Workforce development examines how training and education can provide labour markets with the skills and knowledge required to advance economies, communities and individuals. Workforce development can be found in two forms: (1) place-based strategies that attempt to address the needs of people living in a particular area; or (2) sector-based strategies that focus on matching workers' skills to the needs of an industry already present in a region. Staff development within individual businesses is one aspect of these forms; another is professional development that spans occupational groups. Policy, innovation and technological changes are influential to workforce development making these elements of particular interest to research in this area. Also of interest are the job and skill needs of future generations in response to developing workforces.

Access items in VOCEDplus

• Capacity building
• Fourth industrial revolution
• Partnership in education and training
• Skill needs and development
• Staff development
• Workforce planning

Recent publications

• Building a highly skilled and resilient Canadian workforce through the FutureSkills Lab
• Building America's skilled technical workforce
• Building Australia's future-ready workforce
• Changing the economy one family at a time: dual aims of workforce development [US]
• Closing the skills gap: creating workforce-development programs that work for everyone [US]
• Digitalization and the American workforce
• Employer experiences of recruiting, retaining and retraining older workers: qualitative research [UK]
• Getting the right teachers into the right schools: managing India's teacher workforce
• Harnessing revolution: creating the future workforce [international]
• Learning nation: equipping Canada's workforce with skills for the future
• Strengthening America's economy by expanding educational opportunities for working adults: policy opportunities to connect the working adult to today's economy through education and credentials 
• The promise of the state-federal partnership on workforce development and training [US]
• The quant crunch: how the demand for data science skills is disrupting the job market [US] 
• The workforce for the 21st century [US]
• Workforce of the future: the competing forces shaping 2030 

General

• 10 most important work skills in 2020 (infographic)
• A survival guide for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum) [international]
• Asian Development Bank  
  • access items in VOCEDplus 
• Environmental scans for Australian industries
• Helping workers in transition [Australia]
• ILO compendium: Skill needs anticipation
• Infographic: 3 big myths about workplace learning [US]
• Investing in work based learning 
• Job skills, education and workforce development resources (National Conference of State Legislatures NCSL) [US] 
• John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development [US]
  • access items in VOCEDplus
• Lifelong Guidance (Cedefop) [international]
  • access items in VOCEDplus
• ManpowerGroup: 2016-2017 Talent Shortage Survey [international]
• Mapping the future of the Workforce Development Ecosystem [US]
• SABER country report series (World Bank)
• Skills Tasmania [Australia]
• The components, competencies and customers of a workforce planning team (Human Capital Institute Podcast) [US]
• TVET@Asia, issue 9, June 2017: Enhancement of work-integrated learning (WIL) through cooperation of TVET institutions, companies, and universities
• What does the 'fourth industrial revolution' mean for HR? (Cornerstone) [international]
• Where machines could replace humans - and where they can't (yet) [international]
• Workforce BluePrint: workforce planning development, resources and tools [international]
• Workforce planning and HR templates: make sure employment works for your business [Australia]
• World Bank (IBRD) reports

Statistical

• Bureau of Labor Statistics [US]
• Eurostat Labour Market (including labour force survey) [European Union]
• International Labour Organization (ILO) statistics and labour force surveys