Highlights of the Lifelong Learning Accounts San Francisco Demonstration

Helping Workers Save Successfully for Education and Training

CAEL

Despite our need for a more highly-educated workforce, there is little financial support for worker education and training. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) developed a unique co-investment vehicle to finance worker education and training: the Lifelong Learning Account (LiLA). LiLAs are employer-matched, portable, employee-owned accounts that fund training and education for the employee. Our most recent initiative in San Francisco in 2008-2011 targeted mature workers, minority workers, and lower-income workers.

Webinar Recording

Linking Learning to Work

CAEL

Despite high unemployment, many employers are finding it difficult to find the talent they need. Why? Because the skills of our workforce are not keeping pace with the demands of work in our knowledge economy. A study by Georgetown University estimates that by 2018, 63% of jobs in the U.S. will require at least some college. However, only 42% of adults aged 25-34 have attained a postsecondary degree.

In this webinar, you’ll learn about the factors contributing to this trend, and hear suggestions about steps you can take to attract and develop your workforce in this sluggish economy.
 

CAEL's 2012 Research Briefs on PLA

Employer Views on the Value of PLA

CAEL

This CAEL research brief, produced in partnership with Prometric, presents highlights from conversations
with 19 U.S. employers representing a range of industries on the topic of PLA. The conversations address
the value of PLA to both workers and corporations, as well as employers’ views on PLA as an allowable
expense within their tuition assistance programs.

CAEL's 2012 Research Briefs on PLA

The Learning That Maturity Brings: An Analysis of the Value of Prior Learning Assessment for Mature Learners

CAEL

Just as mature workers bring decades of experience to the workplace, they also bring learning from that experience to their postsecondary pursuits. This learning, if evaluated through prior learning assessment (PLA)
methods, can give mature learners a way to earn college credit for what they already know, helping them complete their learning programs in a shorter period of time. This CAEL research brief presents data on the experience of mature learners with PLA credit.

CAEL's Tapping Mature Talent Series

Just Add Seasoning: A Business Case for Tapping Mature Talent

CAEL

Mature workers can and should be tapped by employers to fill entry level jobs, meet the needs of middle- or high-skill work, or serve as experienced mentors to the new generation of workers.

Webinar Recording:

Leveraging State and Federal Data for Your Organization's Strategic Planning

CAEL

Workforce and education programs strive to be responsive to regional economic conditions, and to predict emerging skill needs. While we have access to a wide array of data and data sources, sifting through and making good use of that data remains a challenge. Workforce agencies and educational institutions need to be careful about how to find and use data, and how that data informs strategic planning and program development.
 

Chris Engle, Vice President of Avalanche Consulting of Austin, Texas, will be sharing his firm's secrets on how to find and analyze data to write your own strategic plan. He will discuss competitive benchmarking, SWOT Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Workforce Gap Analysis, and Scorecarding. Avalanche Consulting has 17 years of experience advising communities on their economic growth strategies, workforce plans, and marketing campaigns. Joel Simon of CAEL and a strategic partner to Avalanche will facilitate the presentation and lead a Q&A session with participants.

This 60-minute free webinar is ideal for strategic planners, researchers, and directors who want to boost their organization's data and research capabilities in 2012. 

Mentors 4 STEM Program Explores New Roles for Mature Adults in Public School Classrooms

CAEL

CAEL sought to match the supply of motivated baby boomers with the urgent need to improve science and math education in public schools by creating a volunteer math and science mentoring program.

STEM Education: Utility Gets Out of the Box and Online to Develop Workforce

CAEL

The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), received funding from the Xcel Energy Foundation and a Metro Denver WIRED grant to create a program model to reach into local high schools and attract and prepare students to enter careers in the energy industry.

Lifelong Learning in the USA: A Focus on Innovation and Efficiency for the 21st Century Learner

International Journal of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, Vol. 4, Issue 1 (Nov 2011)

Article by Pamela Tate, Rebecca Klein-Collins, and Karen Steinberg on innovations in adult learning. Copyright owned by International Journal of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, Vol. 4, Issue 1 (Nov 2011), published by the School of Professional and Continuing Education, University of Hong Kong

Maturity in the Workplace: Stories of Workers Aged 55+ on Their Journeys to New Work and Careers

CAEL

This publication profiles the stories of some of the mature workers who have participated in the Tapping Mature Talent initiative. Some have needed to upgrade their skills, some have pursued brand new careers in high-growth industries, some have worked hard to recover after layoffs and other hardships, and some have found themselves thriving as they pursue postsecondary degrees.

State Strategies to Support the Maturing Workforce: A Paper for CAEL’s Tapping Mature Talent Initiative

CAEL

This paper describes strategies that states and regions can consider in their efforts to assist mature workers and also to use this group as a valuable resource in meeting skill requirements for developing economies. We look at strategies that have been developed and used in a U.S. Department of Labor-funded initiative in ten pilot sites since 2009 as well as strategies that state leaders have implemented to support the mature workforce.
 

CAEL identifies industries and jobs appropriate for mature workers

Career Pathways and Career Counseling for the 50+ workforce

Written and compiled by: Sarah Miller, Joel Simon and Gabe Schneider

With generous support from the MetLife Foundation, the Council for Adult and Experiential
Learning (CAEL) has worked with seven regions across to country to raise the capacity of
community colleges to address some of the challenges facing mature workers, those age 50 years
and older. CAEL worked with each region to identify priority industries, examine the job and
career opportunities in those industries, and highlight the opportunities that are most appropriate
for mature workers. Employers representing each regionally prioritized industry were identified
and consulted to focus the research on the realities of the local area. Additionally, group training
sessions were conducted in each region to provide career advisors and workforce development
professionals with region-specific information and resources for more effectively working with
mature workers.

CAEL report on building a workforce that supports sustainable manufacturing.

Workforce Skills and Sustainable Manufacturing: Lessons from Connecticut Employers

by Joel Simon

The Sustainable or Green Manufacturing movement is characterized by firms whose production and
distribution process deliberately optimize the use of energy, materials, water and waste.This report is designed to clarify how workforce developers and their partners in industry and education can utilize sustainability concepts to create a workforce that is more competitive, to support a manufacturing sector that is healthier and more profitable.

Strategies to Produce New Nurses for a Changing Profession

Rebecca Klein-Collins

This policy brief provides data on the projected nursing shortage, discusses the larger issues facing nursing education today, and describes pockets of innovation in nursing education that provide models for the kind of innovation policy-makers should embrace in order to meet the growing demand for a highly-educated nursing workforce.

CAEL's 2011 Research Briefs on PLA:

Underserved Students Who Earn Credit Through Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Have Higher Degree Completion Rates and Shorter Time-to-Degree

Rebecca Klein-Collins

In this research brief, CAEL showcases findings from our 2010 PLA study by race/ethnicity and income – two demographic categories often used to define underserved student groups. The data show that black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and low income students with PLA credits have better academic outcomes than similar students without PLA credits. The positive findings for low-income, black non-Hispanic and Hispanic students suggest that awarding college credit for significant life learning could be an effective way to accelerate degree completion, while lowering the cost, for underserved student populations.

Developing the Workforce as It Matures

CAEL and Council on Competiveness - Supported by Atlantic Philanthropies

This monograph describes the work of the U.S. Department of Labor's Aging Worker Initaitive grantees. Emerging practices at the mid-point of the project include mature worker career navigators, computer training, reverse job fairs, and internships. The report concludes with lessons learned about serving the needs of mature workers.

Webinar Recording:

Increase Employability by Drawing-out “Hidden” Skills

CAEL

Webinar featuring work by CAEL and the Alameda County Workforce Investment Board to assess transferrable skills at New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.

Workforce and Education Strategies for Achieving National Economic Priorities – Recommendations for the U.S. Department of Education

CAEL

In 2009, CAEL convened a group of national non-profit organizations to advocate with one voice on federal policies related to adult learning and workforce development. This paper presents recommendations to the Department of Education that were endorsed by the group.