COVID-19 and social distancing have crashed into the structural shifts brought about by the fourth industrial revolution. And while meeting skill needs has been on employers' and policy-makers' agendas for long, investing in people in a more comprehensive way is becoming more urgent: as European economies are picking up speed, the hunt for talent…

Competence in contemporary working life requirements is increasingly aligned with electronically mediated tasks and work roles: ie, the digitalisation of work. This alignment necessitates workers learning and utilising the conceptual knowledge and ways of working needed for this work. This knowledge is often distinct from and displaces workers'…

Americans seeking employment often face a conundrum: relevant work experience is a prerequisite for many jobs, but it is difficult to gain the required experience without being in the workplace. Work-based learning--activities that occur in workplaces through which youth and adults gain the knowledge, skills, and experience needed for entry or…

The pandemic has caused a major economic shift for businesses and workers. Countless companies have had to quickly upskill their workers, equipping them with the skills they need to pivot to digital or remote services. As a result, the importance of efficiently and effectively training and onboarding workers with the right skills for the job has…

Work-based courses are an innovative way to bring college to the production line by using the job as a learning lab. This toolkit provides guidance to community college administrators and faculty who are interested in bringing a work-based course model to their college. It contains video content and teaching tips that introduce the six steps of…

This joint OECD-ILO publication provides guidance on how local and regional governments can foster business-education partnerships in apprenticeship programmes and other types of work-based learning, drawing on case studies across nine countries. There has been increasing interest in apprenticeships which combine on the job training with…

This case study, one of a series of publications exploring effective and inclusive models of work-based learning, finds that work-based courses bring college to the production line by using the job as a learning lab. Work-based courses are an innovative way to give incumbent workers access to community college credits and degrees. They are…

Developments in five priority areas for VET, agreed in 2015 by the EU-28, Iceland, Norway, candidate countries, the European Commission and EU social partners, are at the centre of this report. Work in 2015-19 shows continuity with earlier national strategies and initiatives. It confirms the recent focus on apprenticeships and other forms of…

This case study, one of a series of publications exploring effective and inclusive models of work-based learning, finds that entry-level occupations in manufacturing have historically been considered unskilled jobs for which little or no training is necessary. As a consequence, employers have experienced high turnover among new-hires, and…

Many are accustomed to the idea that we learn at school and that a college education is acquired in college classrooms. In reality, however, learning takes place in all aspects of a person's life--through military experience, raising a family, volunteering, and, perhaps most significantly, in the workplace. Learning that occurs in the workplace…

This executive summary provides background information on unemployment rates, the need for new jobs, and the role community colleges have in securing opportunities for a stronger middle class and more prosperous nation. The summary is the introduction to the "Community College Contributions. Policy Brief 2013-01PB." [For the full report,…