Skill Development

Preparing Students for What Comes Next: Educator and Student Perspectives on Career-Connected Learning in K–12 Schools

The authors analyze data from three RAND survey panels to examine career-connected learning in kindergarten through grade 12 schools in academic year 2025–2026 using the perspectives of district leaders, school leaders, and high school students.

Benjamin K. Master, Melissa Kay Diliberti, Cristina Alvarez, AK Keskin, Elizabeth D. Steiner

Having Trouble Finding Good Workers? They’re Right Under Your Nose

Myths about people who have criminal convictions can prevent hiring managers from considering this pool of productive, trustworthy workers. RAND research is clear: The vast majority of people who have a criminal conviction do not reoffend.

College Credit for Industry Credentials: Identifying Who Might Benefit and Strategies for Outreach

The authors of this report describe which individuals might benefit from credit for prior learning opportunities and identify useful outreach approaches that states and colleges might use to promote college credit for industry credentials.

Jonah Kushner, Lindsay Daugherty, Elaine W. Leigh, Jenna W. Kramer, Nikki Wearly

A Maturity Model for Regional Collaboration: Strengthening Partnerships Among Colleges, Workforce Development Boards, and Employers to Meet Regional Needs

The authors developed a partnership maturity model to foster more-robust and sustainable regional collaborations. Although derived from a rural context, the model is generalizable to inform partnership development in a variety of settings.

Rita T. Karam, Marwa AlFakhri, Melanie A. Zaber, Elaine W. Leigh

Promising Practices for Building Stackable Credential Infrastructure

In this paper, the authors review promising practices for designing and implementing stackable credentials—a short-term credential that builds toward a higher-level credential—to inform the efforts of states and postsecondary institutions.

Jonah Kushner, Elaine W. Leigh, Phoebe Rose Levine, Melanie A. Zaber

Career Technical Education and Workforce Opportunities in West Virginia: Alignment and Areas for Growth

The authors examine career technical education (CTE) in West Virginia by summarizing the CTE career clusters students are most likely to complete, describing CTE alignment with local jobs, and highlighting strategies for expanding CTE.

Christine Mulhern, Brian Phillips, Fernando Esteves, Jonah Kushner

Examining Short-Term Credentials and Student Outcomes in Indiana

This report describes short-term credentials in Indiana. Findings show substantial growth in credit-bearing certificates earned, many certificate-earners stacking additional credentials, and a 20-percent average earnings gain ($4,700 per year).

Melanie A. Zaber, Brian Phillips, Lindsay Daugherty

Sustaining Strong Rural Partnerships and Interventions to Serve Student and Regional Workforce Development Needs

In this report, the authors examine the evolution of the Tristate Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Consortium from 2017 to 2025 and highlight how regional partnerships can tackle workforce and economic development challenges in rural regions.

Rita T. Karam, Marwa AlFakhri, Melanie A. Zaber, Elaine W. Leigh

Translating Military Skills into Energy and Infrastructure Careers: Occupational Matches, Credentials, and State Planning Guidance

In this report, the authors examine how service members leaving the military can smoothly transition into jobs in sustainable energy and infrastructure sectors, meeting the labor needs of these growing industries and supporting those who have served.

Aaron Strong, Jeffrey B. Wenger

Construction Apprenticeships Will Fail to Meet Projected Needs, Exacerbating Housing Crisis

In this paper, the authors examine the construction industry’s labor shortage and the role of apprenticeships. Despite growth, current programs fall short. Scaling and improving completion rates are essential to meet workforce needs.

Marwa AlFakhri, Ellyn Terry, Jeffrey B. Wenger, Melanie A. Zaber

Charting Employers' Human Capital Investments in Frontline Retail Workers: Evidence from SEC Filings

The research in this report explores how large retail companies invest in the human capital of frontline workers and whether disclosures of those investments in annual filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission affect company valuations.

George Zuo, Gopal Trital, Sai Prathyush Katragadda, Jeffrey B. Wenger

Income Share Agreements: Market Structure, Communication, and Equity Implications of a Student Loan Alternative

Income share agreements (ISAs) provide a way to finance postsecondary education, but not much is known about how they work. In this report, RAND researchers examine ISA structure, analyze ISA communication, and assess implications for equity.

Melanie A. Zaber, Elizabeth D. Steiner, Hana Gebremariam, Asya Jones, Zohan Hasan Tariq, Katherine Grace Carman

The Value of Education and Training After High School: How Postsecondary Credentials Impact Earnings

The author reviews the evidence on earnings gains associated with various types of postsecondary credentials, including college credit–bearing degrees, noncredit training and certificates, apprenticeships, and occupational credentials.

Lindsay Daugherty

Building Ohio's Workforce Through Stackable Credentials

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.

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

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

The authors examine the benefits and risks of the income share agreement, a novel mechanism for students to finance postsecondary education through which students can obtain funding for school in exchange for a share of future income.

Melanie A. Zaber, Elizabeth D. Steiner

The Credentials Students Earn Beyond a High School Diploma

The author describes common types of postsecondary education credentials and presents data on how frequently individuals earn these credentials and the demographic characteristics of these individuals.

Lindsay Daugherty

Trends in Postsecondary Education

Education levels have been rising for the past 50 years, but declining public support for higher education, rising costs of college attendance, and low college completion rates threaten young adults' pathway to a two- or four-year college degree.

Christine Mulhern, Melanie A. Zaber

Stacking Educational Credentials in Ohio: Pathways Through Postsecondary Education in Health Care, Manufacturing and Engineering Technology, and Information Technology

RAND researchers examine students who earned postsecondary certificates in Ohio and went on to earn additional educational credentials. The researchers describe which types of credentials were earned and how students progressed through institutions.

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

Supporting Middle-Skills STEM Workforce Development: Analysis of Workplace Skills in Demand and Education Institutions' Curricular Offerings in the Oil and Gas Sector

In this report, researchers examine the alignment of college STEM education with the needs of employers in the tri-state region of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, as well as STEM areas in which college students need more support.

Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Christopher Joseph Doss, Julia H. Kaufman, Robert Bozick

Preparing New York City High School Students for the Workforce: Evaluation of the Scholars at Work Program

This report evaluates the Scholars at Work program, which connects students in Career and Technical Education courses at New York City high schools with local employers to improve the career chances of the students and meet the needs of employers.

Robert Bozick, Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Serafina Lanna, Monica Mean

What Happens When You Combine High School and College? The Impact of the Early College Model on Postsecondary Performance and Completion

What happens when you combine high school and college? The impact of the early college model on postsecondary performance and completion.

Julie Edmunds, Fatih Unlu, Jane Furey, Elizabeth J. Glennie, Nina Arshavsky

The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Education, Workforce Development, and Catalyzing the Community: Reflections from 2014 Through 2019

RAND researchers trace the impact of the Appalachia Partnership Initiative investments on science, technology, engineering, and math education for grades K-12 and energy and advanced manufacturing workforce development from 2014 through 2019.

Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Nupur Nanda, Shelly Culbertson, Harold D. Green, Kristin J. Leuschner

A One-Stop Approach to Supporting the Nonacademic Needs of Community College Students: An Evaluation of Single Stop's Impact in North Carolina

This report examines the impact of using Single Stop (a program that connects college students to governmental, community, and institutional resources) on postsecondary outcomes for students at four community colleges in North Carolina.

Lindsay Daugherty, Tiffany Berglund

Energy-Sector Workforce Development in West Virginia: Aligning Community College Education and Training with Needed Skills

In 2013, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) asked RAND to work closely with the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia on a collaborative strategy for preparing the local talent pool for the energy-sector workforce.

Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Sean Robson, Andrea Phillips, Gerald P. Hunter, David S. Ortiz

Effectiveness of Screened, Demand-Driven Job Training Programs for Disadvantaged Workers: An Evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathway Training

The authors of this report examine the implementation and effectiveness of a New Orleans job training program that helped lower-skilled, unemployed, and underemployed individuals train for and find skilled jobs in particular industries.

Matthew D. Baird, John Engberg, Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Thomas Goughnour, Italo A. Gutierrez, Rita T. Karam