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In the United States today, at-risk youth - those who are at the cusp of academic failure and might drop out of high school before completion - face challenging prospects in the job market and in transitioning into adulthood. At-risk youth are more likely to come from low-income households, can be prone to risky behaviors, and are at much higher risk of arrest and incarceration. Without an intervention, some of these youth will struggle to keep a steady job, form healthy personal relationships, and stay out of trouble with the law. The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is a residential, quasi-military program for youth ages 16 to 18 who are experiencing difficulty in traditional high school. This report examines a specific aspect of this program: the provision of career and technical education (CTE) opportunities for program participants. The report relies on administrative data collected from all programs pertaining to their operations in 2017 and 2018, as well as interviews with select program staff in 2019. In this report, we highlight promising practices in CTE provision found in the literature. We look at data reported from ChalleNGe sites during 2017 and 2018 on cadet participation in CTE and compare them with information from another nationwide program that serves at-risk youth. Finally, we examine the extent to which promising practices in CTE are found in a handful of National Guard Youth ChalleNGe sites.

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The Syrian Civil War has displaced 60 per cent of the country's population. Six million refugees live in neighboring countries in the Middle East. Such a large refugee influx has been a severe strain to these countries' labor markets, public services, and social cohesion. This RAND report examines the problems of and opportunities for the labor market for displaced Syrians in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. The authors used multiple methods: interviews with stakeholders, focus groups with Syrian and host country workers, in-depth interviews with firms, and surveys of firms and Syrian households. The existing skill sets of the Syrians are compared to the needs of each country's labor market; and the steps needed to improve the overall economic climate and strategies for preserving and improving social cohesion of refugees and host communities are examined. Each country has its specific challenges. For example, in Turkey a key barrier for the refugees was the ability to speak the language. In Jordan and Lebanon, the existing economic slowdowns and lack of jobs were exacerbated by the arrival of the refugees. Working legally was a challenge in all countries. The authors conclude with recommendations tailored to each country. Some of these include offering language classes (in the case of Turkey); assessing geographic areas where jobs are needed and enabling migrants to move to these regions; improving each country's worker certification process so that qualified migrants can get jobs within their area of expertise; investing in infrastructure projects and better training courses; and improving the business environment for all.

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