[DOWNLOAD] "Expanding Certificate Programs: For Many People, Especially Working Adults and Low-Income and Minority Youth, A Certificate of Occupational Competence can be a Valuable and Manageable Path to Good Jobs (Expanding APPRENTICESHIPS)" by Issues in Science and Technology * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free

Expanding Certificate Programs: For Many People, Especially Working Adults and Low-Income and Minority Youth, A Certificate of Occupational Competence can be a Valuable and Manageable Path to Good Jobs (Expanding APPRENTICESHIPS)

eBook details

Title: Expanding Certificate Programs: For Many People, Especially Working Adults and Low-Income and Minority Youth, A Certificate of Occupational Competence can be a Valuable and Manageable Path to Good Jobs (Expanding APPRENTICESHIPS)
Author : Issues in Science and Technology
Release Date : January 22, 2011
Genre: Engineering,Books,Professional & Technical,
Pages : * pages
Size : 246 KB

Description

The United States faces a decline in the educational attainment of the labor force that threatens to reduce economic growth and limit national and personal prosperity. Reversing this decline will require a national commitment, supported by comprehensive actions, to encourage and enable two particular groups, minority and low-income youth and working adults, to obtain college credentials that are valued in the labor market. For many individuals, the most practical route toward this goal will be obtaining not an academic degree but a certificate that signifies completion of a rigorous, occupationally focused program of study. This shift will pose a big challenge to postsecondary education, but there is good news here. First, it seems feasible to quickly ramp up certificate programs. Some colleges in some states are showing the way, boosting enrollment in these programs and issuing certificates to large numbers of people. Second, there is evidence that completion rates in some of the best certificate programs are significantly higher than in degree-granting programs. Third, there is evidence that certificate programming can be economically efficient for the state and federal governments, just as they are for students. Finally, there are strong indications that minority and low-income youth and working adults can find in certificate programs the success that has been so elusive in degree programs.