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Rapid technological change has created a severe skills gap in the US advanced manufacturing industry, compounded by a pending wave of retirements due to the ageing of the workforce. These challenges are particularly problematic for small manufacturers, whose limited resources and tight production schedules make it difficult to recruit and train new workers. Investment in industry-driven on-the-job training (OJT) can be an effective workforce development strategy in this economy. Employers participating in OJT benefit from financial incentives when they bring on employees to teach trainees the skills they need to succeed in specific positions at the firms. There is an expectation that these employers will keep successful trainees as permanent workers at the completion of the training. This brief explores one promising OJT model - the Boeing Manufacturing On-the-Job Training Project - funded by the Boeing Company and managed by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.

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Workforce boards and the apprenticeship system share the same fundamental goals: they connect workers to economic opportunity while meeting the skill needs of employers in high-demand industries. Recent federal efforts are encouraging greater integration of the workforce and apprenticeship systems. The National Association of Workforce Boards, in collaboration with Jobs for the Future, disseminated a survey in the summer of 2017 to better understand how workforce boards are engaging in apprenticeship and what challenges they face as they try to expand apprenticeship in their regions. This briefing details the key lessons learned from the workforce board respondents.

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Americans seeking employment often face a conundrum: relevant work experience is a prerequisite for many jobs, but it is difficult to gain the required experience without being in the workplace. Work-based learning - activities that occur in workplaces through which youth and adults gain the knowledge, skills, and experience needed for entry or advancement in a particular career field - offers a solution to this problem. But although the benefits of work-based learning are clear, they have accrued primarily to the most highly educated and socially connected segments of the US population. In recent years, educators and leaders in the workforce development field have returned again and again to the problem of providing work-based learning opportunities to the marginalized populations for whom this experience can mean the most. This paper guides the design and implementation of effective models of work-based learning that expand access for the many people who don't currently benefit from these opportunities, including the introduction of seven principles for effective work-based learning the publisher has identified based on more than three decades of experience in promoting and implementing education and workforce strategies that support youth and adults seeking to launch and advance in careers.

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Advanced manufacturing is growing and thriving in the United States. Companies are in great need of reliable employees who can communicate well, effectively make decisions, and are interested in long-term careers with opportunity for advancement. Employers have identified a need for a more robust talent pipeline to narrow America's skills gap - a mismatch between the job-market needs in business and industry and the education and preparedness levels of the workforce. To address this important issue, Jobs for the Future, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and the Manufacturing Institute convened higher education and business leaders with state labor officials and other experts for a summit called Minding the Gap: Investing in a Skilled Manufacturing Workforce. This brief highlights major policy and program solutions explored during that summit to address the manufacturing skills gap.

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This guide is designed to provide an overview of work-based learning models and advice on how to implement them to develop stronger talent for the present and the future. It delivers basic background information on work-based learning. The findings in this guide are based on an extensive literature review; focus groups of retail employers, retail employees, and training providers; and three in-depth case studies of retailers Best Buy, Gap Inc., and Wegmans, which all have successful work-based learning programs.

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