Despite growing interest in apprenticeship, many employers remain unsure how to get started--especially when it comes to hiring younger workers. This brief examines how the Urban Institute and the Institute for Workplace Skills and Innovation America supported employers in designing and launching youth apprenticeship programs, drawing on five…

Summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) have the potential to serve as critical bridges to promising careers, especially for young people who hail from disadvantaged backgrounds or reside in underserved areas. Summer jobs can provide early exposure to professional environments, equipping participants with essential skills for the workplace,…

We examined the impact of 4-H participation on workforce readiness skill development, including personal, work, communication, and problem solving/decision-making. The study examined two levels of 4-H activities: county-level and state-level. The online survey instrument contained questions about demographics, skill development and 4-H…

Reasonable host language proficiency has been shown as a key factor determining successful social and economic inclusion of refugee migrants within their new society. Many countries who provide settlement to refugee migrants thus offer them instruction in the host language of their new country. In Australia, refugee migrants are offered English…

The purpose of this formative program evaluation of a military-to-civilian transition program at a university sought to evaluate participant perceptions of the program. The evaluation focused on the perceptions of program effectiveness after one year of program participation. Because the program was in its first year, it was appropriate to examine…

Purpose: Knowledge entrepreneurship encourages students to apply their knowledge and skills to societal, digital and ecological challenges -- not only just in business but also in careers and social contribution. This study aimed to validate training that promotes using education-derived knowledge to address real-world issues and build career…

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is a residential, quasi-military program that serves young people ages 16 to 18 who are struggling to complete their high school credential. This is the ninth report in an annual series that RAND researchers have issued. The prior annual reports cover 2015 through 2022. Each annual report documents the…

Purpose: This study investigates the role of the engineering education environment created by the implementation of the "Plan for Educating and Training Outstanding Engineers" (PETOE) on the professional capability development of engineering students from the perspective of students' experience. Design/Approach/Methods: This study uses…

This paper presents the findings of a Consensual Qualitative Research partial program evaluation of the effectiveness of a secondary transition-to-work training program in a Southeastern public school system. Current literature regarding the history of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, barriers they have faced to…

The United States is currently experiencing a decline of skilled talent in the workforce, with healthcare occupations suffering the most due to a loss in workforce talent and the onset of an aging population. This talent shortage is attributed to a "skills gap." The current case study used qualitative methodology to examine the expansion…

An important part of STEM education is students' acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for career success, all of which emerge from a combination of classroom and co-curricular activities. Work-related experiential activities (WREAs) offer the opportunity for students to engage in experiential activities before degree completion,…

It is widely acknowledged that graduates need to develop skills and competences beyond the theoretical knowledge nurtured within higher education curricula. In the last twenty years there has been an increased interest in supporting learners with work-based learning (WBL) (e.g. apprenticeships, practice-based lab sessions, project-based learning).…

This support document accompanies the research report, "Understanding the Value of Pre-Apprenticeships," which examines the effect of pre-apprenticeship programs on apprenticeship completions and the value that both students and employers place on pre-apprenticeship programs in helping students to obtain successful apprenticeship…

During the past decade, numerous postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disability have emerged as have standards to improve the quality of those programs. We used the Think College Standards for Inclusive Higher Education to develop a family survey to evaluate and improve programs. Overall, family responses were positive for most…

Poor social skills is a leading factor why individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) lose their jobs. Fortunately, the use of technology has made learning and teaching social skills more seamless and integrated in employment contexts. We conducted a multiple-probe-across-participants single-case experimental design study…