Workforce Development

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Even with unemployment rates at historic lows, over 6 million American remain out of work. The barriers to employment are complex. Even among those who are working, many struggle to earn family sustaining wages. These challenges expose workers, families, and communities across our nation to instability and hardship. Meanwhile, employers and industry sectors struggle to find the talent they need to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving global economy. 

AIR has an experienced team that is passionate about improving workforce outcomes to expand economic opportunity. We work with both workforce development stakeholders to develop and link the right workers to the right jobs and expand access to good jobs for all.  Working with our federal, state, local, foundation, and private sector partners, AIR offers expertise in:

HARNESSING EVIDENCE-BASED, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES

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We bring streamlined access to a range of proven and innovative methods to help our clients improve policies, programs, strategies, and practices:

  • Integrated research and evaluation (R&E) and technical assistance (TA)
  • Human-centered design
  • Behavioral insights
  • Data analytics and strategic solutions
  • Human capital solutions

We anchor our methodological expertise with deep knowledge of target populations, systems and regional and local contexts.

HELPING PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS IMPROVE SERVICES

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Workforce programs can only reach their full potential efficiently if they can access and implement best practices. We leverage AIR’s deep expertise in providing evidence-driven technical assistance across a range of programs. AIR’s recent work includes:

HELPING POLICY MAKERS LEARN WHAT WORKS, WHEN, AND FOR WHOM

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We focus on develop rigorous evidence on a wide range of workforce programs that can help guide strategic decisions on how to best invest funding in increasingly scarce resource environments. Some of our work in this area includes:

  • Evaluations of welfare to work, transitional work-based learning, and career pathways programs
  • Studies and consumer information tools on labor market returns to education
  • Rapid cycle evaluations of behavioral nudges for labor programs
HELPING EMPLOYERS FIND, RETAIN, AND REWARD TALENT

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AIR’s industrial and organizational psychologists use research-based principles to prepare employers, industry, and public agencies to recruit, develop, and retain the human capital needed for organizational success and to facilitate worker acquisition of skills needed for life long employment. We offer services and have experience in:

Latest Work

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4 Feb 2019
Video

Long Story Short: How Can Design Thinking Improve How We Serve Vulnerable Populations?

What is design thinking and how is AIR using it to serve vulnerable populations? AIR expert Virginia Hamilton explains how design thinking is used across a variety of sectors and can bring a diverse group of people together to work toward the same goal: supporting others.
4 Feb 2019
Q & A

Meet the Expert: Virginia Hamilton

Virginia Hamilton is the organizational lead for design thinking and innovation and has extensive policy experience in a variety of workforce topics, including job training, unemployment, and economic development. Her previous experience includes a regional administrator position at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.
Project

Career and Technical Education Research Network

Career and technical education (CTE) prepares students with academic, technical, and employability skills for success in the workplace and in further education. More research is needed to understand its effects on student outcomes. The CTE Research Network seeks to meet this need by increasing the number of impact studies and strengthening the capacity of the field to conduct and use rigorous research.
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1 May 2018
Brief

A Description of U.S. Adults Who Are Not Digitally Literate

This brief highlights findings from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in an effort to obtain a clear understanding of the ability of adults to undertake digital problem solving. This brief uses data gathered from a sample of 5,000 adults across different socio-demographic groups in the United States and compares it to international averages from 19 other countries to answer three specific study questions.
30 Nov 2017
Brief

Developing a College- and Career-Ready Workforce: An Analysis of ESSA, Perkins, and WIOA

To establish an education-to-workforce pipeline, state leaders will need to align labor market efforts with the education pipeline to ensure a seamless system of academic, technical, and employability skills preparedness. This brief aims to identify opportunities to connect, align, and leverage state policies, programs, and funding across three federal laws that govern the pipeline: the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
14 Sep 2017
Report

Adult Education and Training: Results from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2016

In 2016, more than one quarter of adults had a nondegree credential—including a postsecondary certificate, occupational license, or occupational certification—according to the latest results from the National Household Education Surveys. This report summarizes key findings from the 2016 Adult Training and Education Survey, which gathered nationally representative data on U.S. adults’ training and education as of 2016.
Project

National Study of the Implementation of Adult Education Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) Program, authorized under Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), is the main source of federal support for adult basic and literacy education programs for adults who lack basic skills, a high school diploma, or proficiency in English. National Study of the Implementation of Adult Education Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is the first study in the evaluation of WIOA Title II, and will collect data for the first time in over a decade on how adult education programs are providing services under AEFLA.