In collaboration with The EvoLLLution and Modern Campus, CAEL’s Lana Munip, senior research director, and Becky Klein-Collins, vice president of research and impact, authored Comprehensive Learner Records: Empowering Lifelong Learning in the Digital Age. The report explores the role of skills and competencies in higher education, assessing the degree to which these frameworks have been adopted. Among the findings is that even as a vast majority (86%) of higher education institutions acknowledge that postsecondary education models need to be designed around well-defined skills and competencies vital for today’s workforce, only 22% have fully implemented skills-based frameworks across all of their programs.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland has reappointed CAEL President Earl Buford as a director on its Pittsburgh branch board, effective January 1. One of 12 regional Reserve Banks in the Federal Reserve System, the Cleveland Fed contributes to national policymaking and focuses on workforce development and other issues key to the wellbeing of its service area, which includes Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.
In November, Buford was a guest speaker at the Department of Commerce’s third annual Interagency Convening on Equitable Economic Growth. The event supported the Department’s work to further equitable economic development through collaboration among government, the private sector, and community organizations.
CAEL’s newest professional development offering explores how various education and employment stakeholders can and must collaborate on effective training that supports rewarding careers and enables equitable economic mobility. The Workforce Ecosystem: Building Partnerships for Community Growth, a four-week asynchronous online course, begins Feb. 26, along with CAEL’s additional instructor-led training. Sign up today!
There was plenty to celebrate, including a brand-new award, when nearly 1,000 people attended CAEL’s 49th annual conference, which was held Nov. 8-10 in Baltimore. CAEL presented the first-ever Community Impact Award, which recognizes an outstanding organization within CAEL’s host community that positively impacts the lives of adult learners and workers. Employ Prince George's, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Largo, Maryland, took home the honors. This year’s annual conference, CAEL’s 50th, will take place Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 in New Orleans. CAEL expects to announce the conference’s call for proposals later this month.
As part of the six-year, five-region Where It Starts: Build Better Careers Initiative, funded through Truist Foundation for $15.7 million and led by CAEL in partnership with several other local and national organizations, CAEL and its local partners have completed a report detailing priority occupations and associated career pathways maps. The report will be a key resource guiding planning and implementation in forthcoming phases of Build Better Careers in the Charlotte region.
The National League of Cities (NLC) and CAEL have partnered to create Municipal Action Cohort: Connecting Adults to Postsecondary and Workforce Success. Combining CAEL’s postsecondary and workforce development expertise and practice with NLC’s many decades of hands-on experience with city leadership across the country, the partnership will offer a wealth of technical assistance around connecting adults with education and training that lead to quality jobs.