Digital technologies are an integral facet of human existence, changing how humans find information, the way humans communicate and even human behavior. This transition applies to education as well, with the continued growth of artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping the higher education landscape at two- and four-year institutions alike. AI is…

This playbook provides ways in which Governors and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Governors play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

The purpose of this report is to provide readers with a comparative analysis of the Massachusetts workforce "system" structures and performance reporting processes compared to other states. Though the federal workforce development system is often examined in its entirety and individual state systems are at times examined independently,…

Workforce development education programs in community colleges impact the economy of a region, surpassing other public or private educational institutions (Bradley, 2013; Drury, 2003). Workforce development education programs provide short-term programs with the aim of training individuals in specific skills, promoting individuals' upward…

While the majority of U.S students are children of color, only 20% of teachers are people of color. What's more, 40% of the nation's public schools do not have a single teacher of color on record. Research shows that all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit socially, emotionally, and academically from a diverse teacher workforce.…

North Carolina's Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools believe that employing a diverse staff is key to reaching all five of the district's overarching goals: student achievement, equity and access, community engagement, human resources development, and climate and safety. Recruiting, retaining, and supporting educators of color is an important…

Career and technical education (CTE), sometimes referred to as vocational education, provides occupational and non-occupational preparation at the secondary and postsecondary levels. CTE is a key element of the nation's workforce development system, providing students of all ages with both academic and technical skills to succeed in further…

Strong, ongoing collaboration between business and higher education offers a solution to a growing skill shortage. But to see changes at scale, partnerships must exist within an ecosystem that fosters regular communication, relays industry needs to the academic community, and demonstrates to educators the larger marketplace for those skills. This…

Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, policymakers, businesses, and workforce advocates were already recognizing that workers were not being replaced by robots, but rather, being called upon to work hand-in-glove with rapidly evolving technology. When the pandemic struck, millions of U.S. companies hustled to change how they did business.…

The North Carolina General Assembly allocated funding for the expansion of adult learner initiatives. The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) distributed $50,000 to each of the ten schools in FY 2022 which was from the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE), other partners, and the state. The colleges were given until June 30, 2023 to spend the…

Recruiting in today's higher education landscape is not without challenges. Prospective students have options which means the market is saturated with advertisements and messages from postsecondary institutions of all types. And when you add the layer of recruiting students who are no longer in high school and often have competing demands, the…

In 2021, the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE) launched NC Reconnect -- an initiative aimed at re-engaging adult learners in North Carolina. The goal of the program is to ensure adult learners across North Carolina have maximum opportunity to pursue a degree or credential at one of the state's 58 community colleges. Starting with five community…

In 2018, BHEF and the Business Roundtable joined forces to create the Workforce Partnership Initiative (WPI). The initiative invited Business Roundtable CEOs to form multi-company partnerships and connect with leaders of postsecondary institutions to meet regional workforce needs. Dozens of CEOs responded, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation awarded…

Evidence today shows that there is a skills gap among employable young adults. This study was based on a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program evaluation that was conducted in a rural school district in northwest North Carolina. The study examined the perceptions of the program by CTE high school teachers, CTE community college instructors,…

This report, the first in the Economic Vitality and Education in the South (EVES) series, provides state-by-state information on more than 20 critical data points associated with the education-to-workforce pipeline. The report looks specifically at the 17 states in the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) region: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,…