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The Job
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A weekly newsletter from Paul Fain about connections between education and the American workforce. Get a veteran journalist’s take on what to watch as postsecondary education and job training systems work to better serve lower-income learners and workers.
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Measuring Quality
This issue of The Job looks at how Minnesota is setting the gold standard for defining quality, as states seek to collect more and better data on workforce education programs. Also, many medical assisting certificate programs will fail the new gainful-employment rule. What’s the solution for this low-paying profession?
May 25, 2023
Full stack: Nonprofit bootcamp offers a path from career exploration to a job
This issue of The Job looks at a nonprofit bootcamp that is tapping a network of community organizations and apprenticeships to help low-income learners land a career in tech. Also, what a stalled state bill says about the policy environment for outcomes-based loans.
May 11, 2023
Curating a match
In this issue of The Job a Colorado nonprofit seeks to bridge the gap between jobseekers and employers. Also, an analysis of new federal data on the payoff of college programs and hints about what an emerging ROI tool might measure.
May 4, 2023
Hunting for a common thread amid the hype around skills
This issue of The Job looks at how the Carnegie Foundation and ETS want to measure skills in K-12 and beyond. Also, an analysis of the ‘skillstech’ landscape, competency-based education in Alabama, and new tools on connecting college and careers.
April 20, 2023
Earn and learn: Internships for high school students, ROI’s moment, and Guild’s rebrand
This issue of The Job looks at how Tulsa’s public schools are partnering with a nonprofit to offer paid corporate internships to high school students. Also, college ROI continues its moment, and Guild rebrands while doubling down on career advancement.
April 13, 2023
Landing a tech job with hands-on learning and an insider’s guidance
This issue of The Job look at Springboard’s bootcamps, which feature project-based learning and personal mentors. Also, an analysis finds that few for-profit programs would clear the Workforce Pell wage test from House Republicans. And an OPM says employers want more nondegree credentials.
March 30, 2023
Could intermediaries be the key to making apprenticeships take off?
This issue of The Job looks at a new group's push for funding of intermediaries that help set up and run apprenticeships. Also, an employer-backed project on “durable” skills, which could boost skills-based hiring, and a key Democrat budges on the fight over for-profits accessing Pell Grants for short-term programs.
March 16, 2023
The failure of vouchers in workforce training
This issue of The Job looks at a new analysis of the fragmented WIOA job training system and its 75K eligible programs, and a call to move away from voucher-style funding. Also, what information adult learners of color want on college programs.
March 9, 2023
New breed of accreditors aims to hold colleges ‘to task’ for economic gains
This issue of The Job looks at the Postsecondary Commission, which brings a focus on careers to its bid to become a gatekeeper for federal aid. Also, new workforce success standards from WTEA, which also seeks to become an accreditor.
March 2, 2023
Competency-based education takes off at nursing colleges
This issue of The Job looks at nursing colleges' transition to competency-based education, which experts say creates clarity for students and could help curb staffing shortages. Also, new research on work-based learning.
February 23, 2023