Learning to Work
Learning to Work

Author: Thomas R. Bailey

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2010-12-01

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 0815716303

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With job prospects clouded for even the well-educated, those who leave school with no training beyond high school now face great challenges in making the transition from school to work. Emerging research and experience in other countries have led many to believe that the workplace can play a much larger educational role than it now does. The School-to-Work Opportunity Act of 1994, for example, requires programs funded under the act to include educationally guided work placements as part of the educational strategy. Although there is a growing consensus that employers have much to contribute, significant barriers stand in the way of increasing work-based education. This volume, the result of a Brookings conference on employer participation in education, focuses on such questions as: How can an adequate number of employers be recruited? How can the quality of placements be guaranteed? How can discrimination and inequities in providing access to good placements be avoided? What must educators do to work effectively with employers to develop high quality on-the-job educational experiences? And what policies can encourage participation and monitor and improve the education that takes place on the job? The book includes the perspectives of employers, educators, and policymakers and draws lessons from experience with employer involvement in Europe. It concludes with suggestions for future research and policy designed to increase the quality and quantity of work-based education. Chapters were written by editor Thomas Bailey, as well as Paul Osterman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; David Stern, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; and Margaret Vickers, Technical Education Research Centers. Comments are included by George Chambliss, Xavier Del Buono, Harry Featherstone, Jack Jennings, Governor John R. McKernan, Jr., Stuart Rosenfeld, Anthony Sarmiento, Bernd Sohngen, Marc S. Tucker, Cheryl Fields Tyler, Peter van den Dool, Joan Wills, and Robert Yurasits. Brookings Dialogues on Public Policy

Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults
Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-01-27

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 0309309980

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Young adulthood - ages approximately 18 to 26 - is a critical period of development with long-lasting implications for a person's economic security, health and well-being. Young adults are key contributors to the nation's workforce and military services and, since many are parents, to the healthy development of the next generation. Although 'millennials' have received attention in the popular media in recent years, young adults are too rarely treated as a distinct population in policy, programs, and research. Instead, they are often grouped with adolescents or, more often, with all adults. Currently, the nation is experiencing economic restructuring, widening inequality, a rapidly rising ratio of older adults, and an increasingly diverse population. The possible transformative effects of these features make focus on young adults especially important. A systematic approach to understanding and responding to the unique circumstances and needs of today's young adults can help to pave the way to a more productive and equitable tomorrow for young adults in particular and our society at large. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults describes what is meant by the term young adulthood, who young adults are, what they are doing, and what they need. This study recommends actions that nonprofit programs and federal, state, and local agencies can take to help young adults make a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. According to this report, young adults should be considered as a separate group from adolescents and older adults. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults makes the case that increased efforts to improve high school and college graduate rates and education and workforce development systems that are more closely tied to high-demand economic sectors will help this age group achieve greater opportunity and success. The report also discusses the health status of young adults and makes recommendations to develop evidence-based practices for young adults for medical and behavioral health, including preventions. What happens during the young adult years has profound implications for the rest of the life course, and the stability and progress of society at large depends on how any cohort of young adults fares as a whole. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults will provide a roadmap to improving outcomes for this age group as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.