This article reports on four synthesis findings from the Credentials to Careers (C2C) initiative -- a consortium of seven community colleges working to create and implement innovative programs to train or retrain unemployed and displaced workers for STEM, advanced manufacturing and health-care-related careers. These are 1) collaborating with…

The U.S. workforce is increasingly comprised of older adults, women, and minorities who lack basic skills and are unable to acquire these skills through traditional educational and training programs. New approaches are needed to provide effective training to the adult learner and flexible support for nontraditional students who must balance…

Workforce pipelines are essential to sustain a productive workforce in an increasingly competitive, high-tech environment. Advanced automation, sensors, materials and data analytics will increase the need for highly skilled workers in the manufacturing (and manufactured construction) sector. Attracting and developing the next-generation workforce…

Despite the desire of many older adults to remain in the workforce, those without jobs face unprecedented durations of unemployment. Many of the unemployed lack current skills for jobs in demand and need to either upgrade their skills or be trained for a new occupation to become reemployed. An aging workforce, combined with the negative effects of…

This descriptive qualitative case study investigated the perceptions of dislocated workers offered program services through the Workforce Investment Act's (WIA) Dislocated Worker program in Minnesota. This research focused on recently dislocated workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and hence were eligible for unemployment…

The national completion agenda--manifested in President Obama's challenge to double the number of degree and certificate holders in the U.S. by 2020, and in the quest for employable skills by displaced workers in the current economic crisis--is having a transformative effect on America's community colleges. Calls from politicians, policy makers,…

When Martin Lancaster took over as president of the North Carolina Community College System more than a decade ago, the state, not unlike much of the nation, stood at the precipice of a massive economic shift. As traditional manufacturing and farming jobs--from tobacco to furniture to textiles--began to disappear, demand for a new breed of worker…

It was the year 2002. Ohio was reeling from a decline in the manufacturing sector, which left thousands of northwestern Ohio workers unemployed. When the U.S. economy suffers from a recession, states like Ohio that rely heavily upon employment in manufacturing experience the impact first, according to Neal Eiber of Apollo Career Center Adult…

Despite recent talk about the worsening condition of the U.S. workforce, more highly skilled workers are still needed to help America maintain its competitive edge. But that insight doesn't exactly constitute a "Eureka!" moment for community college leaders. In reality, community colleges have been working with industry executives and…

Worker dislocation is a major problem in Wisconsin. Services needed include provision of coping mechanisms, job search methods, and retraining. A partnership between the state and the Wisconsin American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations was created to provide these services and referrals, as well as preventive training…

This article asserts that displacement in the future will be less severe than is currently believed, especially if certain measures are instituted, such as continuous retraining of active workers in generalizable skills, advance notice of plant closings, and job clubs, among others. (JB)

Describes the many benefits now available to laid-off and displaced textile and apparel-related workers through the North American Free Trade Agreement's Transitional Adjustment Allowance (NAFTA-TAA), which allows them to attend college for the first time. Examines the effectiveness of the TAA program and concludes that there is room for…

Argues that, despite doubts created by the "dot-com" crash, the field of information technology (IT) is still crucial. Credentialing and certification are in demand by adults in the transitional workforce who require tangible results in a short time frame. Suggests that even non-IT companies are dependent on those in IT to run the nerve-centers of…

The need for high quality initial training and accessible, academically sound programs allowing workers to update their skills and advance in careers as their jobs change in a period of rapid technological advancement will be an ongoing challenge to postsecondary education. (MSE)