Overview

State and local policy makers increasingly recognize the need to adapt workforce and education policies to the reality of economic change in their states and communities. What many call "the new economy" is an economy centered around skills, flexibility and the willingness of all workers and employers to adapt to changing circumstances. For workers, the new economy demands increased investment in education with higher wages increasingly linked to some form of postsecondary education. For employers, the new economy demands, among other things, workers with a wider array of basic skills including reading and writing, oral communications, mathematical reasoning, critical thinking and reasoning, problem solving, teamwork, interpersonal skills and an ability to learn continuously.

Recent employment projections show that the majority of job growth in the next decade will occur in occupations that require a postsecondary vocational certificate or academic degree. Yet despite the need for skills upgrading and postsecondary credentials in the new economy, low-income adults are generally underrepresented in community colleges and other higher education programs within states. Moreover, many who do attend classes often fail to complete the program and earn a certificate or degree. Building on the NGA's 2001 Influencing the Future of Higher Education initiative to help Governors and their advisors address critical higher education policy issues, the NGA Center is supporting state efforts to increase access, learning, and degree attainment among youth and adults.

Focus of Center Activities

Pathways to Advancement—In partnership with FutureWorks, the NGA Center has launched an initiative to provide intensive technical assistance to states to develop, and build political support for, new and revised policies that support increased postsecondary opportunities for low wage adult students. The project is a 28-month program of research, development, and demonstration with teams of officials from several states to build career pathways from community colleges to regional industries and change policies and practices related to higher education financing; program and accreditation requirements; and student financial aid to support larger numbers of low-income working adults in attending college to pursue post-secondary credentials. This work is linked strategically with NGA's ongoing work in higher education workforce development and welfare reform and economic development.