Even in good economic times, many adults in the United States have trouble finding jobs that pay enough to support their families. One policy response has been to help these workers build more skills, with promising findings from some sector-based programs that train individuals to work in specific high-demand industries. The Pay for Success Clean…

This toolkit is intended to help states create career pathways systems that integrate and expand partnerships between state human service agencies and postsecondary systems and institutions so that more people who want to train for a quality career can do so. Career pathways partnerships can help community colleges and human services work better…

The authors analyze the recent undertaking in El Salvador to establish an innovative model of industry-higher education clusters that would facilitate collaboration between academia and the private sector -- sectors that traditionally had not worked together because of historical distrust -- to develop the skilled workforce needed for the…

Over half of jobs in the U.S. require training beyond high school but not a four-year degree. These skilled jobs are the backbone of America's economy, and filling them is critical to America's success in the 21st century. Every day, in communities coast to coast, working people, students, and families are looking for opportunities to get ahead.…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to chronic and interrelated educational challenges: the need to expand and equalize postsecondary access, reduce the sector's reliance on costly in-person instruction, and develop a cumulative science of adult learning. Current federal government college funding programs do not encourage schools to be…

Information technology jobs are among the fastest growing occupations in the country, spanning many industries, yet over a half million IT job openings are unfilled. Many of these jobs do not require university degrees and could be filled by unemployed or underemployed Americans if they obtain training in a community college or certificate…

The National American Indian Alaska Native Head Start Collaboration Office (NAIANHSCO), created under Public Law 110-134 ("Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007"), is directed "to facilitate collaboration among Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start agencies) and entities that carry out activities designed…

Since 2018, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has worked in more than 80 countries to ensure that children and youth have access to the education and skills they need to be productive members of society. The launch of USAID's Education Policy in 2018 encouraged USAID Missions to be as adaptive, flexible, and responsive…

As many as one in three businesses in the United States struggled to fill needed jobs in 2015. Millions of Americans, including at least 5.5 million youth, are disconnected from employment. Governors have a tremendous opportunity through the implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to reset their state…

This toolkit is designed to help interagency state and local/regional career pathway partnerships identify and use federal resources to support career pathways for adults and youth; it will also be a helpful tool for partners to use when doing unified career pathway planning under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Specifically,…

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) works in more than 50 countries to ensure that children and youth have access to the education and skills they need to be productive members of society. The launch of USAID's Education Strategy in 2011 set forth a clear, measurable agenda. At its core, the Strategy equipped USAID…

Despite the growing popularity of apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and in-school youth apprenticeships in the United States, young adults who lack the credentials and connections to seamlessly enter postsecondary pathways remain overlooked. Young-adult-serving agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs) are underutilized key actors in…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…