Research and evaluation conducted by the Economic Opportunities Program’s Workforce Strategies Initiative explore strategies that help workers attain stability and mobility, including through training, education, and broader systems change.

In the years since the end of the Great Recession, the unemployment rate has declined much faster than the poverty rate, and more and more Americans are struggling to find work that allows them to support themselves and their families. WSI’s current research explores “raise the floor and build ladders” strategies, which improve the quality of low-wage jobs and promote mobility for low-wage workers.

Communities that Work Partnership Playbook
Publications

Communities that Work Partnership Playbook

This playbook presents the work of seven regional partnerships engaged in the Communities that Work Partnership.

Prince George’s County, Maryland: Investing in Infrastructure, Local Businesses, and Jobs
Publications

Prince George’s County, Maryland: Investing in Infrastructure, Local Businesses, and Jobs

Complying with a federal mandate to clean up the Chesapeake Bay is expected to spur $10 billion in public investment across the DC metro area over the next decade. Leaders in Prince George’s County, Maryland, are determined to make sure that this investment will not only achieve its environmental goals, but also spur local business development and create jobs for county residents. To strengthen this effort, representatives from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors applied to the CTWP to learn from and share with peers nationally, and to further develop their strategies to maximize the social benefits of this large public investment.

Houston, Texas: Developing Prototypes for Workforce Development Strategies
Publications

Houston, Texas: Developing Prototypes for Workforce Development Strategies

Greater Houston is the nation’s fourth largest metro economy and has enjoyed four years of extraordinary growth, creating more than 480,000 jobs since the bottom of the recession—three jobs for every one lost. But this growth has also intensified employers’ struggle to fill key occupations, particularly in middle-skill careers and professions. UpSkill Houston, and the local leaders involved in the Communities that Work Partnership (CTWP), have adopted a series of innovative prototypes to speed workforce innovation and to scale what works to meet the demand for these middle-skill jobs.

Apprenticeship: Completion and Cancellation in the Building Trades
Publications

Apprenticeship: Completion and Cancellation in the Building Trades

As one of our nation’s strongest training models, apprenticeship provides individuals the unique opportunity to work and develop their skills at the same time through a mix of paid on-the-job training and classroom instruction.

Profiles of the Residential Construction Workforce and the Workers Defense Project
Publications

Profiles of the Residential Construction Workforce and the Workers Defense Project

This report details the dynamics and challenges of the residential construction industry and provides a profile of the Workers Defense Project, a non-profit and membership-based organization based in Austin, Texas that seeks to provide low-wage workers, particularly those in the construction industry, with resources to improve their working and living conditions.

Profiles of the Direct-Care Workforce and PHI
Publications

Profiles of the Direct-Care Workforce and PHI

This report provides an overview of work in the direct-care industry and profiles PHI (Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute), an organization dedicated to improving employment for direct-care workers in the U.S.

Overview of Workers in Residential Construction
Publications

Overview of Workers in Residential Construction

This resource provides an overview of residential construction work in the United States including information about the demographics of workers in the industry, the size of the workforce, wages and benefits, and working conditions.

Instituto del Progreso Latino – ManufacturingWorks (Chicago, Ill.)
Publications

Instituto del Progreso Latino – ManufacturingWorks (Chicago, Ill.)

This document is a profile of a sector initiative and provides detailed description of the initiative that may include information about program design, funding, worker outcomes, partners and much more.

Central Piedmont Community College – Pathways to Employment and ESL Pathways (Charlotte, N.C.)
Publications

Central Piedmont Community College – Pathways to Employment and ESL Pathways (Charlotte, N.C.)

This document is a profile of a sector initiative and provides detailed description of the initiative that may include information about program design, funding, worker outcomes, partners and much more.

Capital IDEA – Electric Utility Sector Work (Austin, Tex.)
Publications

Capital IDEA – Electric Utility Sector Work (Austin, Tex.)

This document is a profile of a sector initiative and provides detailed description of the initiative that may include information about program design, funding, worker outcomes, partners and much more.

A Solid Foundation: Key Capacities of Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs
Publications

A Solid Foundation: Key Capacities of Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs

This publication shares research from site visits conducted to construction pre-apprenticeship programs in Baltimore, Hartford, Milwaukee, and Portland, Oregon.

Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs: Interviews with Field Leaders
Publications

Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs: Interviews with Field Leaders

This publication shares research from interviews with leaders from 25 promising and innovative pre-apprenticeship programs from across the country.

About the Workforce Strategies Initiative

The Workforce Strategies Initiative, part of the Economic Opportunities Program, uses research and evaluation to explore strategies that help workers attain stability and mobility, including through training, education, and broader systems change.

About the Economic Opportunities Program

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

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More from the Workforce Strategies Initiative

Cover Page for the publication "Race and Gender Wealth Equity and the Role of Employee Share Ownership"
Publications

Race and Gender Wealth Equity and the Role of Employee Share Ownership

Employee ownership can promote equity, improve job quality, and boost business performance.

Cover page for the report "Unpacking the Work of Work-Based Learning"
Publications

Unpacking the Work of Work-Based Learning

Enhancing Conversations Between Employers and Workforce Professionals
Blog Posts

Enhancing Conversations Between Employers and Workforce Professionals

Many young people need job and training opportunities. How do workforce professionals talk about these issues with employers?

Voices from the Field: Engaging Employers to Connect Young Adults to Good Fit Employment
Publications

Voices from the Field: Engaging Employers to Connect Young Adults to Good Fit Employment

Young workers are facing dire employment prospects. But asking employers the right questions can help identify opportunities.

Cover page: "The Benefits of Bridging Divides: How YouthBuild Philly Shares its Supportive Practices to Build Business Value and Better Jobs"
Publications

The Benefits of Bridging Divides: How YouthBuild Philly Shares its Supportive Practices to Build Business Value and Better Jobs

YouthBuild Philly shows how businesses can develop supportive practices to help young people succeed at work.

Cover Page: "Genesis at Work: Evaluating the Effects of Manufacturing Extension on Business Success and Job Quality"
Publications

Genesis at Work: Evaluating the Effects of Manufacturing Extension on Business Success and Job Quality

Workforce practices are central to a firm’s success. What happens when companies focus on people and process equally?

A Toolkit to Engage Employers and Opportunity Youth on the Future of Work
Publications

A Toolkit to Engage Employers and Opportunity Youth on the Future of Work

How can we ensure Opportunity Youth are positioned to succeed in the future of work?

Cost of Turnover Tool: Make the business case to improve retention through upskilling and stability
Publications

Cost of Turnover Tool

Estimate how much your business spends each year replacing staff in one occupation.