The 2023 Illinois Career and Technical Education Report is submitted in compliance with Illinois School Code 105 ILCS 435/2e, which requires a written career and technical education (CTE) report to be issued to the governor annually. This report describes the establishment of and delivery of CTE in Illinois, the existing condition of Illinois CTE…

Families and community members are challenging secondary schools to improve career readiness preparation. Family and consumer sciences (FCS) educators can be instrumental in helping students prepare effectively for a career with school-to-work transitions through work-based learning (WBL). This article presents the implementation of a 2-day FCS…

Exploring Summer Youth Employment Programs: Increasing Access Through Career Pathways builds the case and provides actionable recommendations for state-led support in the intentional alignment of summer youth employment programs (SYEP) with career pathways and the work-based learning continuum, including through Career Technical Education (CTE).…

Research shows that employers are less likely to hire workers with little to no experience for the "first jobs" that many younger workers rely on to build their skills and credentials. Without those first jobs, many will face fewer paths to enter the workforce. To help the non-college-bound, the nation's education system needs to create…

The IT industry is dynamic and quickly evolving. As a surge of diverse training models across subsectors and occupations is becoming available, this is a unique opportunity to enhance training practices and better align them to meet industry and employer needs. This brief offers recommendations for IT training providers to strengthen their work…

Jobs, labour markets and economies are rapidly changing: globalisation, technology and a growing services sector are both causes and symptoms. Ageing populations and dwindling youth cohorts, on the one hand, and labour migration, on the other, are affecting workforce composition. And that's not to mention the lingering impact of the financial…

Over two-thirds of all Illinois residents live in Chicago's metropolitan area. The third largest city in the United States and also the third most economically productive, the Windy City benefits from unrivalled industry diversity. Like any other city, however, Chicago faces the policy challenge of supporting well-paid employment opportunities for…

Adult education programs play a critical role in preparing immigrants and New Americans (multilingual learners) for employment by building English language skills and supporting workforce preparation and training. Addressing multilingual learners' economic integration needs, one of the three pillars of immigrant integration, along with civic and…

In recent years, policymakers, industry stakeholders, and educational institutions have shown an interest in the federal government increasing financial support to individuals who pursue training and postsecondary education in non-degree instructional and work-based learning programs. This report provides an overview of existing federal programs…

A decade after the Great Recession, millions of job seekers in their late teens and twenties--especially young people of color and youth from low-income families--are still struggling to land and keep meaningful work, even as the economy improves. Traditional education and training models are failing to equip them with the skills and credentials…

Australia entered the COVID-19 pandemic with a youth (15 to 24-year-old) unemployment rate of 11.6% in December 2019, three times higher than the 25 to 64-year-old unemployment rate of 3.6%. The strategies taken by governments to minimise the spread of COVID-19 have had widespread economic impacts. By July 2020, youth unemployment had risen to…

Work-based learning faces significant changes in delivery in the face of a global pandemic that has severely limited physical access to schools and businesses. These changes have forced school leaders and employers to acknowledge pre-existing inequities that perpetuate historical barriers and racial discrimination and keep marginalized learner…

This report looks at strategies for sustaining and expanding Registered Apprenticeship pathways for opportunity youth amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The report draws on promising practices from workforce boards and community-based organizations, and addresses topics including the digital divide, occupational mobility, and the provision of services…

Budget 2019 brings welcome investments for students. It does not address however, key challenges facing Canada's colleges and universities, resulting from stagnant government funding for core operating costs. Budget 2019 commitments to making post-secondary more affordable average around $650 million per year for five years and include investments…

The Annual Service Plan Report (ASPR) is designed to meet the requirements of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (BTAA), which sets out the legislative framework for planning, reporting and accountability for Government organizations. Under the BTAA, the Minister is required to report on the actual results of the Ministry's performance…