This paper presents a rationale for using professional and continuing education (PaCE) units at post-secondary institutions throughout California to design and implement talent-pipelines, research and development collaborations, and other knowledge ecosystems where emerging and returning professionals can acquire the knowledge, skills, and…

In today's labor market, students increasingly need greater levels of postsecondary education and training to enter or advance in many industries. Meanwhile, employers are calling for the education system to better align with industry needs, as their demands for a skilled workforce continue to rise. In response to the increasing emphasis for…

The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government's plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning, including a new Skills Measure that looks at the employment and other outcomes that learners achieve. Will this give colleges and providers greater freedom to deliver for learners, or…

With nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants and refugees in the United States unable to fully utilize their professional skills, better understanding of the elements of successful programs and policies that reduce the waste of advanced education and skills can benefit immigrants, their families, and the U.S. economy more generally. This…

As the need for educated workers in the workforce grows at the national and state level, educating low-skilled adults is one way of addressing the skills gap. Adult education programs offer low-skilled adults an opportunity to increase basic academic skills and prepare for college and career. Today, transitioning students from adult education…

Psychometrically sound evaluation measures are vital for examining the contribution of professional training to organizational success in a reliable manner. As training evaluations tend to be both time-consuming and labor-intensive, there is an increasing demand for economic evaluation inventories. Simultaneously, evaluation measures have to meet…

California's education system--the largest in the United States--is an essential resource for ensuring strong economic growth in the state. The Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative (referred to as the Initiative in this report), which became law in 2005, brings together community colleges, K-12 school districts, employers, organized…

Nearly every high-priority item in national, federal, state, and local discussions about education--and policy proposals across the political spectrum--requires high-quality longitudinal data to inform its design, implementation, and evaluation. This factsheet shares Data Quality Campaign's (DQC's) analysis of what "Data for Action 2011:…

This article describes an ongoing project to build a comprehensive evaluation framework for the competency-based Master of Science in Workforce Training and Development (MSWTD) program at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). First, it discusses some trends and issues in evaluating the performance of higher education programs in the United…

This paper presents the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Job Corps to the Secretary of Labor pertaining to the review, development and implementation of policies, legislation and regulations for the Job Corps program. This document represents the culmination of an intensive and comprehensive nine-month process undertaken by the…

Contains a report of the application of Markov chain analysis to develop a model with analytical and predictive use for planning education for work. A flow model and the Markov chain theory are applied to data from the University of Khartoum. Advantages and limitations of the model are also listed. (CT)

This chapter offers techniques that can help institutional researchers play a more active role in the process of creating and modifying instructional programs to meet workforce needs. (Contains 1 table.)

The purpose of this paper is to present Project CREW--a novel and innovative collaborative career counseling program that links educational attainment and skills development to community-based workforce development. A review of the literature on career development is provided along with a discussion of how Project CREW's model and program theory…

This article addresses the evaluation of new British programs designed to bring more experiential and active learning into the higher education curriculum. Some of the difficulties of assessing these programs are examined and political influences on evaluation are discussed. (MSE)

A study investigated the use of training needs assessment (TNA) by training and development practitioners in business and industry. It allowed for an assessment of both real TNA (practitioners' knowledge, observation, and experience) and ideal TNA (the literature and experts' opinions). A literature review focused on the concept of TNA,…