Introduction
Job related education and training programs offer workers the opportunity to develop and improve the skills required to obtain and maintain employment. They also enable workers to acquire the skills needed to advance in a specific employment sector. Education and training programs range in scope from pre-employment job skills to specialized vocations and on-the job training. Opportunities for education and training are available to all workers, however federal policy over the last decade has encouraged the development of programs designed to help low-income workers increase their employment options.
By working together, local human service agencies, education and training providers, welfare and workforce development agencies, employers, social service agencies and other community-based organizations, can reach more rural job seekers and workers with comprehensive and successful opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
About.com: Adult/Continuing Education
Web site
A variety of resources on adult continuing education with links to documents and organizations.
Advancing Your Career
Web site
Information to help workers in all stages of their job and career development, including: starting a new job, making long-term career plans, researching job opportunities, dealing with job loss, and finding training to acquire new skills.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Jobs
Web site
A one-stop source for Federal recovery-related jobs and employment information.
Career and Technical Education
Web site
Links to information, statistics, research, and resources on vocational education to help prepare young people and adults for postsecondary education, successful careers, and productive lives.
Career Voyages
Web site
A collaboration between the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education designed to provide information on high growth, in-demand occupations along with the skills and education needed to attain those jobs.
CareerOneStop
Web site
An integrated suite of national web sites that help businesses, job seekers, students, and workforce professionals find employment and career resources.
DoD TransPortal
Web site
Assists service members leaving active duty by providing information and resources. To be used as part of a comprehensive program of transition and employment assistance.
Economic Success Clearinghouse
Web site
Clearinghouse for information, policy analysis and technical assistance related to welfare, workforce development and other human and community services.
GovBenefits.gov
Web site
Provides information and links to nearly 1,000 federal and state benefit programs, including, but not limited to: food assistance programs and housing and energy assistance.
HHS.gov/Recovery
Web site
Provides information and resources on the programs invested in improving health and human services supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and Hispanic Worker Initiative
Web site
Provides a variety of resources regarding multilingual and multicultural strategies for serving job seekers and workers with limited English proficiency.
Local Community Action Agency Directory
Web site
A directory of local community action agencies (CAAs) developed by VirtualCAP.org that provides contact information by either state or agency name.
Medical Career Info
Web site
Overview of health care career options, with descriptions of the type of work involved in each occupation, employment outlook, and average wages. Aimed at young adults or those interested in changing careers.
MIT OpenCourseWare
Web site
A web-based free publication of MIT course content that reflects the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT.
National Association for State Community Services Programs State Contacts
Web site
Provides contacts for state community services programs funded through the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (DOE/WAP).
National Farmworker Jobs Program Services Contact Information
Web site
Directory of farmworker job program services by state.
National Veterans Business Development Corporation (TVC)
Web site
Provides online education and training services for current and prospective Veteran and Service-Disabled Veteran business owners, and for companies interested in working with Veteran-owned businesses.
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Web site
Provides resources for information, research, and resources to help prepare young people and adults for postsecondary education, successful careers, and productive lives.
REALifelines
Web site
Recovery and employment assistance for wounded and injured service members and their families when they return to the homes and lives they left prior to their service to the United States. Contact toll free: 888.774.1361.
Recovery.gov
Web site
U.S. government’s official website providing access to data related to Recovery Act spending. Features information on the opportunities, including jobs, provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as well as information on where the ARRA funding is going and up-to-date data on the expenditure of funds. Allows for the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse.
Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room
Web site
Provides links to information and reports from the ERS on rural employment, earnings, and education levels.
Shaping Mental Health Services Toward Recovery: Supported Employment
Web site
Helps people with mental illnesses and other disabilities find and keep competitive employment within their communities.
State Employment Specialists in Vocational Education
Web site
A list of state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies to assist individuals with disabilities to become employed.
Study Guide Zone
Web site
Free resources for students, beginning professionals, and anyone who wants to improve their score on a standardized test. Includes GED, ACT and SAT test study guides.
Ticket to Work
Web site
Information on the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, an employment program for people with disabilities. Includes a database of Employment Networks that provide vocational rehabilitation services, searchable by ZIP code, city, county and state.
Ticket to Work Program: Recruitment and Outreach
Web site
Provides most people receiving Social Security benefits (beneficiaries) more choices for receiving employment services.
Veterans' Employment & Training Service (VETS)
Web site
Provides veterans and transitioning service members with the resources and services to succeed in the workforce by maximizing their employment opportunities, protecting their employment rights and meeting labor-market demands with qualified veterans today.
VirtualCAP
Web site
Provides information and resources that can be used by Community Action Agencies and others to help low-income persons and families move toward self-sufficiency and to reduce poverty in communities across the United States.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service
Web site
Presents information about the services that the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program provides to veterans with service-connected disabilities, to active duty service members and veterans who have recently separated from active duty, and to dependents of veterans who meet certain program eligibility requirements.
WorkforceUSA.net
Web site
Dedicated to the field of workforce development. WorkforceUSA.net is designed for the day-to-day needs of workforce development practitioners in community-based organizations, community colleges, private firms, employer associations, unions, economic development organizations, One Stop Career Centers, and workforce investment boards.
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
2009 Report to the Secretary: Rural Health and Human Service Issues
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
Reports to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on issues related to rural America. Examines three key topics: workforce and community development, creating viable patient-centered medical homes, and serving at-risk children.
Date: 04 / 2009
Community Health Worker National Workforce Study
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
Describes a comprehensive national study of the community health worker workforce and of the factors that affected its utilization and development in both urban and rural settings.
Date: 03 / 2007
Community Services Block Grant: Annual Report, 2007
Author(s): Jenae Bjelland, Madelaine Criden, Meg Power, Jennifer Clark
Sponsoring organization: National Association for State Community Services Programs
Reviews how the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)-funded network of state and local agencies helped individuals and families overcome economic insecurity in FY 2007.
Date: 05 / 2009
Compendium of Best Practices/Models That Work in Rural Workforce Development
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
Developed by NRHA's National Rural Task Force to be used by federal agencies, state and local health-related agencies for setting priorities for rural workforce development.
Date: 09 / 2008
Demographics of Rural Women: Now and the Future
Author(s): Martha McMurry, Tom Gillaspy
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
An analysis of data that shows rural women still lag behind in several social and economic areas, such as education and earnings, but are catching up.
Journal citation: Rural Minnesota Journal Volume 3 Issue 1
Date: 2008
Employer-Provided Training in Low-Wage Jobs
Author(s): Gary Paul Green
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Rural Poverty Research Center
Examines the factors that influence whether employers provide job training to recent low-wage hires. Includes information on training prospects by gender, race-ethnicity, and by rural and urban location.
Journal citation: Perspectives: On Poverty, Policy, and Place Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages: 2-4
Date: 2004
Encouraging Job Advancement Among Low-Wage Workers: A New Approach
Author(s): Harry J. Holzer
Sponsoring organization: Brookings Institution
Summarizes a research project that used the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Identifies how low earners' advancement prospects are closely tied to the characteristics of the employers for whom they work. Concludes that better job placement accompanied by job-specific training for low earners can result in higher wages and improved job advancement.
Date: 05 / 2004
Family-friendly Policies for Rural Working Mothers
Author(s): Rebecca Glauber
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Presents an analysis of differences in access to
family-friendly policies between rural and urban mothers.
Date: 09 / 2009
From Education to Regulation: Dynamic Challenges for the Health Workforce
Sponsoring organization: Association of Academic Health Centers
A set of papers that clarify some of the issues related to producing and retaining a 21st century health workforce including the unresolved challenges of workforce regulations, professional and educational standards, workplace practices, and offers possible responses.
Date: 2008
Gender, Race, and Employer-Provided Job Training in Low Wage Jobs
Author(s): Gary P. Green
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Rural Poverty Research Center
Examines the willingness of employers to provide formal training to women and minorities.
Date: 02 / 2006
Going to Work: A Guide to Social Security Benefits & Employment for Young People with Disabilities
Author(s): Linda Long-Bellil, Melanie Jordan, Linda Landry
Sponsoring organization: Institute for Community Inclusion
Provides families and professionals working with young people some practical, hands-on information about Social Security disability and health benefit programs.
Date: 2009
Look What's Coming: A Proposal for Medical School Reform
Author(s): Wayne Meyers
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Describes the decline of graduating primary care physicians, the role medical schools play in this phenomenon, and offers model solutions.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Issue Winter
Date: 02 / 2009
Low-Skill Workers in Rural America Face Permanent Job Loss
Author(s): Amy Glasmeier, Priscilla Salant
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Reviews the data on job displacement nationally and in rural communities, with a focus on regions of the country where job losses due to displacement are significant and the rate of displacement has been increasing.
Date: 2006
Matter of Degrees: Tomorrow’s Fastest-Growing Jobs and Why Community College Graduates Will Get Them
Author(s): Jessica Milano, Bruce Reed, Paul Weinstein Jr.
Examines hot jobs in four of the fastest growing sectors of the economy: education, health care, information technology, and energy and environment.
Date: 09 / 2009
Moving from Jobs to Careers: Engaging Low-Wage Workers in Career Advancement
Author(s): Betsy L. Tessler, David Seith, Zawadi Rucks
Sponsoring organization: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation
Presents information on the effectiveness of new strategies delivered by the Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) to help low-wage and dislocated workers take steps to advance by increasing their wages, upgrading their skills, or finding better jobs.
Date: 12 / 2008
New, Longer Road to Adulthood: Schooling, Work, and Idleness among Rural Youth
Author(s): Anastasia Snyder, Diane McLaughlin, Alisha Coleman-Jensen
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Focuses on the education and work experiences of rural youth during the emerging adult years (age 20 to 24) as they make the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Date: 2009
Nursing's Reversal of Fortune
Author(s): Michael Gibbons
Describes how rural hospitals can recruit more nurses.
Date: 10 / 2009
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (H.R. 3734)
Contains strong work requirements, a performance bonus to reward states for moving welfare recipients into jobs, state maintenance of effort requirements, comprehensive child support enforcement, and supports for families moving from welfare to work -- including increased funding for child care and guaranteed medical coverage.
Date: 1996
Promoting Student Success in Community Colleges by Increasing Support Services
Author(s): Brandon Roberts, Deborah Povich
Sponsoring organization: W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Highlights state policies and community college actions that increase student success rates. Community colleges often serve as the doorway to opportunity for many minority and non-traditional students, but research shows that only half of students return after their first year and eventually fail to obtain a postsecondary certificate or degree.
Date: 2006
Promoting Upward Mobility for the Working Poor
Author(s): Michael Rupured
Sponsoring organization: Southern Rural Development Center
This article provides a framework for outreach to facilitate the upward mobility of the working poor in communities throughout the rural South.
Date: 07 / 2000
Rural Education at a Glance
Author(s): Robert Gibbs
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Statistics on rural educational attainment and overview of the impact of education levels on rural economic development.
Date: 01 / 2004
Strengthening Our Partnering Efforts to Aid Rural, Low-Income Families by Listening to Employer Experiences
Author(s): Margaret Manoogian, Sally R. Bowman, Debra Minar Driscoll
Examines rural employer needs, hiring practices, attitudes about low-income job applicants, and activities with county workforce development organizations.
Journal citation: Journal of Extension Volume 45 Issue 1
Date: 02 / 2007
Training Programs for Certified Nursing Assistants
Author(s): Esther Hernández-Medina, Susan Eaton, Donna Hurd, Alan White
Sponsoring organization: AARP
Reports on CNA education and training by exploring how many additional hours of initial training and clinical training are needed to
equip CNAs to provide good quality care to residents. It also examines pre-training
screening, remedial education, training in English as a Second Language, and shadowing; CNA
testing; and reimbursement of CNAs for their training and testing expenses.
Date: 03 / 2006
Transitional Jobs: Helping TANF Recipients with Barriers to Employment Succeed in the Labor Market
Author(s): Allegra Baider, Abbey Frank
Sponsoring organization: Center for Law and Social Policy
Highlights transitional jobs that provide temporary employment and a program funded by TANF, as a strategy to help low-skill workers transition to gainful private-sector employment.
Transitional jobs work as a promising strategy to help TANF recipients with barriers succeed in the labor market while simultaneously helping states engage more participants in work activities.
Date: 05 / 2006
U.S. Rural Physician Workforce: Analysis of Medical School Graduates from 1988-1997 (Final Report)
Author(s): Frederick M. Chen, Meredith A. Fordyce, Steve Andes, L. Gary Hart
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Describes the training of the rural physician workforce in the United States and examines the variations in medical school and residency production of rural physicians.
Date: 10 / 2008
U.S. Rural Physician Workforce: Analysis of Medical School Graduates from 1988-1997 (Policy Brief)
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Reports on the rural physician workforce. Those most likely to practice in rural areas were osteopathic and primary care physicians.
Date: 10 / 2008
Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth
Author(s): Nancy Martin, Samuel Halperin
Sponsoring organization: American Youth Policy Forum
Documents what educators, policymakers, and community leaders across the country are doing to reconnect out-of-school youth to the social and economic mainstream. Provides background on the high school dropout problem and describes in-depth what 12 communities are doing to reconnect dropouts to education and employment training. Includes descriptions of major national program models serving out-of-school youth.
Date: 2006
Working Hard for the Money: Trends in Women’s Employment 1970 to 2007
Author(s): Kristin Smith
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Reports on trends in women's employment, their earnings, and the rural-urban earnings gap. Includes data on changing family dynamics and offers policy recommendations.
Date: 12 / 2008
Journals
Focus on Basics
Quarterly publication. Best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policy makers.
Journal of Vocational Education and Training
Fully-refereed international journal that publishes scholarly articles addressing the development of practice and theory in work-related education, wherever that education occurs. Studies all aspects of vocational and pre-vocational education throughout the world.
Published four times a year.
Organizations
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
National organization
A proponent and national voice for community colleges. Membership represents 95 percent of all accredited U.S. two-year community, junior and technical colleges.
Center on Education and Training for Employment (CETE)
National organization
Works to enhance the workforce development system and to help all individuals gain the skills they need for work that is valued.
Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)
National organization
Fosters and preserves high quality, educationally sound and widely accepted distance education and independent learning institutions.
Standard-setting agency for correspondence study and distance education institutions since it was established in 1926.
Early College High School Initiative
Nonprofit/Foundation
Initiative to develop more Early College High Schools, small schools from which all students graduate with an Associate of Arts degree or enough college credits to enter a four-year, baccalaureate program as a college junior.
Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA)
Federal government
Directs business, adults, youth, dislocated workers, and workforce professionals to training and employment services. Administers federal government job training and worker dislocation programs, federal grants to states for public employment service programs, and unemployment insurance benefits. Also includes support and resources for rural areas.
Health IT Certification
Commercial
Provides professional training and certification for those responsible for planning, selecting, implementing, and managing electronic health records (EHR) and other health information technology (HIT).
Health Workforce Information Center (HWIC)
National organization
Provides free access to the most recent resources on the nation’s health workforce in one easy-to-use online location. Operated by the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences and funded by the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Learn and Serve America
National organization
Supports service-learning programs in schools and community organizations to help students from kindergarten through college meet community needs, while improving their academic skills and learning the habits of good citizenship. Learn and Serve grants are used to create new programs or replicate existing programs, as well as to provide training and development to staff, faculty, and volunteers.
MinorityNurses.Com
National organization
Online resource for the diversified nursing community. Provides resources and information pertaining to education, career development and minority health for the growing population of minority nurses in America.
National MultiCultural Institute (NMCI)
National organization
Works with individuals, organizations, and communities to facilitate change in order to build an inclusive society that is strengthened and empowered by its diversity. Provides seminars and online training regarding effective teamwork, developing a diverse workforce, conflict resolution, cultural competence and leadership skills.
National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP)
National organization
NNSP's mission is to encourage the use and effectiveness of sector initiatives as valuable tools for enhancing employment and economic development opportunities for low-income individuals, families, and communities. NNSP provides information and resources to the field including: training, networking and industry-specific information.
Rural Community College Alliance (RCCA)
National organization
An advocacy group working to improve the educational and economic prospects for rural America.
U.S. Department of Education
Federal government
Works to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence for all Americans.
World Education
International organization
Works internationally in environmental education, community development, maternal and child health, school governance, integrated literacy, small enterprise development, HIV/AIDS education and prevention and care, and refugee training. Also works to strengthen literacy and adult basic education programs in the United States.
YouthBuild
Federal government
An alternative education program that assists youth who are behind in basic skills with obtaining a high school diploma or GED credential. Also provides disadvantaged youth with opportunities for meaningful work, service to communities and employment opportunities.
Terms & Acronyms
Accreditation Process that gives public recognition to institutions that meet certain standards. It is a promise that an institution will provide the quality of services it claims to offer.
Distance Education Education designed for learners who live at a distance from the teaching institution or education provider. It is the enrollment and study with an educational institution that provides organized, formal learning opportunities for students.
General Education Development (GED) Provides people over the age of 16 the opportunity to earn a certificate or diploma that is widely recognized as the equivalent of a high school diploma.
Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) Designed to provide WIA eligible clients (adults and dislocated workers) with access to job training based on their interests in conjunction with labor market demands. The participant uses the funds to purchase training services from an eligible provider he or she selects in consultation with an employment counselor. Payments from ITAs may be made in a variety of ways, including vouchers, the electronic transfer of funds through financial institutions, or other appropriate methods. Payments may also be made incrementally, through payment of a portion of the costs at different points in the training course.
On-the-job-training (OJT) Provide workers with job specific training programs at their work site which may include training on the operation of specialized equipment, general office procedures and computer training.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) Known as "welfare reform." PRWORA implemented a number of significant changes in the welfare system such as the imposition of time limits and work requirements on recipients, and the devolution of welfare program administration authority to state governments.
Work-Study Program A federal program based on financial need for college students that provides funds earned through part-time employment to assist students in financing the costs of postsecondary education.
Workforce Development Programs and policies that prepare people for work through a variety of educational opportunities, job training, and employment activities.
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Directs local areas to give priority for intensive training services to welfare recipients and other low-income individuals. These include the types of services that promote career advancement.
Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) The creation of local workforce investment boards (WIBs) is a major provision of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, the federal legislation that consolidated scores of employment and training programs. WIBs are responsible for establishing local performance standards; chartering one stop service delivery centers and selecting qualified service providers, and monitoring performance to ensure accountability. They are prohibited from delivering services.
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