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 COVID-19 Pandemic and the Changing Nature of Work: Lose Your Job, Show Up to Work, or Telecommute? June 18, 2020

  Philip Armour, Katherine Grace Carman, Kathleen J. Mullen, Shanthi Nataraj

  Stay-at-home orders save lives, but the extent to which they threaten livelihoods depends on the nature of one's work. This report examines how much the ability to work from home has mitigated the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The data were collected through the RAND American Life Panel as part of an ongoing analysis of the effects of COVID-19.

• Educator Access to and Use of Data Systems April 10, 2020

  Tiffany Berglund, Katie Tosh

  Teachers' use of student data to inform instruction is commonly accepted as sound educational practice, but studies reveal inconsistent data use and an overall lack of the preparation and skills needed to interpret and use student data. This American Educator Panels Data Note details teachers' access to and use of data systems.

• Education, Employment, and Wages in the Appalachia Region: Final Report (2020) April 9, 2020

  Matthew D. Baird, Gerald P. Hunter, Nathaniel Edenfield, Nicholas Broten, Gabriella C. Gonzalez

  The authors examine indicators of education and labor markets in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region, with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and on the extraction industry. The authors look at how the indicators have changed over time, tighten some of their analysis specifically to the API region, and introduce new measures, such as participation in career and technical education.

• Using Workforce Data to Plan Higher Education Degree Programs February 12, 2020

  Charles A. Goldman, Diana Gehlhaus

  In this chapter, we summarize some findings and lessons from a series of projects for the state of Texas to help improve the alignment of higher education degree programs and workforce needs.

• The American Working Conditions Survey Finds That Nearly Half of Retirees Would Return to Work November 12, 2019

  Nicole Maestas, Kathleen J. Mullen, David Powell, Till von Wachter, Jeffrey B. Wenger

  According to the American Working Conditions Survey, more older workers report having meaningful work compared with their prime-age counterparts, and nearly half of retirees would return to work under the right conditions.

• The Effects of Job Characteristics on Retirement September 12, 2019

  Peter Hudomiet, Michael D. Hurd, Andrew M. Parker, Susann Rohwedder

  Presents results based on a recent survey that queried older workers about their current, desired, and expected job characteristics, as well as about how certain job characteristics would affect their retirement decisions.

See more publications on workforce development