Mayors play a crucial role in helping people attain the education and skills necessary to enter the workforce and climb the economic ladder. While many American cities are thriving today, they are also home to rising levels of economic inequality, driven in part by the difficulty non-college-educated workers face in securing family-sustaining…

In this second annual summary of the their work, the Investing in Community Initiative provides practical advice for community leaders and policymakers around four critical issues. First, how should local needs be defined? Chapter 1 argues that data about local economies can show whether communities are best served by creating new jobs,…

In this brief, JFF (Jobs for the Future) explores what training providers can do to adapt their programming in ways that put the country on a path to an equitable economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors conducted research to examine what education and training providers can do to design programs that emphasize equity and…

The purpose of this study was to better understand the perceptions of employers and graduates regarding the applied baccalaureate degree when conferred by community colleges. By better understanding the perceptions of employers and graduates, community colleges considering offering applied baccalaureate degrees will have some context within which…

Researchers asked 17 participants in a job-training program to describe their personal struggles following an economic restructuring. Examined through a critical theoretical lens, findings indicate that the learners enrolled in the program to reclaim security, dignity, meaningful work, and caring relationships. Program planners at community…

This series of reports explores a statewide solution to the work force problems in Texas. The previous report, A Call to Action, described the current status of the Texas work force and introduced the concept of the Human Investment System as a means to improve that status by making human investment and people-serving programs and services in…

Describes a model that includes all available local resources in addressing the unique problems of underprepared adults in attaining economic independence. The model uses a synergistic approach in helping individuals through Chesapeake College's (Maryland) occupational training programs. (JOW)

The Illinois Community College Board provided more than $3.3 million to community colleges during fiscal year 2009 to support local workforce and economic development services through their Business and Industry Centers. The workforce development activities conducted under this grant include customized job training on campus or on-site at a…

Faced with a changing economy, the Houston Community College System (Texas) set goals and objectives to pull together its resources in response to the crisis in the Houston area. This article describes successful strategies and approaches used to network, market, and develop company partnerships and training activities to meet local needs. (Author)

This two-part report describes Florida Community College at Jacksonville's (FCCJ's) Institutional Opportunities Plan for International Development, part of a new programmatic thrust encompassing job-specific training, economic development support, cultural exchange, and focus on world issues. The following topics are covered in both parts of the…

In addition to vocational education's role in training workers for jobs, vocational education has an additional role in helping to create jobs for workers by cooperating with industry and with economic development agencies. There are three ways that vocational education helps industry to promote economic development and create jobs. They are (1)…

This report provides results of an evaluation of SKILLNET, an education and training innovation to commission training in the newly redeveloped area of London's dockland. Chapter 1, an introduction, defines SKILLNET's primary function--to address the current mismatch between kinds of jobs available in the area and the levels and kinds of skills…

In 1985, the Sears-Roebuck Foundation awarded the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) a 2-year, $950,180 grant, known as the Partnership Development Fund, to enhance collaboration between community, technical, and junior colleges and business/industry/labor, public…

Designed to help community colleges create and operate a business center to serve local employers, this booklet provides information, illustrations, models, and insights to encourage the establishment of new outreach programs into the business community. Section I offers guidance on planning a business center for economic development and job…

A project was set up to investigate the issues arising in relation to the training needs of companies involved in major economic developments (MEDs) in Great Britain. Two major developments were studied: Stansted Airport and the Dartford International Ferry Terminal. Companies involved in each MED were identified and contacted by mailed…