The new Community College and Career Training Grant Program to be launched this fall presents an important opportunity to help more American workers find better long-term employment more efficiently, through the promotion of innovative training and education programs that incorporate the best of what works for dislocated and unemployed adult workers. Based on its experience in the field, Jobs for the Future (JFF) wants to share with the U.S. Department of Labor what it has learned about effective programming--and how this grant program can encourage community colleges to help more workers move quickly through effective programs that result in successful employment and educational outcomes. The new grant program was created in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, with appropriations of $500 million for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2014. The Secretary of Labor is authorized to award grants to eligible institutions for the purpose of "developing, offering, and improving educational or career training" for workers eligible for training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Act. Each state is to be awarded grants of not less than 0.5 percent of the total or $2.5 million. This note: (1) Summarizes core design principles distilled from JFF's work and its networks of innovators; (2) Describes the context within which the grant program is being designed; and (3) Provides examples of innovative training and education innovations that can guide the department as it structures the RFP for this program. (Contains 1 footnote.).
In the future, businesses will demand workers with higher-level skills and more education. Community colleges are key providers of career and technical training as well as traditional academic education. These colleges can also play important roles in the one-stop system created by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), through which a variety of federally funded employment and training programs provide services. Given the importance of community colleges to workforce development, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to examine (1) how community colleges meet the workforce training needs of their communities; (2) what community colleges do to integrate with the nation's one-stop system; (3) the conditions or practices that enhance or impede these efforts; and (4) the actions the Departments of Labor and Education have taken to encourage linkages between community colleges and the workforce investment system, including one-stops. To address these objectives, GAO visited 20 community colleges, surveyed one-stop centers and their associated workforce investment boards, and talked to Labor and Education officials. The community colleges that GAO visited developed various approaches and programs for career and technical training to meet the needs of industry sectors, individual employers, and certain types of students and workers. Through a variety of outreach, relationship building, and data collection efforts, community colleges have come to understand the specific training needs of key industries in their regions and use this information to keep programs current or develop new programs to address these needs. Community college activities include providing contract or customized training to the employees of specific employers; working with small businesses; and targeting training and education programs to specific populations, such as disadvantaged adults, high-school students transitioning to college, and one-stop clients. Nationwide, GAO estimated that about 11 percent of one-stops are operated solely or jointly by a community college, while 34 percent have community college staff colocated at the center. Similarly, GAO estimated that, nationwide, 49 percent of local workforce investment boards have community college presidents represented on their boards. Some of the benefits of these arrangements include cost sharing and improved communication among participating programs. Officials at the colleges and one-stops that GAO visited reported also conducting other joint activities, such as strategic planning and data sharing. Community college and workforce officials cited state funding and leadership as factors that help integration between community colleges and the workforce system but identified WIA performance system measures and WIA funding issues as impediments. Under WIA, states and local workforce areas must meet performance levels in their Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs that can be difficult to obtain when serving some populations, such as those on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or youth, causing disincentives for the one-stops to serve them. In a 2004 report, GAO recommended that the Labor Department develop a systematic way to account for differences in the population groups served by states' one-stop centers and apply it to all states when establishing their performance levels. To date, Labor has not taken action on this recommendation; however, Labor officials stated that states may use their own adjustment models and that the department has worked to ensure consistency in the process. It is uncertain whether Labor and Education's efforts to build linkages between community colleges and the workforce system will be successful in encouraging community colleges to focus on workforce development. Labor's WIRED, High Growth, and Community Based grants aim, in part, to help community colleges and other workforce entities collaborate. As discussed in GAO's recent report on these grants,Labor's evaluations do not fully measure their effectiveness, and GAO recommends that Labor take steps to do so. Labor and Education jointly funded a $1.5 million initiative in 2006 to help build linkages between community colleges and the workforce system. The agencies did not conduct an evaluation, but plan to issue a report in 2008 about the participants' challenges and successes. Four appendixes include: (1) Objectives, Scope and Methodology; (2) Community Colleges Selected for Site Visits; (3) Comments from the Department of Labor; and (4) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 24 footnotes, 1 figure, and 3 tables.).
"Why GAO Did This StudyThe Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009 (TGAAA), part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, authorized assistance to communities, workers, farmers, and firms affected by trade. One such program, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant program, is administered by Labor and authorizes grants to eligible institutions of higher education for educational or career training programs suitable for trade-affected workers. Total grant funding is $2 billion for 4 years and the first round of grants was awarded in September 2011. The TGAAA requires GAO to examine the operation and effectiveness of the changes made by the act to this program. GAO examined how Labor (1) designed and awarded the grants and to what extent it complied with applicable requirements; (2) monitors the grants and what is known about implementation to date; and (3) plans to evaluate the program. GAO reviewed a nongeneralizable sample of 32 grant applications based on funding status, total scores, and total grant amounts; grantees' quarterly reports; and relevant federal laws, regulations, policy and guidance; and interviewed federal and state officials.What GAO RecommendsGAO recommends that Labor take steps to more effectively manage its process when states must designate grantees by, for example, building in additional lead time or providing states"
Community colleges are essential in preparing the 21st century workforce. Research has indicated that there is a shortage of individuals prepared for skilled workforce opportunities, such as plumbers, electricians, and many others. In fact, while college is essential in workforce development, it is not the only route that can lead to a successful livelihood. Developing a skill that transfers into an essential trade is a route less taken. Community colleges are ideally situated to respond to the shortage of a prepared workforce by providing an array of programs that reach a wide range of individuals with talents that may not include a college degree. Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation in the 21st Century: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a comprehensive reference source that covers the essential role of community colleges in developing a skilled workforce via varying educational opportunities that include degree completion, workforce development, and skill enhancement. Readers will benefit from the book’s ability to advocate for the need for individuals with skillful trade options, provide different areas to consider as trade options, discuss the role of community colleges in preparing a workforce, examine the challenges that can arise for individuals with a trade, and present a global outlook on the workforce of the 21st century. Covering topics that include career pathways and STEM programs, the book is especially valuable for academic institutions that are looking to provide options for talent expansion. Leadership and education scholars, leadership practitioners within community college and university settings, leaders within workforce development sectors, researchers, and students will also find this reference useful for developing a skilled and competent workforce.
Have you ever asked yourself how the inventions, gadgets, and devices that surround us actually work? Discover the hidden workings of everyday technology with this graphic guide. How Technology Works demystifies the machinery that keeps the modern world going, from simple objects such as zip fasteners and can openers to the latest, most sophisticated devices of the information age, including smartwatches, personal digital assistants, and driverless cars. It includes inventions that have changed the course of history, like the internal combustion engine, as well as technologies that might hold the key to our future survival, including solar cells and new kinds of farming to feed a growing population. Throughout the book, step-by-step explanations are supported by simple and original graphics that take devices apart and show you how they work. The opening chapter explains principles that underpin lots of devices, from basic mechanics to electricity to digital technology. From there, devices are grouped by application--such as the home, transportation, and computing--making them easy to find and placing similar devices side by side. How Technology Works is perfect for anyone who didn't have training in STEM subjects at school or is simply curious about how the modern world works.
"Major changes have occurred in the workplace during the last several decades that have transformed the nature of work, and our preparation for work. In recent years, we have seen the globalization of thousands of companies and most industries, organizational downsizing and restructuring, greater use of information technology at work, changes in work contracts, and the growth of various alternative education and work strategies and schedules"--
Community colleges serve as a critical gateway to English-language instruction, higher education, workforce training, and civic engagement for many immigrants and refugees looking to gain an economic foothold in the labor market and integrate into the social fabric of their communities. Coming from various walks of life with different goals and aspirations, immigrants and refugees have turned to community colleges to help them further their education, prepare for citizenship, or launch new careers. At a time when our nation is facing bitter political divides over its immigration policies and gridlock at the federal level, this book tells a different story: It showcases the exemplary initiatives of community colleges and their partners working together at local and state levels to integrate immigrants and refugees into the economic, social, and cultural fabric of our communities and our country, and it illustrates the various ways immigrant and refugee students enrich campus life, strengthen communities, and benefit our economy. This book shares the perspectives of community college CEOs and examines the role of leadership in adopting institution-wide strategies and allocating resources that have advanced immigrant and refugee integration on campus and in the community. We also learn how front-line practitioners make those strategies work through educational and career pathways that have enabled immigrants and refugees to pursue their academic and career goals and contribute to the economic prosperity and cultural vibrancy of their communities.
In the United States, 1,200 community colleges enroll over ten million students each year—nearly half of the nation’s undergraduates. Yet fewer than 40 percent of entrants complete an undergraduate degree within six years. This fact has put pressure on community colleges to improve academic outcomes for their students. Redesigning America’s Community Colleges is a concise, evidence-based guide for educational leaders whose institutions typically receive short shrift in academic and policy discussions. It makes a compelling case that two-year colleges can substantially increase their rates of student success, if they are willing to rethink the ways in which they organize programs of study, support services, and instruction. Community colleges were originally designed to expand college enrollments at low cost, not to maximize completion of high-quality programs of study. The result was a cafeteria-style model in which students pick courses from a bewildering array of choices, with little guidance. The authors urge administrators and faculty to reject this traditional model in favor of “guided pathways”—clearer, more educationally coherent programs of study that simplify students’ choices without limiting their options and that enable them to complete credentials and advance to further education and the labor market more quickly and at less cost. Distilling a wealth of data amassed from the Community College Research Center (Teachers College, Columbia University), Redesigning America’s Community Colleges offers a fundamental redesign of the way two-year colleges operate, stressing the integration of services and instruction into more clearly structured programs of study that support every student’s goals.
Skilled technical occupationsâ€"defined as occupations that require a high level of knowledge in a technical domain but do not require a bachelor's degree for entryâ€"are a key component of the U.S. economy. In response to globalization and advances in science and technology, American firms are demanding workers with greater proficiency in literacy and numeracy, as well as strong interpersonal, technical, and problem-solving skills. However, employer surveys and industry and government reports have raised concerns that the nation may not have an adequate supply of skilled technical workers to achieve its competitiveness and economic growth objectives. In response to the broader need for policy information and advice, Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce examines the coverage, effectiveness, flexibility, and coordination of the policies and various programs that prepare Americans for skilled technical jobs. This report provides action-oriented recommendations for improving the American system of technical education, training, and certification.
