Progress Toward Increasing Degree and Credential Attainment

According to the report, A Stronger Nation through Higher Education , 38.3 percent of working-age Americans (ages 25-64) held a two- or four-year college degree in 2010. That rate is up modestly from 2009, when the rate was 38.1 percent and 2008, when the rate was 37.9 percent. The report measures progress toward Goal 2025 which is a national movement to increase the percentage of Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025.

View video of Jamie Merisotis, Lumina President and CEO, presentation to experts gathered at the Rayburn House Office Building to announce the latest findings, highlight what is working and discuss how a stronger sense of urgency is needed to better position America for success in the knowledge economy.

Career Pathways Professional Development

LaGuardia Community College, in partnership with the National College Transition Network and the New England Professional Development Network, is pleased to offer an exciting professional development opportunity for adult educators.

In this five-month, multi-platform course, GED and high level ESOL instructor participants will explore best practices in career-focused basic skills instruction and develop their own contextualized lessons. This course will be taught by faculty from LaGuardia’s GED Bridge program who have served over 600 students. Course components include webinars, face-to-face workshops, phone consultations, and a virtual community of practice that will bring the participants together through chats, discussion boards, posts of lessons and other curriculum materials. Registration deadline April 30, 2012.

For more information, http://bit.ly/JyVQn1

Online Healthcare Career Exploration

Online Healthcare Career Exploration Portal Launched Today
 
Today, at Goodwill Industries' International Spring Advocacy conference, the Department of Labor (DOL) Assistant Secretary Jane Oates announced the launch of the Virtual Career Network (VCN), an online portal for career exploration and training for healthcare occupations.

The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) and other organizations partnered with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), which had received a grant from DOL to develop the VCN. NAWB conducted research on healthcare occupations and education and training programs to populate the site, and partnered with Jobs for the Future to develop and deliver training on its use.

Read more...

DOE-DOL Career Pathways: Joint Commitment

Dear  Colleagues:     

This  letter  highlights  the  joint  commitment  of  the  U.S.  Departments  of  Education,  Health  and   Human  Services,  and  Labor  to  promote  the  use  of  career  pathways  approaches  as  a  promising   strategy  to  help  adults  acquire  marketable  skills  and  industry-­recognized  credentials  through   better  alignment  of  education,  training  and  employment,  and  human  and  social  services  among   public  agencies  and  with  employers.    The  Departments  encourage  states  to  align  state  resources   to  support  integrated  service  delivery  across  Federal  and  state  funding  streams  and  to  ensure  that   interested  partners  and  agencies  –  whether  focused  on  education,  workforce  development  or   human  and  social  services  –  are  aware  of  this  joint  commitment  for  improved  collaboration  and   coordination  across  programs  and  funding  sources.  Read letter - JointDOLDOECareerPathlttr.pdf