High-quality career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning opportunities can support students along a pathway to credential attainment, employment and upward economic mobility through intentional skill development and experiential learning. CTE concentration in high school can increase graduation rates while helping students build…

Despite substantial interest in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses in U.S. high schools--and associated scholarship on this topic--very little is known about characteristics of CTE teachers who are a critical resource for program implementation and expansion. Using eight years of statewide data from Maryland, we document key facts about…

Young Americans represent the future of the United States but face challenging pathways to economic opportunity. Challenges related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and demands for related skill sets are complicating access to work and opportunity for many who are newly entering the workforce. To address this challenge, more state, local, and…

In 2018, BHEF and the Business Roundtable joined forces to create the Workforce Partnership Initiative (WPI). The initiative invited Business Roundtable CEOs to form multi-company partnerships and connect with leaders of postsecondary institutions to meet regional workforce needs. Dozens of CEOs responded, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation awarded…

This report presents baseline and process study findings of an evaluation of the Urban Alliance high school internship program, which provides training, mentoring, and work experience to high school seniors from distressed communities in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Northern Virginia, and Chicago. The report, which focuses on the program's…

The notion that the U.S. has a growing skills gap -- the difference between what employers need to fill in-demand positions and the skill of the current workforce -- is a hot topic among policymakers. By 2020, 65 percent of jobs will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school, according to the Georgetown University Center on…

This Special Report outlines state-level policy components that help ensure work-based learning opportunities for high school students are well-coordinated, broadly accessible, aligned to state or regional workforce demands, and of high quality.

The primary aim of engagement in this phase was to gain input from a wide range of stakeholders that represented the diversity of the state. A multi-pronged approach was developed to structure engagement for the strategic planning process to ensure flexible, responsive and iterative communication with stakeholders. A combination of virtual and…

Engagement in Phase 2 focused on refining the Phase 1 foundational elements such as the mission, vision, values, priorities and enablers, as well as identifying emerging goals and metrics. In addition to the engagement methods outlined in first phase, this phase involved discussions centered around data focused on specific regions in Maryland…

This document reports a study that investigated state management of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Title II-A programs and the Wagner-Peyser 10 percent set-aside for program years 1985 and 1986 to identify the most effective and efficient state JTPA management practices. Following an executive summary and introduction, section 1 contains…

A third party evaluation was conducted of the first phase, 1976-77, of the three-year Appalachian Maryland Experienced Based Career Education Project (EBCE). During this year, the project provided combined learning activities outside and within the classroom for twenty-four twelfth grade students. These experimental students and twenty-three…

Covering a 2-year period (1974-76), this project conducted in Baltimore County, Maryland, demonstrated that an area-coordinated placement service should be part of the educational program of a school system. Project objectives were to serve as a job locating service to junior and senior high school students, to provide employers with a single…

Placement service rationale and organization of the Western Computer Assisted Placement Service (WCAPS) of Baltimore County, Maryland, are described in this manual. (The overall focus of WCAPS is to provide junior and senior high school students, through existing programs, a method of matching their career goals with an occupational setting where…

Workplace mentoring has been identified as an important aspect of work-based learning in projects conducted under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. By establishing relationships with caring and competent adults who can provide emotional support and facilitate skill development, less-experienced youths and adults are more likely to bridge the…

The report covers evaluation activities of Audo-Read Systems during the final year of the Maryland Career Development Project, a project which provided several programs or activities of an exemplary nature designed to facilitate career development. Its objectives were to help students: (1) develop a positive self-concept and greater…