Making the successful transition to adulthood has become increasingly difficult for many young people in the United States, particularly for those without a college education. Those without a high school degree face even tougher prospects, with especially high unemployment rates and falling wages. A typical worker without a high school diploma…

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals generate a stream of scientific discoveries and technological innovations that fuel job creation and national economic growth. Ensuring a robust supply of these professionals is critical for sustaining growth and creating jobs growth at a time of intense global competition.…

The Commonwealth of Virginia, as with other states, operates a panoply of programs whose objectives, either directly or indirectly, are to develop the state's workforce. Some programs enhance the skills of Virginians through training or formal education; whereas other programs, such as the Employment Service, attempt to facilitate the employment…

As part of the ongoing process of self-assessment begun with the 1973 Graduate Follow-up Study of the 1971 graduates, and continued in 1978 with the 1976 graduates, it was decided to conduct a survey of the 1980 graduates of the Mesa Public Schools during November and December, 1982. The data collected and analyzed at that time are presented in…

In 1981, a 5-year follow-up study was conducted to ascertain the current employment and educational activities of the 1976 graduates of Reading Area Community College (RACC) and to obtain their evaluation of the programs and services of the college. Questionnaires were mailed to all 105 students who obtained their degree in June 1976, and…

In 1990, a follow-up study of nursing program graduates was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) in Palatine, Illinois, to examine their employment patterns, further education plans, and evaluate particular aspects of their WRHC experience. All 98 nursing students who earned 48 credit hours in 1990 were mailed questionnaires 1 year…

In an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of its nursing program, William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) (Illinois) conducted a follow-up study of 1992 nursing graduates or alumni. In spring 1993, a survey instrument, inquiring about employment status, future educational plans, and evaluation of their experience at WRHC, was mailed to all 142 WRHC…

The impacts of the adult basic education and training (ABET) courses offered by the Centre for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) in South Africa's Northern Cape Province were examined. Data were collected through questionnaires, open-ended and semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis. Of the 221 students enrolled in the…

The Lansing Area Manufacturing Partnership (LAMP) is an academically rigorous, business/labor-driven school-to-career program in Lansing, Michigan, that includes business, union, school, and parent partners and emphasizes work-based and project-based learning, team teaching, and opportunities for staff and high school seniors to establish close…

The 5-year impacts of mandatory welfare-to-work programs on welfare recipients and their children were examined by using a rigorous research design called a social experiment to examine 11 welfare-to-work programs in 6 states (California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Oregon). Four employment-focused and seven education-focused programs…

The National Job Corps Study was undertaken to obtain the information needed to assess the Job Corps' success in providing employment assistance to disadvantaged youths aged 16 to 24 years. The study's findings related to outreach and admissions (OA) and center characteristics and practices that appear to promote positive programmatic experiences…

California's school-to-career (STC) efforts were examined in a statewide evaluation study that was initiated in December 2000 and scheduled for completion by June 2002. The study's first phase was assessed in an interim report that focused on the following major activities: (1) development of a white paper describing the STC's national and state…

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted a thematic review to identify changes in young people's transition to working life during the 1990s and to identify those policies and programs that are effective in delivering successful transition outcomes for young people. The review focused on 14 countries with widely…

The outcomes achieved by Australia's national vocational education and training (VET) system in 2001 were analyzed in terms of the following performance indicators: (1) recognized VET skill outputs; (2) stocks of skills versus desired levels; (3) employer satisfaction with VET; (4) student outcomes from VET; (5) participation, outputs, and…