In the United States, education-to-career pathways are undergoing a rapid evolution Shortages of skilled workers in many industries have prompted renewed attention to strengthening existing education-to-career pathways, as well as innovating new ones. At the same time, the notion that bachelor's degree programs should serve as the default pathway…

Increasingly, companies are dropping four-year degree requirements in job postings, favoring skill-based requirements--such as communication and writing--instead. These types of nonacademic "soft skills" are viewed as essential for employment--employers consistently cite these abilities as among the most valuable in job applicants, yet…

Next Steps at Vanderbilt, an inclusive postsecondary education program at Vanderbilt University, aims to equip students with skills and experiences to gain competitive employment. Next Steps has two primary goals: (1) Increase opportunities for students to gain targeted skills in career fields of interest; and (2) Create new career development…

Career and technical education (CTE) programs (programs that teach students specific workplace skills aligned with the labor market) may track data for lots of different reasons: to comply with funding requirements, to manage their services and continually improve, to measure their progress toward their goals, and to evaluate whether they are…

Discusses the current status, significance, and future of credentialing in the field of environmental health. Also discusses four phases of a Bureau of Health Professions (BHP) Credentialing Program and BHP-funded projects related to their development and implementation. Phases include role delineation, resources development, examination…

This document is a report of a study that was conducted to provide a comprehensive, up-to-date compilation of data regarding professional and occupational practice requirements in Pennsylvania, focusing on the role of continuing professional education in the various credentialing processes. Following a discussion of the methodology and results of…

The project's purpose of eliminating major obstacles blocking career advancement of human service paraprofessionals was achieved through a developed model allowing new options for upgrading workers in three occupations: Addiction services, child development, and occupational therapy. The policies and practices of educational institutions,…

This report describes the new system of credentialing from corporate vendors and industry/professional associations that has arisen in the information technology and telecommunications industries over the past decade. It compares this system to traditional higher education, identifying both similarities and dissimilarities, and points to some…

A study was conducted to support the Department of Labor's (DOL) efforts to promote an expansion of the apprenticeship training system. The study began with a review of literature that clearly showed the need for attention in the area of establishing credentials to reflect the quality of training experiences, particularly in the work-based format…

This study was designed to ascertain, from the empirical evidence available, the common characteristics of successful licensure efforts in the allied health occupations. A pattern of three steps to licensure for health care occupations emerged from the literature. The first step is birth (of a new occupation), often caused by new technology (new…

This document consists of four papers that were read as a joint presentation on learning in the workplace and credentials in employment. Reported in the first paper, "Educational Credentials in Employment: A Nationwide Survey" by Andrew G. Malizio and Douglas R. Whitney, are the results of a survey in which 1,500 members of the American…