Overview

Human capital development—or people’s ability to acquire skills and knowledge through education and training—advances workers’ economic opportunity and strengthens employers and the economy. Yet the complex landscape of skills and training is fragmented across institutions of higher education, public and private providers, and other credentialing programs. More importantly, human capital development alone does not lead to greater economic mobility, as many workers continue to face barriers to reaching their full potential in the labor market.

Working Knowledge

Skills and training Last updated on June 18, 2024
Article

How to Expand Access to Good Clean Energy Jobs among Women and People of Color

New research shows women and people of color are underrepresented in the potential workforce for high-quality clean energy jobs. Universities, employers, and unions can play a role in creating a more diverse workforce.

Hailey D'Elia

Last updated on June 18, 2024
Skills and training Last updated on June 04, 2024
Video

WorkRise Shorts: Applying AI to Rebuild Middle Class Jobs with David Autor

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor David Autor asks what artificial intelligence could enable people to do and who could be enabled by this tool.
Last updated on June 04, 2024
Skills and training Last updated on May 07, 2024
Research Summary

Completing College is Key for Black Men to Earn Higher Wages and Close the Earnings Gap between Black and White Workers

The earnings gap in the US labor market between Black and white workers is a longstanding problem. New research shows that one way to help close that gap is for colleges and universities to help Black male students complete their college degrees.

Madeleine Sirois

Last updated on May 07, 2024
College students study together around a table in the library
Skills and training Last updated on April 23, 2024
Video

WorkRise Shorts: The Harvard Workforce Almanac

The workforce almanac is a first-of-its-kind open-source directory mapping thousands of workforce training providers across the US. The workforce training system in the US has historically been treated in fragmentation, Nathalie Gazzaneo, co-director of Harvard Project on Workforce, shares.
Last updated on April 23, 2024

Research

Skills and training Report Last updated on August 27, 2024

Supporting Youth Economic Mobility through Employment-Focused Strategies

WorkRise’s new landscape research report on youth economic mobility reviews the evidence of programs and practices that help young workers succeed and advance in the labor market.

Shayne Spaulding, Madeleine Sirois, Amanda Briggs

WorkRise Research

Last updated on August 27, 2024
Skills and training Executive Summary November 15, 2023

The Workforce Almanac: A System-Level View of US Workforce Training Providers

This working paper describes the Workforce Almanac, a first-of-its-kind effort to understand workforce training at a systemwide level. The Almanac is an open-source directory of nearly 17,000 workforce training providers across the United States. This database offers the most comprehensive view to date of US workforce training providers and includes information such as provider names, locations, and types.

Grantee Research

November 15, 2023
Skills and training Executive Summary April 03, 2023

Navigating Public Job Training

Right now, more than 75,000 Eligible Training Provider (ETP) job programs are eligible for funding under America’s primary federal workforce development law, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). How well do these public investments prepare workers for high-quality jobs? In this analysis, authors combine training provider and program data from the US Department of Labor with performance records and occupational data to study the types of providers receiving WIOA funding and the kinds of jobs for which they offer training. The report also reviews websites for all 50 states to understand how easily potential job trainees can access information on these programs.

David Deming, Alexis Gable, Rachel Lipson, Arkādijs Zvaigzne

Grantee Research

April 03, 2023
Social determinants of work Report March 15, 2022

Implications of Providing Child Care Assistance to Parents In Education and Training

New WorkRise research uses microsimulation to model a hypothetical policy scenario where more parents in education and training were eligible for and received public child care subsidies.

Gina Adams, Linda Giannarelli, Nathan Sick, Kelly Dwyer

Grantee Research

March 15, 2022
Social determinants of work March 15, 2022

Expanding Child Care Subsidies to Parents in Education and Training

A fact sheet summarizes findings from a new WorkRise report that models a hypothetical policy scenario where more parents in education and training were eligible for and received public child care subsidies.

Gina Adams, Linda Giannarelli, Nathan Sick, Kelly Dwyer

Grantee Research

March 15, 2022

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