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Vocational Education

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Also known as career or technical education, vocational education refers to formal training and instruction for technical, paraprofessional, skilled, or semiskilled occupations, usually without requiring or providing a bachelor’s degree. RAND researchers have examined the relationship between vocational education and effective workforce planning and development, state policies influencing vocational education, vocational education quality, and more.

Commentary

Job Training Is More Effective When All Parties Work Together

Jul 6, 2021

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.
Commentary

If College Isn't the Pathway to the Middle Class It Once Was—What Is?

Apr 5, 2022

Is college still the best path to the middle class? It's complicated. College credentials still do lead many to increased earnings, but the rapid increases in college costs, coupled with a strong labor market, have made the payoff for a college degree no longer a sure thing.

Explore Vocational Education

Report

Leveraging Technology to Support Prisoner Reentry

How can technology help ease the transition from jails or prisons back into the community—and ensure better outcomes for individuals who have been incarcerated?

May 3, 2022
Journal Article

Optimal Allocation of Seats in the Presence of Peer Effects: Evidence from a Job Training Program

We model optimal treatment assignment in programs with a limited number of seats and study how the presence of peer effects impact the optimal allocation rule and us data from an RCT to show there are peer effects in the job training context.

Mar 29, 2022
Report

Evaluation of the Minnesota Department of Correction's Career Navigators Program: Final Report

The authors conducted an independent process and outcomes evaluation of the Minnesota Department of Corrections' Career Navigators program, which aimed to help people with educational and career opportunities before and after being incarcerated.

Feb 15, 2022
Report

What Are the Skills Required to Obtain a Good Job? An Analysis of Labor Markets, Occupational Features, and Skill Training for the Youth ChalleNGe Program

The authors of this report identify a set of common skills among high-paying, growing occupations that do not require a bachelor's degree and describe how to incorporate such broader skills into the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program curriculum.

Feb 4, 2022
Report

The Value of Education and Training After High School

Most types of postsecondary credentials can lead to improved earnings. But returns can vary across different fields and by demographic characteristics. Understanding the value of credentials can help individuals, employers, and policymakers make smarter investments.

Feb 2, 2022
Report

Goal-Setting to Support Cadet Success: Insights and Recommendations for the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program

The National Guard Youth Challenge Program uses the Post-Residential Action Plan to assist at-risk youth with identifying and achieving life goals. The authors examined various approaches to fostering adolescents' goal-setting success.

Dec 20, 2021
Research Brief

Building Ohio's Workforce Through Stackable Credentials

Ohio has been a leader in scaling stackable credential programs since passing initial legislation on stackable credentials nearly 15 years ago. Over this time, Ohio saw strong growth in short-term credential programs. And most individuals who stacked credentials earned a degree.

Jun 8, 2021
Report

Stackable Credential Pipelines in Ohio: Evidence on Programs and Earnings Outcomes

Stackable credentials allow individuals with short-term credentials to build on them with additional credentials throughout their careers. The authors of this report examined educational programs in Ohio and earnings gains from stacking credentials.

Jun 8, 2021
Journal Article

Patterns and Predictors of Postsecondary Re-Enrollment in the Acquisition of Stackable Credentials

This paper uses 15 years of education and employment data from Ohio to examine the predicators of student re-enrollment in postsecondary education after the completion of certificates in Ohio Technical Centers, community colleges, and universities.

Jun 4, 2021
Report

Examining Career and Technical Education in National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Programs

The authors examined career and technical education opportunities for participants in the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program, a residential, quasi-military program for youth ages 16-18 who are experiencing difficulty in traditional high school.

Apr 12, 2021
Report

Fortifying Education as a Pathway to the Middle Class

Education levels in the United States have been rising for 50 years, including large gains for many demographic groups. Adults with college degrees have higher incomes than their less-educated peers. But declining public support for higher education and increasing costs are making it harder to obtain degrees.

Mar 25, 2021
Report

National Guard Youth ChalleNGe: Program Progress in 2019–2020

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program serves young people experiencing difficulty in traditional high school through a 5.5-month residential program. The authors of this report document the progress of program participants in 2019 and 2020.

Mar 15, 2021
Report

National Guard Youth ChalleNGe: Program Progress in 2018–2019

In the fourth annual report on the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe, a residential, quasi-military program for youth struggling in traditional high school, researchers provide information on participants who entered the program in 2018.

Nov 6, 2020
Tool

Making Improvements to Stackable Credential Pipelines: A Toolkit on Using Data to Drive Improvement in Ohio Postsecondary Institutions

Stackable credential programs are designed to make it easier for students to earn multiple postsecondary credentials within a field. This toolkit provides steps for identifying issues in and making improvements to stackable credential pipelines.

Sep 23, 2020
Report

Career Guidance in Schools: Research with schools and providers of career guidance services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

This report examines the provision of career guidance in schools and colleges in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough region.

Jul 21, 2020
Report

An Analysis of Education and Training Programs in Advanced Manufacturing Using Robotics

As industrial robots become more advanced, there likely will be a shortage of human workers with the technical and nontechnical skills to work with, program, and repair these robots. RAND researchers assess the state of training for these workers.

Jul 6, 2020
Research Brief

How Can the United States Prepare a Workforce for Advanced Manufacturing Using Robotics?

As industrial robots become more advanced, there likely will be a shortage of technicians with the skills to work with, program, and repair them. This brief presents findings of RAND researchers' analysis of the state of training for these workers.

Jul 6, 2020
Report

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.

May 11, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Vocational Education

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