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Postsecondary education and credentials are key to economic mobility for individuals and economic competitiveness for our nation. Although the economic return to credentials varies significantly by field of study, generally workers with higher levels of education have higher wages, work more hours, and suffer lower rates and shorter durations of unemployment. As routine jobs are giving way to work environments necessitating higher-order communication and analytical skills, employers are requiring existing workers to upgrade their skills to stay employed. They are also using educational and occupational credentials in the hiring process to find the most qualified workers and as a screen for adaptability and trainability. Driven by economic mobility and competitiveness concerns, policy leaders at all levels are setting goals for increasing postsecondary credential attainment. States are also actively engaged in or moving toward performance-based funding for higher education that rewards colleges for improving the rate at which students complete college and attain marketable credentials. Another driver of interest in stackable credentials is that policymakers are seeking ways to document the skills veterans learned during military service to help them reintegrate into the domestic workforce. The U.S. Department of Labor defines a stackable credential as one that is "part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual's qualifications and help them to move along a career pathway or up a career ladder to different and potentially higher-paying jobs." As discussed in this paper, states and colleges are achieving stackability in a variety of ways to optimize credential attainment and build multiple on and off ramps to postsecondary credentials for people as they prepare to enter the workforce, aim to upgrade their skills to keep a job, advance to a better job, or move from one field of work to another. The following are appended: (1) Credentials; (2) Figures; and (3) Acknowledgements.

The national goal of increasing postsecondary credentials, to improve both equity and economic competitiveness, requires a fresh look at how to recognize learning in noncredit workforce education and training. The credit hour has long been the standard academic currency in postsecondary education. Despite its weakness as a measure of learning, in most institutions it is the building block that students collect and accumulate in order to earn their degrees. It also is the metric governments use to allocate funds to educational institutions. However, there is no standard way of valuing "noncredit" learning and assessing and documenting its equivalence to credit courses and programs. This is despite a growing recognition of alternative ways for students to learn, including competency-based learning. As a result, noncredit learning leads to no credential at all, rather than to an industry-recognized or postsecondary credential. This report seeks to contribute to the conversation about how to move the postsecondary and employment and training fields toward a qualifications framework for awarding educational credit for occupational education and training based on demonstrated competencies. It begins with a brief overview of sub-baccalaureate education, looking specifically at disconnects in the current system--disconnects between credit and noncredit programs, as well as disconnects between education and training provided by educational institutions and that provided by employers, the military, community-based organizations, and a host of others. The report then examines federal, state, and institutional efforts to better assure the quality of credentials and to bridge noncredit and credit-bearing instruction. Next, the report looks at a consensus-building process developed among European countries for creating more consistent expectations regarding postsecondary learning outcomes, as well as at efforts underway to apply this process to the U.S. postsecondary education system. This process suggests an approach to creating a qualifications framework that would enable postsecondary institutions to reliably and consistently award educational credit for noncredit workforce education and training, regardless of where and how the training occurred. Appended are: (1) Current State of Postsecondary Workforce Education and Training; (2) Glossary; and (3) Advanced Manufacturing Competency Model. (Contains 28 resources and 69 endnotes.) [This report was written in collaboration with Corporation for a Skilled Workforce.]

This paper is one of a series being prepared by the Center for Law and Social Policy that is intended to inform the decisions of state legislators, program administrators, service providers, and advocates and to enable policy choices that simultaneously help low income families improve their labor market success and states meet federal participation rates. The paper summarizes the research on the contribution of skills and credentials to labor market success and the lessons learned about effective welfare-to-work training and postsecondary education strategies. It also discusses current levels of participation in education and training activities and provides guidance on how states can expand access to such programs within the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy context. The appendix contains Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 Vocational Education Training Cap Analysis. (Contains 30 endnotes.)

This issue brief examines strategies that states can use to help welfare recipients with learning disabilities move toward self-sufficiency within the context of welfare reform. It defines a learning disability, explains approaches to identifying and assessing undiagnosed learning disabilities, and suggests ways to secure accommodations for training, testing, and functioning in the workplace. It also discusses legal requirements for screening, transitional planning, and accommodations. Provisions under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Americans with Disabilities Act are reviewed. Modifications to work requirements for recipients with learning disabilities are also addressed. The final part of the brief reviews opportunities for interagency collaboration and funding, including collaborations with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Welfare-to-Work grant programs, vocational rehabilitation programs, Medicaid programs, and education programs to address the learning and career development needs of welfare recipients. An appendix includes organizational resources and contacts for more information on learning disabilities. (CR)

State governors have an immense stake in building a workforce training and education system capable of producing the skilled workers needed to secure the country's economic future. In doing so, states must face the following challenges: (1) many state workforce systems do not reflect market needs; (2) public education is falling short in preparing individuals for the new economy; (3) workers must navigate a more uncertain career path; (4) many low-wage workers need supports to advance; and (5) effective governance and accountability structures are missing. Governors can implement the following policy changes to overcome these barriers: (1) connect workforce development to economic needs through education; (2) build a stronger education pipeline to produce trainable graduates possessing strong foundation skills; (3) expand/create incentives for continuous learning; (4) enhance workers' ability to manage their careers; (5) strengthen work supports (including education and training) to promote employment retention and career advancement; and (6) strengthen governance and accountability in the workforce system. Specific actions to strengthen the education pipeline include ensuring that all levels of education from prekindergarten through postsecondary education are connected and that they build students' skills, working with the higher education system to contain costs, and modifying financial aid policies to promote greater participation and choice. (Contains 26 endnotes.) (MN)

Using a "Knowledge Development Plan" prepared as a blueprint, the Office of Youth Programs of the Department of Labor has undertaken various demonstration projects and large-scale evaluation and complementary research studies. The Office is experimenting with alternative employment and employability development approaches for economically disadvantaged youth, in and out of school. One of the first objectives of the knowledge development activities was to develop a standard set of assessment measures and thereby establish a uniform data base across a wide variety of program strategies being tested. Baseline data have provided insight into important relationships between school and working. The finding that the skills, competencies, and behaviors that constitute employability are acquired incrementally has led to the notion of benchmarking. If acquisition of employment-related attributes is sequential, then program structure must be sequential. Research is being directed to gaining insights into structuring elements in programs such as Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs. Other focuses are gaining private sector access, testing of alternative work-oriented programs to prevent dropping out and provide incentive for return to school, linkages between CETA and local educational agencies, and institutional change that Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) legislation can bring about. (Questions and answers are appended.) (YLB)

State and local governments have been in the front lines of dealing with the adverse effects of recent economic change. States have embarked on a dual approach to economic adjustment. First, they have established programs that respond to economic change and cushion its deleterious effects on communities and individuals. Second, they have attempted to anticipate and prepare for the massive dislocations that are taking place in the economy. State training programs have been key elements of both strategies. Most of the training programs have been job specific and company specific. Historically, state job-specific training programs have been heavily directed at influencing the locational decisions of firms. Today, as a result of changing demographics and economic conditions, some states have also begun directing their state job training programs inward as a job retention strategy. Following an introductory section and a section on training for expansion, modernization, and retention, this paper briefly describes the job-specific training programs in 17 states. Information is drawn from interviews with state officials, a meeting on "State Strategies for Training a Competitive Workforce," and a 50-state survey on state industry-specific training programs conducted in 1986. (KC)

Research on the results of welfare-to-work programs is both encouraging and sobering. On the one hand, it provides evidence that states can effectively implement various work-oriented programs to encourage large percentages of the welfare caseload to prepare for and enter the labor market. These programs range from rather low-intensity programs aimed at moving recipients into jobs as quickly as possible, to more complex and intensive programs that may include assessment, counseling, and case management as well as education, training, and support services. A number of highly successful programs place a heavy emphasis on employment while providing an integrated set of education, training, and support services. On the other hand, research suggests it is difficult to achieve the multiple objectives established for welfare-to-work programs. None have been able to lift participants out of poverty. A strategy that is successful in increasing the employment and earnings of welfare recipients may not be successful in reducing welfare dependency or achieving cost savings to the government. Strategies aimed at promoting responsible behavior among teenage recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children have met with limited success. Continued research on states' programmatic initiatives and structural reforms will provide additional guidance to inform welfare policy and program implementation. (Appendixes include highlights of major research studies on welfare-to-work programs, and seven endnotes. Contains 21 references. (YLB)

A study examined state initiatives for industry-based skill standards and credentials. Officials in 19 states were interviewed, case studies of programs in 3 states (Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas) were conducted, and focus group discussions were held with 25 individuals. State skill standards were generally found to be tied to broader efforts to reform the education system in general and vocational education in particular. The forces driving the development of standards and credentials varied by state; however, business and industry involvement proved critical in all states studied. The methodologies used to develop skill standards have drawn heavily on the DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process and the work of the Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States. Many states have already undertaken major initiatives to develop assessment processes, and many states are planning to implement statewide processes that would involve the use of performance-based assessments (including portfolios) together with traditional written tests. No state has yet developed a statewide credentialing process, and development efforts across states and at the national level have been fragmented. (A 10-item bibliography is provided. State-by-state phone survey results and the three case studies are appended along with a list of focus group participants.) (MN)