This report is a response to congressional requests for the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to identify, synthesize, and explain the core components of the workforce skills gap discourse and, to the extent possible, explore and clarify evidence on the existence of skills gaps. The report acknowledges that the skills gap label is often applied…

This appendix documents the methodology used by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce to project educational demand within the US economy. The methodology produces forecasts using data from two private analytics companies. The authors use occupational forecasts provided by Lightcast that are calibrated to total employment…

The staggering highs and lows of the recent US economy and their effect on the labor force has been deeply unsettling. The US has come through the COVID-19 recession, the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, followed by the quickest recovery ever. One trend in the workforce has remained unaltered throughout this historic change:…

It can be difficult choosing a career. When planning for the future, knowing which occupations are expected to grow--and which aren't--is valuable information. The "Occupational Outlook Handbook" (OOH), published every 2 years by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), features projections of job outlook and employment prospects. The 2012-13…

Products and materials are provided from an Oregon project to define "new" and "changing" occupations for which training programs are needed and to determine guidelines to document "evidence of need." The legislative reference is addressed and pertinent literature is reviewed. Developed to establish the level of need…

According to the 1980-81 edition of the "Occupational Outlook Handbook," the market for graduates of technical communication programs is good and likely to get better during the 1980s, especially in the areas of electronics and computer and environmental science. The first step in setting up a technical communication program at a college or…

Intended to foster greater understanding of employment projections available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), this paper describes their development, their limitations, their use, and publication details. The methods used to develop BLS occupational employment projections are first described: projection of the labor force based on…

The investigation explores the impact that changing economies have had and will continue to have upon Human Resources Development (HRD)--the collective body responsible for training and retraining labor--and from that perspective offers recommendations to improve the impact HRD has upon society. The challenge for HRD is to recognize the economic,…

The advent of the technological revolution will affect both the world of work and the educative process. Predictions for high technology employment show high levels of growth in the 1980s, and most of these jobs will require specialized training. Dealing with the problem of job training, two possibilities emerge: the Job Training Partnership Act…

Transition procedures in the Irvine Unified School District (California) are explained in a set of three pamphlets. In the first pamphlet, elements of the Individual Transition Plan are outlined. Also discussed are advocacy and the law, financial issues, support services offered by state and community agencies, services of national and state…

A study identified the gaps between supply and demand for training in Washington State and recommended strategies for reducing them. The study considered the perspectives of both employers and workers and separately analyzed the needs of three groups: youth, adults, and adults with barriers to employment. The study found the following: (1) there…

A theory of vocational education and training (VET) somewhat different than that currently accepted is a set of beliefs about the purpose, practices, and principles associated with producing occupational competence. VET institutions need to be aware of and responsive to work force requirements. An analysis of information about current and future…

The Regional Employment and Training Needs Assessment (RETNA) project was organized to determine both current and projected employment and training needs in specific industries and occupations in the Sacramento area. The project involves the development of a prototypical computerized database developed from survey research on employment needs and…

A research project was designed to develop a hospitality education program model for Hawaii's community colleges. Primary data were gathered in a survey of the hospitality industry characteristics, manpower requirements, and training needs. This report of the project covers the following information: history and growth of the hospitality industry…

During 1996-97, state agencies in Washington worked to implement the state's High Skills, High Wages Plan for Workforce Training and Education, focusing on seven most urgently needed actions to ensure that the people of the state succeed in an economy that requires ever higher levels of skill and knowledge. The seven actions are the following: (1)…