. Too many workers today earn too little to make ends meet, and they often lack the time or resources to participate in local education programs that may or may not help them find work. Many low-wage workers often need additional support as they go through training, an approach generally adopted by sector strategies. The results chronicled in the book make clear that such strategies can help create viable opportunities for more Americans to gain the skills they need to achieve greater financial stability.




A Database for a Changing Economy


Book Description

Information about the characteristics of jobs and the individuals who fill them is valuable for career guidance, reemployment counseling, workforce development, human resource management, and other purposes. To meet these needs, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 1998 launched the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which consists of a content model-a framework for organizing occupational data-and an electronic database. The O*NET content model includes hundreds of descriptors of work and workers organized into domains, such as skills, knowledge, and work activities. Data are collected using a classification system that organizes job titles into 1,102 occupations. The National Center for O*NET Development (the O*NET Center) continually collects data related to these occupations. In 2008, DOL requested the National Academies to review O*NET and consider its future directions. In response, the present volume inventories and evaluates the uses of O*NET; explores the linkage of O*NET with the Standard Occupational Classification System and other data sets; and identifies ways to improve O*NET, particularly in the areas of cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and currency.




Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce


Book Description

Skilled technical occupationsâ€"defined as occupations that require a high level of knowledge in a technical domain but do not require a bachelor's degree for entryâ€"are a key component of the U.S. economy. In response to globalization and advances in science and technology, American firms are demanding workers with greater proficiency in literacy and numeracy, as well as strong interpersonal, technical, and problem-solving skills. However, employer surveys and industry and government reports have raised concerns that the nation may not have an adequate supply of skilled technical workers to achieve its competitiveness and economic growth objectives. In response to the broader need for policy information and advice, Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce examines the coverage, effectiveness, flexibility, and coordination of the policies and various programs that prepare Americans for skilled technical jobs. This report provides action-oriented recommendations for improving the American system of technical education, training, and certification.




Community Quality-of-Life Indicators: Best Cases VII


Book Description

This book is the seventh volume in a series covering best practices in community quality of life indicators. The case studies and analysis in this volume demonstrate how community indicators projects today operate within a need to amplify the voice of disadvantaged communities, seriously explore the increasing use of information technology, produce positive community change and sustain these efforts over time. The work presented here spans North American and Australian community work and demonstrates how the field of community indicators has undergone a rapid evolution in only a few decades. Today as in their original formulations, community indicators projects are designed to gauge the social, economic and physical health and well-being of communities.




Workforce Development


Book Description

This book is the second in a series of two volumes that reviews a broad range of strategies and practices undertaken as workplace development activities in a post-global financial crisis period when organisational volatility and survival were foremost in the minds of leaders. Drawing mainly from a wide range of major research projects conducted Australia and with some contributions from international authors, this second book is a compilation of contemporary themes and applications that were developed from individual research projects. During the global financial crisis, the Australian economy out-performed many other developed countries, but it was not immune from international pressures such as global competition, market fluctuations and an increasingly mobile workforce. These issues are reflected in many of the chapters and the combined work will inform readers about the major workforce development challenges facing public and private sector organisations. The book blends relevant literature with rich empirical evidence gathered from large and small organisations and includes application tools developed by researchers who are experts in their field. This book will be of scholarly interest to a broad audience of academics, industry leaders, human resource practitioners and students in adult education, business, psychology and social science disciplines. Moreover, the book will be of interest to education and training professionals, management consultants, and more generally, people who follow the evolution of work and its impact on contemporary society.​




Making Sense of Incentives


Book Description

Bartik provides a clear and concise overview of how state and local governments employ economic development incentives in order to lure companies to set up shop—and provide new jobs—in needy local labor markets. He shows that many such incentive offers are wasteful and he provides guidance, based on decades of research, on how to improve these programs.