Reimagining the Workforce Development System for the 21st Century and Beyond

Technology, globalization, and demographic changes have altered what employers need from workers and what workers can expect from employers. Many Americans no longer follow a straightforward, linear path from education to the workforce to retirement—rather, it is becoming more common for individuals to work while going to school, return to school to get more education or change careers after spending some time in the workforce, or work multiple freelance jobs. RAND Education and Labor researchers are working with education and training institutions, employers, and policymakers to take a systems-levels approach to examining education, workforce development, and employment, and to develop evidence-based policy recommendations to better support workers and employers in the 21st-century and beyond.

Featured Research

Equitable Access to Opportunities for Learning, Training, and Re-Training Throughout Individuals’ Working Lives

RAND Education and Labor researchers are examining how best to provide students with a broad base of fundamental skills, as well as exposure to career and technical education that will prepare them for the world of work. In addition, we are considering alternative funding models that can more equitably distribute costs of continuing education and training among individuals, employers, and taxpayers.

Matching and Re-matching Individuals with Jobs to Which They and Their Skills are Well-suited

Recent graduates often find it difficult to make the transition from school to the workforce, as employers often want to hire workers with previous experience. RAND Education and Labor researchers are working in partnership with employers, education and training providers, and other stakeholders to better-align education and training curricula with labor market needs, and to facilitate the school-to-workforce transition. At the same time, many experienced workers find that their current skills are no longer in need, but there are no clearly defined pathways for them to quickly adapt and acquire new skills. Our work has examined new mechanisms to support greater job and career mobility, as well as the needs of freelancers in the growing “gig” economy.

Recent Publications

• The Labor Supply Consequences of the Opioid Crisis July 9, 2021

  David Powell

  Uses the introduction of OxyContin and geographic variation in its launch to study the labor supply consequences of the opioid crisis.

• Job-Related Stress Threatens the Teacher Supply: Key Findings from the 2021 State of the U.S. Teacher Survey June 14, 2021

  Elizabeth D. Steiner, Ashley Woo

  The authors use American Teacher Panel data to explore the state of teacher well-being in the United States. They describe the job-related stressors that teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and how those stressors are associated with teachers' reported well-being. They also examine the working conditions of teachers who were considering leaving their jobs because of the pandemic.

• Stackable Credential Pipelines in Ohio: Evidence on Programs and Earnings Outcomes June 8, 2021

  Lindsay Daugherty, Drew M. Anderson

  Stackable credential initiatives aim to build education and training pipelines in applied fields that allow individuals to earn short-term credentials and then build on them to earn additional certificates and degrees throughout their careers. In this report, the authors examined data on the expansion of short-term, stackable programs in Ohio and estimated the growth in earnings when individuals earned certificates and stacked credentials.

• Building Ohio's Workforce through Stackable Credentials June 8, 2021

  Lindsay Daugherty, Drew M. Anderson, Jenna W. Kramer, Robert Bozick

  Stackable credentials allow individuals with short-term credentials to build on them with additional credentials throughout their careers. This brief summarizes a report in which researchers examined earnings gains from stacking credentials in Ohio.

• Are Income Share Agreements Fair? A Close Look at the Potential Risks and Benefits of an Emerging Financial Aid Option May 26, 2021

  Melanie A. Zaber, Elizabeth D. Steiner

  In this Perspective, the authors examine the income share agreement (ISA), through which students can obtain funding for postsecondary education in exchange for a share of future income. Benefits include increased access to postsecondary education and less risk for those who do not obtain well-paying jobs. However, the lack of regulation may incentivize ISA-offering programs to create contracts that further entrench economic inequities.

• A New Approach to Measuring Income Inequality Over Recent Decades April 29, 2021

  Carter C. Price, Kathryn A. Edwards

  RAND researchers identified a new, intuitive way to measure income inequality and compare income growth over time.

See more publications on workforce development