The traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using…

The Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWD) aims to support California's economy by aligning community college educational programs with workforce development needs. The program connects employers and community college educators through a network of workforce training resources and partnerships called "Doing What Matters for Jobs and…

California's dynamic economy depends on having a large and skilled workforce; consequently, the state must continually support and refine efforts to provide workers with employer-valued competencies. Given the wide range of regional and state needs across this vast state, ensuring that the workforce has the training to keep up with labor market…

As the need for educated workers in the workforce grows at the national and state level, educating low-skilled adults is one way of addressing the skills gap. Adult education programs offer low-skilled adults an opportunity to increase basic academic skills and prepare for college and career. Today, transitioning students from adult education…

Partnership evaluation typically occurs during the final stages either to assess why a collaborative effort did not work or to identify the indicators of success. Partnerships are rarely evaluated at their incipient stage, which is a critical time to assess their potential for long-term sustainability. In this paper, we present an early-stage…

It is a truism of American social policy that our nation has great success generating innovative programs that improve outcomes for participants--but that we are far less effective at moving from small, "boutique" programs into broadly applied solutions that improve the prospects of large numbers of individuals. This is certainly true in…

Since the 1990s, federal programs for workforce training have aimed to transform the role of community colleges from narrow contract training to a broader role that encompasses strategic instructional program planning and innovation to support lifelong learning for a changing workforce and economic development (Jacobs & Teahen, 1996). Yet, to…

Despite the desire of many older adults to remain in the workforce, those without jobs face unprecedented durations of unemployment. Many of the unemployed lack current skills for jobs in demand and need to either upgrade their skills or be trained for a new occupation to become reemployed. An aging workforce, combined with the negative effects of…

Employing interviews with individuals from 16 community colleges across the country, as well as an independent consultant engaged in activities of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), this study considers the organizational structures and academic practices associated with community college entrepreneurship…

Workers are remaining in the labor force at older ages and despite their desire to work, those without jobs face unprecedented durations of unemployment. Many of the unemployed lack current skills for jobs in demand and need to either upgrade their skills or be trained for a new occupation to become reemployed. An aging workforce combined with…

"Working Together and Making A Difference: Virginia Western Community College and Goodwill Industries of the Valleys Partnership Case Study Report" is a report aimed at informing community college and workforce leaders of best practices for launching and expanding partnerships to serve students more effectively. Co-published by AspenWSI…

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of students enrolled in noncredit workforce education programs as preparation for ongoing education. Ten students enrolled in a noncredit welding class were interviewed and the interview transcripts were subjected to analytic induction. Notable findings indicate that students were…

The characteristics of a leadership development challenge for America's community colleges have been well-documented in the literature. A worldwide population aging trend, college leader retirements, and an ineffective system for new leader development have led to predictions of a shortfall in well-trained leaders at all levels of community…

This study focused on community based organizations leading community colleges in workforce development partnerships to train unemployed and underemployed adults. These collaborations operate where community based organizations deliver case management and job search skills, while community colleges offer specific training. In order to examine…

With middle-income jobs in decline, entrepreneurship offers an increasingly promising pathway out of poverty; but few low-income New Yorkers are currently taking this route to economic self-sufficiency. This report provides the most comprehensive examination of low-income entrepreneurship in New York. The report documents current self-employment…