Workforce Policy and Programs

Research Publications & Reports

heldrich_robb Wed, 06/08/2022 - 12:18

Published Date

June 21, 2022

Type

Related Authors

Jimmy Green

Brittney Donovan

Work Category

Research Products

Attachments

Funding_Streams_for_Opportunity_Youth_Report_Final.pdf (230.29 KB)

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Excerpt

Summarizes the literature around available funding for youth workforce development and the programs serving this population in New Jersey. Examines the development of New Jersey’s youth workforce system since the implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, including available funding for youth workforce development and the programs currently serving this population. Also reviews the systemic and financial realities that have impeded a more collaborative approach to helping opportunity youth. Finally, offers recommendations from local and national experts in youth workforce development.

Tagline

New report examines youth workforce development system in New Jersey.

Designing a Workforce Information System for New York City

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:16:55 +0000

Designing a Workforce Information System for New York City

Topic

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:16

Published Date

January 2, 2006

Status

Funded By

New York City Workforce Investment Board

Work Category

Quantitative Data Analysis

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Excerpt

In 2006, the New York City Workforce Investment Board engaged the Heldrich Center to map the landscape of workforce information in New York City and to recommend a design for a local system that would collect and disseminate that information. The design approach adopted by the Heldrich Center was intended to address the needs of consumers of workforce information in New York City and to build, as much as possible, on existing sources of information. The deliverables consisted of a final report with recommendations as well as a visual map of New York City labor market information and resources.

Tagline

Design of a comprehensive workforce information system for New York City.

Management of the New Jersey Statewide Data System (2015 to present)

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:16:53 +0000

Management of the New Jersey Statewide Data System (2015 to present)

Topic

labor market analysis

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:16

Published Date

December 15, 2015

Status

Current

Funded By

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, New Jersey Department of Education, and New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority

Work Category

Program Design and Development

(OLD) Related Experts

William Mab

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Excerpt

In 2015, the State of New Jersey engaged the Heldrich Center to provide data consultation and project management assistance in managing the grant responsibilities and activities of New Jersey’s federally funded P-20W State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) project. In 2012, the State of New Jersey was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen its collaborative efforts by linking various education and workforce data to form a more seamless view of the state’s P-20W landscape. Federal resources were used to establish an advisory council, expand the existing New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Workforce Longitudinal Data System (WLDS) into a P-20W State Longitudinal Data System (now known as the New Jersey Statewide Data System, or NJSDS) to house new workforce and post-secondary data administrative data as well as K-12 data, create policies to govern a shared data resource for the benefit of state government, link the various state administrative datasets using data from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, conduct public events on the data system, develop a public-facing NJSDS website, and begin the process of conducting research using the data in the new data system. In 2017, Rutgers University/Heldrich Center signed a five- to eight-year data sharing agreement with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, New Jersey Department of Education, and New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

Tagline

Management of New Jersey's centralized longitudinal data system for education and workforce data.

Management of the September 11th Fund’s Employment Assistance Program

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:16:53 +0000

Management of the September 11th Fund’s Employment Assistance Program

Topic

Unemployment and Reemployment

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:16

Published Date

January 1, 2002

Status

Funded By

The September 11th Fund

Work Category

AFTERSHOCK: Serving 9/11 Displaced Workers

(OLD) Related Work

http://heldrich.rutgers.edu/node/153/edit?destination=admin/content

http://heldrich.rutgers.edu/node/195/edit?destination=admin/content

http://heldrich.rutgers.edu/node/222/edit?destination=admin/content

http://heldrich.rutgers.edu/node/540/edit?destination=admin/content

http://heldrich.rutgers.edu/node/541/edit?destination=admin/content

http://heldrich.rutgers.edu/node/586/edit?destination=admin/content

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Excerpt

From 2002 to 2004, the Heldrich Center worked with the September 11th Fund to provide grants management, technical assistance, research, and performance monitoring to the Fund’s $78 million Employment Assistance Program, which served over 11,000 workers dislocated from their jobs in lower Manhattan following the terrorist attacks of 2001. The center developed a comprehensive program design that was used to launch the program quickly in Fall 2002 and then worked collaboratively with the Fund and a multitude of selected service providers in New York City, New Jersey, and Long Island to manage the program until its conclusion in December 2004. The center also managed the project’s database and provided performance monitoring and analysis on a daily and weekly basis. The project culminated in a center-sponsored symposium about lessons learned from the program, and the development of several final reports on technical aspects of the project.

Products:

Demographic Profile of Participants Enrolled in the September 11th Fund’s Employment Assistance Program

Employment Assistance Program Focus Group Report

September 11th Fund Employment Assistance Program: Performance Outcomes

Service Activity Report for Participants Enrolled in the September 11th Fund’s Employment Assistance Program

Trying to Become the Person I Was Before: 9/11 Displaced Workers and the Employment Assistance Program

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Study of Practices of Effective Community College Workforce Programs

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:16:52 +0000

Study of Practices of Effective Community College Workforce Programs

Topic

Postsecondary Education and Training

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:16

Status

Funded By

Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University via a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant

Work Category

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Excerpt

The Heldrich Center worked with the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University on a study of the practices of community college workforce programs that are effective in enabling students to complete postsecondary credentials. The study examined program-level practices in career and technical programs in two-year public colleges in Washington State that help students complete a credential quickly and efficiently. These program-level practices include the following: prescribed programs of study with clear requirements and few confusing choices, programs that are aligned with transfer and labor market opportunities, high-quality information on programs and program requirements, and active advisement of students to help students make decisions and access college resources when needed. The study examined a set of high- and low-performing programs (in terms of completion rates) to determine the extent to which these practices are associated with program performance. The study included a review of college and telephone interviews with key college staff, including deans, department chairs, faculty, and counselors.

Tagline

Study of the practices of community college workforce programs that are effective in enabling students to complete postsecondary credentials.

Employment and Sustainability in a Time of Transition: Human Capital Development, Firm Strategy, and Community in the Arctic

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:16:45 +0000

Employment and Sustainability in a Time of Transition: Human Capital Development, Firm Strategy, and Community in the Arctic

Topic

labor market analysis

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:16

Published Date

January 1, 2009

Status

Funded By

National Science Foundation, Arctic Social Sciences Program and was an International Polar Year project

Work Category

Public Workforce Development System

(OLD) Related Experts

Hal Salzma

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Excerpt

Arctic communities and industries are facing a trio of challenges from climate change, economic change, and social change. The next generation may be faced with tough choices between maintaining traditional, subsistence life and the lure of expanding opportunities in standard employment in the oil, field services, and mining industries. This research involved case studies and extensive field work of several industries and communities in the Arctic to examine the changing employment and career structures, worker career development, and the sustainability of local communities. The project also provided multiple perspectives on the impact of climate change on human and economic activity. The findings will address the broader issues of sustainability of communities outside of urban and industrial work systems. This project addressed three major areas of research: (a) Arctic social systems: the project will add to our understanding of the uneasy accommodation between traditional culture and the internal labor markets in firms operating in extreme environments, and the implications for future sustainability in face of climate and economic change; (b) Internal labor markets and workforce development: this extends research on the transformation of internal labor markets to mixed and transitional economies to determine how nonstandard jobs and careers can be maintained, particularly under conditions of temporal discontinuity; (c) Transitional and emerging economies: project findings may have relevance to modeling of alternative paths of economic and workforce development as well as business strategies that sustain traditional practices in the context of increasing industrialization (as an alternative path to convergence). The project also provided multiple perspectives on the impact of climate change on human and economic activity. The findings will address the broader issues of sustainability of communities outside of urban and industrial work systems. As part of the education outreach for this project, Arctic Science curriculum was developed with a group of middle school teachers.

Tagline

Case studies of several industries and communities in the Arctic to examine the changing employment and career structures, worker career development, and the sustainability of local communities.

Workforce Responders: The Role of Libraries During and After COVID-19

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:18:49 +0000

Workforce Responders: The Role of Libraries During and After COVID-19

Topic

Research Publications & Reports

admin Thu, 10/22/2020 - 15:18

Published Date

April 23, 2020

Type

Related Authors

Stephanie Walsh

Work Category

Research Products

(OLD) Related Experts

Stephanie Holcomb

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Excerpt

by Stephanie Holcomb

In recognition of National Library Week, the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development is thinking about the important role of libraries both in our workforce development system, and in their response to the COVID-19 crisis. For job seekers and the workforce system, libraries have historically offered a hub of career services and technological resources to support job search, small business development, and education and training. In their response to COVID-19, libraries have built on their foundation of community service to fill the gaps in public response. As one review of their response noted, libraries have opened their digital resources, are helping to feed the hungry, are using makerspaces to 3D print personal protective equipment, are providing hotspots to those without digital access, and as always, are serving as a provider of information about community resources. Indeed, libraries have not skipped a beat. According to a recent Public Libraries Association survey with 2,500 responses, most libraries (98%) reported continuing or expanding services, adding services such as online renewal policies, online services for e-books and media, and virtual programming.

Given their strengths, libraries are well poised to serve as arbiters of information for the community, using their research expertise and familiarity with their communities to gather and disseminate resources. The Public Libraries Association found that 17% of respondents were providing resources related to COVID-19. In New Jersey, the Princeton Public Library and the New Jersey Library Association have developed websites pointing visitors to local COVID-19 resources. Many other libraries have developed similar websites, providing guides to apply for unemployment insurance and compiling “links you can trust” for relevant resources.

Whatever this recovery looks like, and as long as it may last, libraries are prepared to respond to the immediate needs and stand ready for the long-term needs. Thinking of how they can stand more firmly once that long-term recovery begins, libraries are circulating “staged reopening” plans and preparing webinars and trainings to determine when and how they will carefully transition back to standard operation, and how they will continue to meet community needs in the meantime.

It is likely we will enter a period of high demand for workforce services following the ongoing public health crisis. If this is the case, the current place-based public workforce system will be overwhelmed with a huge demand for services across the nation in volumes never seen before. Fortunately, through established partnerships and existing knowledge and resources, libraries will continue to be an important actor and partner as we assess and begin to address the damage COVID-19 has caused our labor market.

Tagline

Discusses the nation's libraries in their role serving unemployed workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery.

Putting One Million Americans Back to Work through Emergency Jobs Programs

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:18:46 +0000

Putting One Million Americans Back to Work through Emergency Jobs Programs

Topic