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

• Early Childhood Educators in Hawaiʻi: Addressing Compensation, Working Conditions, and Professional Advancement October 25, 2022

  Lynn A. Karoly, Jill S. Cannon, Celia J. Gomez, Ashley Woo

  This report documents the low wages, few benefits, mixed working conditions, and lack of incentives for career advancement in place for the early care and education (ECE) workforce. The authors also provide long-term and short-term strategies for Hawaiʻi to invest in improvements that would help recruit and retain workers in the ECE field.

• The Globalization of Remote Work: Will Digital Offshoring Make Waves in the U.S. Labor Market? October 6, 2022

  Tobias Sytsma

  Remote work creates opportunities for organizations to engage in cross-border trade in services and offshoring. Digital offshoring—moving jobs overseas to cheaper locations using digital technologies—could be one of the long-run impacts of the recent remote work boom. This Perspective looks at the history of offshoring to gain insights into the potential impact digital offshoring may have on U.S. workers.

• American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool: Spring 2022 COVID-19 Survey Results July 12, 2022

  Gerald P. Hunter, Melissa Kay Diliberti, Heather L. Schwartz

  A total of 291 leaders from school districts and charter management organizations took the fifth American School District Panel survey in spring 2022. This online tool allows users to select individual survey questions and compare responses to a subset of survey items that 222 superintendents completed. Color-coded charts display survey results by district type, locale, student race and ethnicity, and district poverty level.

• Leak or Link? the Overrepresentation of Women in Non-Tenure-Track Academic Positions in STEM July 7, 2022

  Stephanie Rennane, Hannah Acheson-Field, Kathryn A. Edwards, Grace Gahlon, Melanie A. Zaber

  This paper examines gender variation in departures from the tenure-track science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) academic career pathway to non-tenure-track academic careers.

• State Partnerships with University Principal Preparation Programs: A Summary of Findings for State Policymakers (Volume 3, Part 5) June 20, 2022

  Susan M. Gates, Rebecca Herman, Elaine Lin Wang

  University-based principal preparation programs prepare the majority of U.S. school principals. This targeted report shares findings from the RAND Corporation's five-year study of The Wallace Foundation's University Principal Preparation Initiative, with an emphasis on findings for state policymakers.

• District Partnerships with University Principal Preparation Programs: A Summary of Findings for School District Leaders (Volume 3, Part 4) June 20, 2022

  Elaine Lin Wang, Susan M. Gates, Rebecca Herman

  University-based principal preparation programs prepare the majority of U.S. school principals. This targeted report shares findings from the RAND Corporation's five-year study of The Wallace Foundation's University Principal Preparation Initiative, with an emphasis on findings for school district leaders.

See more publications on workforce development