This report describes how six Colorado community colleges used $1.4 million of pandemic relief funding to support individuals pursuing short-term credentials. The authors examined state and college decisions about program eligibility, student eligibility, grant amounts, funding uses, and application requirements as well as outcomes for those…

Given changes in the 21st century workplace and expectations of employers, the notion that a bachelor's degree is the sole pathway to sustainable employment and a middle-class life in the United States has become obsolete. Many (e.g., Fleming, 2016) have argued that employers are now seeking employees with technical skills, digital literacy, and…

Microcredentials create opportunities for continuing growth of all teachers based on specific needs. They provide ways for teachers to lead their own learning while allowing administrators to identify and address teachers' needs as well as the expertise teachers have to share with their colleagues. Microcredentials are different from traditional…

The Accelerating CTE project began as an extension of Jobs for the Future's (JFF's) Accelerating Opportunity (AO), a seven-year initiative to improve outcomes for adult education students in college. Building on the lessons learned and strong evidence realized in AO, the ECMC Foundation in 2016 invested in a three-year initiative where JFF…

This study explored the impact of a seven-college consortium called "Credentials to Careers" (C2C), which was created to foster innovative programs to retrain unemployed and displaced workers for STEM, advanced manufacturing and health-care-related careers, on students' self-efficacy. Using the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, we…

One component of postsecondary education needed for economic recovery and development relates to blue-collar industries, jobs requiring some postsecondary training but less than a four-year degree. The U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program provides funding for community…

This report documents the implementation and early impacts of the Workforce Training Academy Connect (WTA Connect) program, operated by Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in Des Moines, Iowa. WTA Connect aimed to help low-income, low-skilled adults access and complete occupational training that can lead to increased employment and higher…

This report documents the impacts three years after random assignment for the Pathways to Healthcare program, operated by Pima Community College and Pima County One Stop in Tucson, Arizona. The program aimed to help low-income, low-skilled adults access and complete occupational training that could lead to increased employment and higher earnings.…

Several economic factors influence the availability of job openings and labor supply, including technological change and access to quality educational resources. One of the most important factors explaining the current disparity between available jobs and labor supply, however, has been the "skills gap," or the difference between the…

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant represented an unprecedented investment by the federal government in integrated postsecondary education and workforce training offered primarily by community and technical colleges. Between 2011 and 2018, 256 grants totaling nearly $2 billion were awarded through…

"Year Up" is an occupational and technical education intervention that targets high school graduates to provide them with six months of training in the information technology and financial service sectors followed by a six-month internship and supports to ensure that participants have strong connections to employment. This What Works…

"Year Up" is an occupational and technical education intervention that targets high school graduates to provide them with six months of training in the information technology and financial service sectors followed by a six-month internship and supports to ensure that participants have strong connections to employment. This What Works…

"Year Up" is an occupational and technical education intervention that targets high school graduates to provide them with six months of training in the information technology and financial service sectors followed by a six-month internship and supports to ensure that participants have strong connections to employment. This What Works…

Many youth in America are not on track for labor market success. One factor that increases the risk of poor labor market outcomes among these youth is dropping out of school (Rumberger 2020). Youth who drop out of school are at greater risk for job instability and for lower longterm earnings (Hair et al. 2009). They are also more likely to…

Southwest Tennessee Community College (Southwest) received a Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2013 to fund the Southwest Solutions program (Solutions). The goal of Solutions is to prepare, credential, and place veterans, dislocated workers, and unemployed or…