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Raising Job Quality and Worker Skills in the US: Creating More Effective Education and Workforce Development Systems in States

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  • Holzer, Harry J.

    (Georgetown University)

Abstract

To improve the employment rates and earnings of Americans workers, we need to create more coherent and effective education and workforce development systems, focusing primarily (though not exclusively) on disadvantaged youth and adults, and with education and training more clearly targeted towards firms and sectors providing good-paying jobs. This paper proposes a new set of competitive grants from the federal government to states that would fund training partnerships between employers in key industries, education providers, workforce agencies and intermediaries at the state level, plus a range of other supports and services. The grants would especially reward the expansion of programs that appear successful when evaluated with randomized control trial techniques. The evidence suggests that these grants could generate benefits that are several times larger than their costs, and would therefore lead to higher earnings and lower unemployment rates among the disadvantaged.

Suggested Citation

  • Holzer, Harry J., 2012. "Raising Job Quality and Worker Skills in the US: Creating More Effective Education and Workforce Development Systems in States," IZA Policy Papers 42, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izapps:pp42
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; workforce development; jobs; skills; employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies

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