The U.S. economy has changed dramatically in recent decades, from one that was heavily industrial to one that is mostly service and knowledge based. In the process, demand has grown for workers with higher levels of education and a different mix of skills. This period of rapid change is far from over. Population aging, the rise of new…

The need to invest in our nation's crumbling infrastructure goes back decades. But today, with millions of people unemployed, there is unprecedented momentum to act. Women, immigrants, and people of color are disproportionately represented in these numbers as are young adults. President Joe Biden and Congress are counting on infrastructure…

This guide is a result of the 2018-2019 National Governors Association (NGA) Chair's initiative, "Good Jobs for All Americans," led by Montana Governor Steve Bullock. This initiative aimed to understand the changing world of work and the factors that affect an individual's ability to connect to a good job and for businesses to access the…

This report identifies effective strategies to tackle skills imbalances in South Africa. It provides an assessment of practices and policies in the following areas: the collection and use of information on skill needs to foster a better alignment of skills acquisitions with labour market needs; education and training policies targeting skills…

Development economists have considered physical infrastructure to be a precondition for industrialization and economic development. Infrastructure investments play a particularly important role in expanding overall employment opportunities either directly by absorbing workers or indirectly by crowding in private investments, technology adoption,…

The compendium of solutions is a supporting document to the report "Unlocking the Power of Digital Technologies to Support 'Learning to Earning' for Displaced Youth." The compendium supplements the lessons learned and recommendations outlined in the main report by providing a deeper dive into the context, design, and implementation…

In 2018, the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research launched a major research initiative into place-based strategies for local prosperity. Place-based strategies are nothing new. For decades, cities, regions, and states have sought to increase the number of jobs available to residents, expand their tax base, and promote amenities and…

This article attempts to address the workforce crisis with implications for economic competitiveness and national defense faced by America and the dichotomy of STEM needs and available employees. Businesses struggle to fill critical skilled roles in STEM occupations and thus suffer sluggish growth. In fact, some estimate up to 2.4 million STEM…

The paper examines to whom Portuguese students attribute responsibility for the development of employability, and what extra-curricular activities they undertake to improve their employability. Particular focus lies upon how far students internalise responsibility for employability and if/how they seek to position themselves in the job market. The…

One of the challenges facing Australia is the ageing of the population. Of major concern, especially to government, is that the dependency ratio--a measure of the burden that economically active persons carry by supporting dependent persons--will increase significantly unless older people keep working or immigration is used to change the…

The Great Recession and several other factors have heightened concerns among policymakers and the public at large about higher education's role in employment, leading to a renewed wave of pressures, policies, and incentives to create job-driven strategies at all levels. Policymakers and the public often assume that aligning higher education with…

Reliable and consistent time series are essential to any kind of economic forecasting. Skills forecasting needs to combine data from national accounts and labour force surveys, with the pan-European dimension of Cedefop's skills supply and demand forecasts, relying on different international classification standards. Sectoral classification (NACE)…

Preparing for the future is not what it used to be. Yet, advising students, preparing lessons, and promoting the value of STEM options remains constant. As a result, technical and engineering educators seek clarity about the future of careers, career development, and ways to promote STEM options. Recently, the ITEEA conference allowed the author…

Important changes are taking place in the U.S. labor market. The economy has performed solidly over the last several years; the labor market has experienced robust job growth. A strong labor market benefits different segments of the population. Unemployment rates for those with less than a high school diploma fell by the largest amount between…

The most significant factors affecting the labor market during the 1980s were the United States' loss of competitiveness in the world marketplace, continued shifts in production from goods to services, changes in the skill requirements of many jobs, and demographic shifts in the population. During the next decade, incompatibility between the type…