Workforce Development

Russia
blog
Putin's State of Mind, the Digital Skills Gap, International Women's Day: RAND Weekly Recap
Mar 11, 2022
This weekly recap focuses on deterring Russian President Vladimir Putin, understanding America’s gun policy debate, improving teacher diversity, and more.
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Workforce Development
essay
The Digital Skills Gap: What Workers Need for the Jobs of the Future
Mar 1, 2022
Business leaders have warned for years that what they see on job applications does not match what they need in new employees. There are not enough workers with the right digital skills. And as the world economy struggles to its feet after COVID-19, that skills gap threatens to keep pushing it down.
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Media Literacy
blog
China-Pakistan Partnership, Media Literacy, Incarcerated Parents: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 24, 2021
This weekly recap focuses on the China-Pakistan partnership in light of the Taliban's rise to power, media literacy education, parenting from prison, and more.
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Workforce Development
commentary
Job Training Is More Effective When Educators, Government, and Industry Work Together
Matthew D. Baird, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Jul 6, 2021
The RAND Blog
The United States is facing economic gaps wider than have been seen in a century. To keep the nation economically strong and able to provide citizens with middle-class lifestyles, educators, government, and private industry need to work together to shape training opportunities.
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Military Personnel Retention
commentary
How the Military Might Expand Its Cyber Skills
James Ryseff
Apr 22, 2021
The RAND Blog
The U.S. military will need to improve its software fluency if it wants to be dominant on the battlefields of the future. Ensuring that future leaders in the military develop cyber skills and the ability to interface with technical experts may be increasingly important.
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Workplace Well-Being
commentary
It May Be Time to Rethink the Design of Jobs to Deliver Good Health for Workers
Chris Warhurst, Christian Van Stolk
Sep 25, 2020
Warwick Institute for Employment Research
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the impact of poorly designed jobs on the health of workers was drawing attention. Now may be the time to fundamentally rethink the design of jobs so that they promote good health and lessen poor health and its costs.
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Turkey
blog
U.S.-Turkish Relations, Airports, Opioids: RAND Weekly Recap
Jan 17, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the future of the U.S.-Turkish partnership, helping America's commercial airports meet rising demand, the opioid crisis, and more.
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Workforce Development
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Education and Employment Should Be One System, Not Two
Jan 7, 2020
Too many American workers aren't getting the education and training they need to compete in the 21st century. We need to revamp the entire system of educating and employing people. And that system needs to ensure equitable access to opportunities and lifelong learning.
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Sleep
blog
School Start Times, Streaming Apps, Brexit: RAND Weekly Recap
Oct 18, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on later school start times, how streaming apps could help Americans be more active, the latest Brexit news, and more.
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Tobacco and Smoking
blog
E-Cigarettes, 'Stand Your Ground,' Cyber Coercion: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 20, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on the planned federal ban on flavored e-cigarettes, “stand your ground” laws, understanding cyber coercion, and more.
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Cybersecurity
blog
Data Breaches, Correctional Security, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap
Aug 2, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on how consumers respond to data breaches, new security challenges facing correctional institutions, how fentanyl is changing the opioid crisis, and more.
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Workforce Development
commentary
How Work-Based Learning Can Bring Employers and Students Together
Monica Mean, Gabriella C. Gonzalez
Jul 24, 2019
The RAND Blog
Work-based learning experiences help college grads better prepare for work. WBL programs often serve as a workforce pipeline for companies. WBL is also successful at the K–12 level and at
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Workforce Development
commentary
How Community Colleges Can Establish Better Partnerships with Employers
Rita T. Karam
Jun 6, 2019
The RAND Blog
Career and technical education programs give students a chance to engage in learning relevant to their chosen fields and apply immediately for jobs. A strategic vision of collaboration between industry and community colleges can benefit all parties.
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Workforce Development
blog
State of the Union, OxyContin, Appalachia: RAND Weekly Recap
Feb 8, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on insights from RAND after the State of the Union, public-health impacts of reformulating OxyContin, STEM jobs in Appalachia, and more.
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Workforce Development
commentary
The Case for Investing in a More Healthy and Engaged Health Workforce
Christian Van Stolk, Marco Hafner
Nov 8, 2018
The RAND Blog
Improving staff engagement leads to a variety of positive benefits. But defining and measuring engagement is not straightforward, and different demographic factors are associated with different levels of engagement. The National Health Service in England is looking at ways to increase engagement in its staff.
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Occupational Training
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Appalachia Partnership Helps Both Workers and Employers in a Changing Market
Aug 30, 2018
An innovative program in Appalachia is realigning the skills of the workforce with the needs of employers, getting people back on the job and providing a 21st-century model of workforce development.
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Workforce Development
commentary
Keeping Americans on the Job in a Changing Economy
Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Oct 20, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
Despite calls to bring back U.S. coal mines and factories, the real issue isn't a lack of family-sustaining jobs, it's a mismatch between workers and available jobs.
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Workforce Development
essay
What Happens When RAND Rethinks Its Workspace
Sep 5, 2017
In an economy that increasingly values ideas over tasks, companies are breaking down office walls, scrapping the idea of a nine-to-five, and doing away with cubicles. A RAND project shows how a modern workspace can be conducive to both collaboration and individual work.
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commentary
Many Americans Face Bullying, Harassment, and Abuse at Work, but Bosses Can Help
Kathleen J. Mullen @KathleenJMullen, Jeffrey B. Wenger
Aug 30, 2017
The RAND Blog
Workers are experiencing high levels of hostile behaviors at work. Nearly one in five American workers have been subjected to some form of verbal abuse, unwanted sexual attention, threats, or humiliating behavior at work, with younger non-college educated workers bearing the most risk.
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Autonomous Vehicles
commentary
What Autonomous Vehicles Could Mean for American Workers
Nidhi Kalra
Aug 29, 2017
The RAND Blog
Autonomous vehicles are projected to hit American roads within the next few years. They promise safer transportation, greater mobility for millions of Americans, and other benefits. But they will also have enormous impacts on the workforce.
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Technical Professions
commentary
Back to Work: Middle-Skill Jobs in the STEM Economy
Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Robert Bozick
Aug 24, 2016
The RAND Blog
The STEM economy will grow by 17 percent through 2018, with expected job vacancies totaling 2.4 million. Middle-skill STEM jobs—such as computer support specialists, web developers, and engineering technicians—are in the highest demand.
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commentary
Labor Day Blog Series: American Worker
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, Robert Bozick, Joy S. Moini
Aug 22, 2016
The RAND Blog
To celebrate Labor Day, the American Worker series of commentaries offers research, reflections, and policy insights on a variety of topics that affect American workers.
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commentary
Young Workers Without College Degrees Face Uncomfortable Truths
Diana Gehlhaus
Jun 23, 2016
The Hill
Young Americans without a college education suffer from high unemployment, low earnings, and delayed adulthood with a limited ability to buy a home. To help them, policymakers need to remind themselves that workforce training and labor policy must focus on the technology-driven jobs of tomorrow.
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