This document records testimony from a hearing before the Committee on Education and the Workforce that was held to examine America's opportunities for hiring and employment. Member statements were provided by: (1) Honorable Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman, Committee on Education and the Workforce; and (2) Honorable Robert Scott,' 'Bobby'', Ranking…

Since the late years of the Eisenhower Administration, when alarms were first raised about the impact of what was then called cybernation there have been cycles of interest in the role of training policy for addressing perceived national challenges. During the War on Poverty youth unemployment and juvenile delinquency motivated initiatives…

Participation in adult education and training (AET) programs is increasingly important for people of all ages and is necessary to remain competitive in a world experiencing rapid technological advances. Lifelong learning activities are especially important for middle-aged and older adults who intend to work at older ages to ensure they have the…

In a prior study, MDRC researchers found that Small Schools of Choice, a SIG-approved high school reform initiative, markedly and consistently increased high school graduation rates in New York City when it was implemented in 100+ high schools between 2002 and 2008. A four-year follow-up study found that the initiative increased students'…

The work reported in this paper is part of a large European study commissioned by the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) which explores interactions between the labour market and vocational education and training as well as up-dates the content Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) provision in 15 European…

This paper presents formal interactions between vocational education and training and the labour market in France, part of a large European study commissioned by the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). The paper examines the nature of vocational education and training system, the feedback mechanisms and the…

Historically, older and lower-skilled adults in the U.S. have participated in Adult Education and Training (AET) at lower rates than other groups, possibly because of perceived lack of return on investment due to the time required to recover training costs. Global, knowledge based economies have increased the importance of lifelong learning for…

The Great Recession from December 2007 to June 2009 is associated with a dramatic weakening of the labor market from which the labor market is now only slowly recovering. The unemployment rate remains stubbornly high and durations of unemployment are unprecedentedly long. I use data from the Displaced Workers Survey (DWS) from 1984-2010 to…

Changes in skill requirements, training needs, the industrial and occupational mix of employment, and the spatial location of jobs are 'natural' consequences of a dynamic economy. These changes, in turn, influence employers' hiring and staffing patterns, workers' career paths, and economic growth and development. However, the evolving nature of…

This paper discusses discrepancies between the observable labor market and the idealized world which is assumed in theory. The proposed solutions are focused on the development of an empirical model applicable to data on prime-age males from the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics, but the author notes that many of these issues are relevant…

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) was founded in 1986 with the intent of widening the debate on U.S. economic policies by presenting analyses that provide an alternative point of view from those of various conservative research institutions. The two papers presented in this document were originally prepared for a seminar designed to identify…

Adopted by the 18th Convention of the AFL-CIO, this document contains discussions and resolutions in four areas: economics; international trade and investment; takeovers, mergers, and leveraged buyouts; and employment and training. The discussion on the economic situation focuses on unemployment and the economy, inadequate jobless benefits, jobs…

The Workforce Investment Act uses measures of labor market outcomes to drive program performance. This paper examines the relationship of participant characteristics with key program outcome measures and evaluates the impact of different training interventions of program outcomes while controlling for participant characteristics. The paper…

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-CERI) Educational Indicators Project (INES), initiated in 1988, is described in this paper, which focuses on the development of "Network B" to study education and labor market destinations (Network B is one of four networks set up by the project, each of which was assigned a different…

This paper provides a review of pertinent statistical information related to supply and demand, a consideration of "forcing" factors in supply/demand analyses, a discussion of training versus task requirements as related to job performance, a presentation of a tentative "engineering occupations" model, and an emphasis on definition of the various…