Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce (2017) / Chapter Skim
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7 Findings and Recommendations
7 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 161-190
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From page 161... ...
Unlike most other advanced economies, the United States lacks formal mechanisms that require governments, educators, labor representatives, and employers to coordinate on workforce development policies and practices at the national level. In fact, workforce development in the United States is polycentric in nature, driven by a variety of private and public investments in workforce education and training.
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2 FINDINGS TASK: Define the skilled technical workforce. Finding 1: The skilled technical workforce includes a range of occupations that require a high level of knowledge in a technical domain, but many of these occupations do not require a bachelor's degree for entry.
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Students, parents, and workers often fail to appreciate the value of many skilled technical occupations and wrongly believe that skilled technical jobs do not offer adequate wages, working 4 See Section 1.4 of Chapter 1 on "Defining the Workforce."
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Skilled Technical Workforce Development." 8 See Section 2.1 of Chapter 2 on "The Supply of and Demand for Skilled Technical Workers."
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10 • Employers, industry associations, and labor unions share these 9 See Section 3.6 of Chapter 3 on "Current Policy Issues Related to Developing a Skilled Technical Workforce." 10 See Section 3.3 of Chapter 3 on "Federal-Level Policies and Programs" and Section 3.5 of Chapter 3 on "State-Level Policies."
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From page 166... ...
12 a. Evidence indicates labor market imbalances in certain skilled technical occupations, industry sectors, and locations; however, analysts disagree as to whether there are gaps or failures in the aggregate in skilled technical labor markets, with some arguing that there is no overall evidence of market failures.
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Federal and state funding formulas can distort educators' incentives by emphasizing the volume of enrollment in institutions and programs rather than the quality of the institutions and programs or outcomes. 19 Funding formulas also can divert resources from programs that actually add value in skilled technical workforce development.
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Community colleges in the United States currently enroll nearly half of all students pursuing undergraduate education. − Colleges and research universities provide academic and technical education and training for skilled technical jobs for youth and adults on a competitive basis at a wide range of costs.
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22 d. Civic organizations, including labor unions, worker associations, industry and trade associations, religious organizations, and philanthropies, also support workforce development based on their specific missions and interests.
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Finding 8: Skilled technical workforce development in the United States is guided and supported by a complex and often uncoordinated set of policies and funds at the local, state, and federal government levels associated with achieving goals related to economic development, education, labor and employment, health and human services, and veterans' affairs. Most resources are allocated by formulas based on demographic factors, which serve as a proxy for need, rather than on performance, outcomes, or evidence of what works best in workforce development.
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From page 171... ...
. − Some forms of education and training, such as CTE, apprenticeships, certificate programs, certification programs, licensing programs, and veterans' transition assistance programs, require systematic collaboration across educators, employers, labor unions, industry and trade associations, and policy makers at the local level.
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From page 172... ...
• Some employers may look to public resources for education and training for students and workers because they fear that other employers may free-ride on their investments. • With the growth of contingent work arrangements, which shorten the timeframe within which employers can recoup investments in training, some employers may have insufficient motivation to invest in some types of skilled technical workforce development.
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28 b. To make adjustments that will improve workforce development outcomes, both policy makers and labor market participants need better data with which to analyze labor market dynamics, returns on investments in workforce development, and the effectiveness of alternative strategies.
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29 They include the following: • Counseling services. Career guidance is particularly important to skilled technical workforce development because it can counter the common perception that the only path to lifelong occupational success is through immediate entry into a 4-year college and advanced degree programs.
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Some evidence suggests that articulating career pathways improves education and training outcomes. Career pathways, which are roadmaps of the education and training required to attain credentials associated with success in specific industries, have been adopted in several states and often are used to guide linked learning, sector strategies, talent management, and career pipeline initiatives.
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From page 176... ...
Advocated by the National Governors Association (NGA) , the Department of Labor, and civic associations, sector strategies are partnerships of employers within a single industry that focus on coordinating policies and resources to address the workforce needs of a strategically important industry, including through apprenticeship programs targeted to those sectors.
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From page 177... ...
The use of supply chain management principles to create talent pipelines that link investments in workforce development with business strategy is being promoted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation; the National Network of Business and Industry Associations; industry trade associations, such as the Precision Machined Products Association, the National Tooling and Machining Association, the Technology and Manufacturing Association, and the National Institute for Metalworking Skills; and major employers, such as IBM.
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From page 178... ...
Veterans' transition assistance programs include federal and state government programs, private-sector initiatives, and public– private partnerships. However, additional action is needed to improve 35 See Section 5.3 of Chapter 5 on "Challenges in Training and Transitioning the Skilled Technical Workforce." 36 See Section 5.3 of Chapter 5 on "Challenges in Training and Transitioning the Skilled Technical Workforce."
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a. Unlike most other developed countries, the United States lacks formal mechanisms that require governments, educators, labor representatives, and employers to coordinate on workforce development policies and practices at the national level.
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Employers are encouraged to • consult regularly and partner with policy makers, educators, labor unions, industry and trade associations, and other civic associations on skilled technical workforce development issues; 40 See Section 6.4 of Chapter 6 on "Employer-Based Training Programs."
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Review and evaluate funding formulas and grant rules for education and training programs to ensure that they provide incentives and funding for all stakeholders to participate in the development of an equal opportunity skilled technical workforce using integrated, work context–based learning strategies. For example, allow federal and state education and labor funds to be used for all postsecondary education and training programs at all ages and levels of career advancement.
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This campaign should be customized to recognize local variations in skilled technical workforce education, training, and labor market requirements.
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Community colleges and other educational organizations should be incentivized and provided the means to adopt policies and programs aimed at boosting degree or credential completion, including better integration of academic and technical education and training. Recommendation 4: Congress, state legislatures, and agencies of the federal and state governments should improve the workforce labor market information system (WLMIS)
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They also should improve labor market information on the changing requirements for skilled technical workers to help reduce imbalances in labor markets and to align workforce development with advances in science and technology.
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investigate career pathway and transition issues in each of the Armed Services, which are among the largest employers in the United States, and use data from these investigations to better coordinate with civilian policy makers, regulators, and educators to improve the transferability of military education, training, and certification; b. assess transition risks for military personnel, and design and deliver services to mitigate these risks, including ensuring that the military culture encourages service members to do everything they can to transition without drawing UCX assistance; and c.
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a. The National Science Foundation should commission a study of how countries with more proficient workers develop their skilled technical workforces.
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Federal and State Departments of Labor and Education • Review and evaluate funding formulas and grant rules for education and training programs to ensure that they provide incentives and funding for all stakeholders to participate in skilled technical workforce development. (Recommendation 1d)
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Employers, Industry and Trade Associations, Labor Unions, and Allied Training Partners (with the encouragement of the Department of Labor) • Consult regularly and partner with policy makers, educators, and other civic associations on skilled technical workforce development issues.
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• Help ensure that all qualified workers can participate in all occupations in the skilled technical workforce, have access to education and training opportunities throughout their careers, and be paid the wages to which they are entitled. (Recommendation 5a)
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