America and the South seem to have turned a corner on the deep and prolonged recession that started in 2008. The stranglehold it has had on jobs and job prospects caught many by surprise, and it has caused education leaders to refocus state policy on the relationship between career preparation and education. This report provides updates on the…

The components within this Strategic Plan reflect the Administration's and Department's priorities for the direction of the Department and the future of education in the nation. The priorities, such as improving educational equity and meeting the needs of students, are highlighted and woven throughout this Strategic Plan and require…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical review of the mediation studies published in the field of Human Resource Development (HRD) to discern if the study designs, the nature of data collection and the choice of statistical methods justify the causal claims made in those studies. Design/methodology/approach: This paper conducts…

The World Health Organization defines the social determinants of health as "the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life." These forces and systems include economic policies, development agendas, cultural and social norms, social policies,…

California is at a crossroads in terms of STEM and health workforce development. On the one hand, California has more available entry-level STEM jobs than any other state in the country and a steadily growing health workforce, giving large segments of its population access to stable careers. On the other hand, California's public colleges and…

Diversity is inherently valuable. Research shows that diversity in schools, including racial diversity among teachers, can provide significant benefits to students. While students of color are expected to make up 56 percent of the student population by 2024, the elementary and secondary educator workforce is still overwhelmingly white. The most…

WorkAdvance is a sectoral workforce development program designed to meet the needs of workers and employers alike. For unemployed and low-wage working adults, the program provides skills training in targeted sectors that have good-quality job openings with room for advancement within established career pathways. For employers in those sectors,…

Developing a sustainable, competent workforce is an urgent and challenging task for the Infant Mental Health (IMH) field. In this article, the authors share their experiences and perspectives on the importance of and challenges in the development of the IMH workforce. The broad view of both workforce members and professional development…

At the University of Houston (UH), the arrival of a new chancellor/president in 2007 resulted in a strategic environmental scan to determine areas where the university's efforts should be focused over the next ten years. Several major initiatives were launched, including one that sought to make UH a major energy university. The decision to embrace…

This literature review examines the available research on skill sets. It provides background for a larger research project "Workforce skills development and engagement in training through skill sets," the report of which will be released early next year. This paper outlines the origin of skill sets and explains the difference between…

This study examined the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) One-Stop Center model, which is the local service mechanism for providing employment and training services. It reviewed the processes and service patterns of four program designs that offer an array of services that align with the WIA program's allowable activities. The purpose of the study…

Leadership development and employee engagement are two elements critical to the success of organizations. In response to growth opportunities, our Distribution and Logistics company set on a course to implement High Performance Work Place to meet the leadership and employee engagement needs, and to find methods for improving work processes. This…

The Michigan Center for Student Success commissioned this study to determine whether strategies employed to improve adult students' success at 41 Breaking Through colleges nationwide have taken root at Michigan's original colleges and spread beyond them. A statewide survey revisited four of the colleges profiled in previous publications, and the…

The purpose of this paper is to explain the hypercompetitive new reality in the global marketplace, discuss cultural changes in the United States leading to declining student performance and graduates who are unprepared for a competitive work environment, and provide helpful ideas to educators functioning as coaches and mentors. We found extensive…

An economic vitality formula of success can be accomplished by creating partnerships between local career and technical education (CTE), and workforce development and economic development entities. Student industry certifications; dynamic partnerships; programs and projects focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); and…