Skills Building and Job Training

Skills Building and Job Training

Education beyond high school is essential for better job opportunities and livable wages. However, for many students, the steps after graduation from high school to landing their first well-paying job could be unclear.

High schools and universities often lack clear connections to the job market, and navigating college and job training options can be difficult without proper guidance. Students need to understand the skill requirements for different industries and how to obtain them. Without clear benchmarks outlining these requirements and employer needs, students struggle to prepare for the work world.

As a result, young adults experience high unemployment, while employers have difficulty finding workers with the necessary skills. One solution is to use workforce training and development programs to boost jobseekers’ skills while simultaneously meeting employers’ needs.

Workforce Training and Development

Workforce training encompasses short-term vocational classes, certification and technical classes at community colleges, apprenticeships, and career-oriented classes in high schools.

Private companies tend to train workers who already have better skills and jobs. The U.S. Departments of Labor and Education provide training and reemployment services for displaced and disadvantaged workers.[1]

Sector-based training programs in areas such as health care, manufacturing, and information technology help low-skilled workers get higher-wage, higher-quality jobs.[2] These programs provide job training and partner with local industries to ensure trainees are well-prepared for their employer’s requirements.[3]

In Indiana, there were 79,000 secondary and 58,000 post-secondary participants in career and technical education in 2021–2022.[4]

Among post-secondary participants, the top three career clusters were:

• Business management and administration
• Health science
• Architecture and construction

Effective programs

• Screen applicants for basic skills and motivation
• Provide industry-specific training with recognized certification
• Offer career readiness training
• Build strong employer connections

Career Pathways

Career pathways are a series of manageable steps that add credentials and employment opportunities to someone on the pathway. This framework allows entries, exits, and re-entries at each step to suit an individual’s employment history and personal situation.

Training addresses

• Employer-recognized credentials
• Competency requirements for each step
• How to stack credentials to advance to higher-paying jobs
• How non-credit training is connected to credit-bearing education [5]

Addressing Equity Through Job Training

Job training programs often focus on disadvantaged populations, whether intentionally or through neighborhood and income-based criteria. Workers of color and low-wage workers, who are less likely to have remote jobs, face higher health risks, especially during health crises like COVID-19.[6]

[1] The Brookings Institution

[2] Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)

[3] American journal of public health

[4] U.S. Department of Education Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

[5] U.S Department of Health and Human Services

[6] The Brookings Institution