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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sponsored Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech), in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University Altoona (Penn State Altoona) and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), to expand an existing summer youth program into the Tracks to the Future Railroad Transportation and Engineering summer program for students entering grades 9-12. Phase 2 expanded the program to a total of six universities, adding University of South Carolina, University of New Mexico, and California State University-Fresno.

FRA supported Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech), in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University Altoona (Penn State Altoona) and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), to establish a Tracks to the Future: Railroad Transportation and Engineering summer program for high school students. Phase 1 of this program was offered in two formats: 1) a traditional, week-long, on-campus program (at Michigan Tech only) and 2) a hybrid version of the program at Michigan Tech, Penn State Altoona, and UIUC. FRA funded the course development, program fees for the students (including meals and housing), and field visit expenses at the host site. Rail industry companies provided limited travel support for students in need to reach the host site.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the market conditions for automation providers in Sweden and address the skills shortage associated with the expansion of automated production. The study aims to explore how automation providers can support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in overcoming the skills gap to enhance their adoption of advanced automation technologies. Method: This research employs an exploratory qualitative approach, utilizing multiple-case studies. Data collection is conducted through in-depth interviews with industry experts and representatives from various companies in the Swedish manufacturing sector. Findings: The findings reveal significant opportunities and challenges in the Swedish automation market. Key challenges include the skills shortage and the high demand for automation solutions among SMEs. The study identifies that tailored training programs, comprehensive support services, and collaborative initiatives with educational institutions are crucial strategies for addressing these challenges. Additionally, the adoption of user-friendly technologies can help SMEs integrate automation more effectively. Practical Implications: The insights from this study can be used by automation providers to develop strategies that support SMEs in bridging the skills gap. Practical implications include the need for targeted training programs, enhanced support services, and strategic partnerships with educational institutions to ensure a skilled workforce capable of handling advanced automation technologies. Theoretical Implications: This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing a detailed analysis of the skills gap in the automation sector and proposing actionable strategies to address it. The research highlights the importance of workforce development in the successful adoption of automation technologies. Delimitations: This thesis is delimited to the Swedish manufacturing sector, focusing on small and medium-s

Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field at the convergence of life sciences and the digital world. As technological advances improve operational processes and expose them to vulnerabilities in agriculture and life sciences, cyberbiosecurity has become increasingly important for addressing contemporary concerns. Unfortunately, at this time, educational opportunities for cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation are limited. Stakeholders’ perceptions may help guide cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation efforts and bridge the gap from the classroom to the field. Toward this end, we identified stakeholders in education, private industry, and state agencies in [State] and sought their input through both an online survey and focus groups. Findings suggest limited awareness and understanding of cyberbiosecurity. Results indicate that both formal and non-formal learning components—including short modules and comprehensive standalone courses—are important for cyberbiosecurity education programming. Stakeholders tied potential success of education programming to systems thinking and collaborative designs. Moreover, results reveal insights into concerns at the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), which is central to effective workforce preparation for today’s agriculture and life sciences professionals. Continuous interdisciplinary collaboration and academia-industry partnerships will be critical for developing robust cyberbiosecurity education and securing the future of agriculture.

Background: A needs-based approach is desirable for the transformation of pharmaceutical education, and to link pharmaceutical education with the health needs of populations and national priorities. There are varying levels of data in the literature on the status of pharmaceutical education in all six World Health Organization (WHO) regions, especially in the context of needs identification and evidence-based policy interventions. The framework for this study was the FIP Development Goals. Objectives: The aim of the study was to develop evidence-based policies through a needs-based approach for pharmaceutical education transformation nationally, regionally and globally by addressing the following objectives: 1. Identify global and regional needs in pharmaceutical education, through a regional SWOT analysis and prioritization of FIP development goals; 2. Develop valid and credible regional roadmaps for pharmaceutical education advancement according to the identified prioritized goals and 3. Develop a global call to action as a policy intervention for advancing pharmaceutical education. Methods: This study was conducted between 2020 and 2021 using a mixed methods approach. Surveys of higher education institutions and a series of qualitative interviews were conducted with national professional leadership organizations, with further regional workshops having 284 participants recruited from the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) membership base, spanning all six WHO regions. Results: Eleven out of 21 FIP DGs were identified as priorities for regional roadmaps and FIP DG 1 (Academic capacity) was identified as a priority in four regions. All regions had distinctive results with an area of commonality between them. There were common weaknesses in the adoption of competency-based education and inter-professional education. Conclusions: It is critical for every country and region to develop needs- and evidence-based policies for the transformation of pharmaceut

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) is a brand name in public safety. Like many high-reliability organizations, its specialized units carry out advanced and technical work. Expanded mission tasking, compensation, and training have made these assignments a career ladder, but the antiquated selection and assignment policy threaten the integrity of the selection and recruitment process. FDNY may improve its selection for special operations based on what similar organizations do. By reviewing them, specifically the armed services and commercial diving, two high-reliability organizations, this study compares selection methods to identify validated testing, determine criteria, and develop a selection construct that can maintain or improve current selection policies. Findings reveal that cognitive ability testing, physical ability assessments, and in-depth character evaluations used to make personnel selections could enhance FDNY. This thesis recommends that further development of selection models would be beneficial for the organization and defend the FDNY against claims of bias, favoritism, and discrimination. Lack of validation has already cost New York City and the FDNY legal fines. Validation studies identify areas of selection that need improvement so the FDNY could reinforce traditional selection criteria and establish new and validated ways of identifying and cultivating talent with the fire service., Civilian, FDNY, Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

This thesis explores the challenges associated with developing the health care workforce in a Swedish municipality in the post-Covid-19 era. And it explores leaders' perspectives on workforce development. The study uses semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to uncover key themes and gain insight into the challenges and opportunities these leaders face. The results reveal major challenges associated with the shortage of manpower and the difficulty of attracting and retaining new employees. The results of the thesis reveal also many important aspects that need to be worked on to develop the healthcare workforce in Sweden. The most important of which are long-term strategic planning, recruitment and retention strategies, data-based decision-making, developing communication between leaders and employees and various levels and departments within healthcare institutions, coordination and cooperation with other institutions and government agencies, work. In addition to the importance of life-work balance, promoting a culture of education and continuous development. The findings of this thesis provide valuable insights for policy-makers and operating leaders in Swedish municipalities, particularly in the healthcare sector, with regard to developing strategies to meet workforce needs. This thesis also provides a knowledge base for future research by providing a contextual understanding and theoretical and practical knowledge in relation to workforce development in the field of healthcare.

Competency models are widely adopted frameworks that are used to improve human resource functions and education. However, the characteristics of competency models related to the information security and cybersecurity domains are not well understood. To bridge this gap, this study investigates the current state of competency models related to the security domain through qualitative content analysis. Additionally, based on the competency model analysis, an evidence-based competency model is proposed. Examining the content of 27 models, we found that the models can benefit target groups in many different ways, ranging from policymaking to performance management. Owing to their many uses, competency models can arguably help to narrow the skills gap from which the profession is suffering. Nonetheless, the models have their shortcomings. First, the models do not cover all of the topics specified by the Cybersecurity Body of Knowledge ( i.e., no model is complete). Second, by omitting social, personal, and methodological competencies, many models reduce the competency profile of a security expert to professional competencies. Addressing the limitations of previous work, the proposed competency model provides a holistic view of the competencies required by security professionals for job achievement and can potentially benefit both the education system and the labor market. To conclude, the implications of the competency model analysis and use cases of the proposed model are discussed., MIDISE

This dissertation aimed to address existing research gaps in the understanding of “tech social capital” amongst Black and Latino/Hispanic high school students in afterschool computer science education programs. The research employed an exploratory mixed methods approach, with afterschool high school coding program Code Next as its sample site. Given the lack of social capital measurement instruments in education, this study analyzed a set of interviews regarding students’ understanding of their networks and access to resources, and used that information to adapt (and then run) an existing social capital instrument from the public health sector.Five findings from this study demonstrated the presence and importance of tech social capital networks in Black and Latino/Hispanic high school students’ lives. First, students reported having at least one significant relationship that encouraged their interest in and exploration of computer science. Second, almost every student reported that relationships contributed computer science-related resources to their lives, with adult-student relationships contributing at least two resources and peer-peer relationships contributing at least one resource. Third, students expressed that these relationships had a largely positive impact on their interests in and around computer science. Fourth, Black and Latino/Hispanic high school students perceived an increase in their tech social capital through their program participation. Fifth, student perceptions of social capital change suggest the multiplicative nature of relationships, in that a single relationship can lead to acquisition of multiple resources. Across these findings, four themes emerged—1) afterschool programs can provide significant tech social capital in the form of institutional agents and hardware access, 2) Black and Latino/Hispanic students enter these spaces already possessing some tech social capital, 3) there are differences between live and online learning environme

The Black jobs crisis is alive and well in the Inland Empire, with Black workers having the highest unemployment rates and lowest median earnings across the region. To address this, the newly-formed Inland Empire Black Worker Center (IEBWC) has implemented a pre-apprenticeship program for IE Works—a consortium of water/wastewater utilities and community groups in the Inland Empire—that prioritizes the respect and dignity of Black workers while also preparing them for high road jobs in the water/wastewater sector. Unlocking Potential: The Inland Empire Black Worker Center’s Transformative IE Works Program, a new report authored by the UCLA Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity (CARE) at Work at the UCLA Labor Center, showcases the results of this pioneering workforce development model. The program aims to provide stability, living wages, and a career path to support families utilizing a three-pronged approach: 1) internships for active college students, 2) pre-apprenticeship for those new to the trades, and 3) apprenticeship programs.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated three trends that were already transforming economic development theory and practice. A backlash to economic restructuring and inequality, driven by globalization and technology, is now manifesting in reshoring and union movements. The resurgence of small and midsized cities, originally driven by increasing housing costs in coastal cities, has been reinforced by a rise in remote work. The uncertainty of today's complex economy is exacerbating long-term challenges of tracking economic change, making “shoot anything that flies” more important than ever. These trends highlight the need to focus economic development on building and supporting the workforce.

This report focuses on creating an equitable workforce development strategy that should accompany a "Justice Transition" to 100% renewable energy generation by the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) in the context of the new emerging green jobs economy for L.A. City and L.A. County. The report has two major parts. The first presents a LA100 Public Access Data Analysis Platform and Calculator that allows for multiple community stakeholders (including ratepayers) to engage in environmental and energy justice planning. The second part presents a Community Case Study of Wilmington and a Community Engagement Approach to identify multiple pathways to community engagement and planning for energy, ecological, and environmental Justice Transitions with a primary focus on jobs and workforce development connected to LADWP investments, policies, and existing programs.

PurposeThis commentary proposes a new direction to train the MCH workforce by leveraging today's rapidly changing innovation and technology to address persistent health inequities.DescriptionWe outline the creation of an MCH technology and innovation training pipeline developed by harnessing creative funding opportunities, diversifying training modalities, and expanding partnerships beyond traditional academic-practice partners, that be replicated and adapted by other academic programs.AssessmentTechnology and innovation will continue to be a growing intersection between health and equity, and we must create a robust pipeline of MCH leaders prepared to collaborate with entrepreneurial and innovation leaders.ConclusionTechnology offers an important opportunity to improve MCH outcomes and reduce disparities, but only if we train the MCH workforce to seize these opportunities.

This white paper provides educational and policy-driven approaches to sustainable transportation workforce development in the transit sector with a focus on knowledge transfer and training strategies for zero-emission bus technologies. The authors draw from a comprehensive survey of national research, interviews with transit leaders, and case studies to identify the most critical technology transfer gaps in the adoption of zero-emission bus technologies. The paper concludes with strategic transit workforce priorities and related recommendations for transit leaders, educational partners, and policy makers.View the NCST Project Webpage

The growth in the adoption of sensing technologies in the construction industry has triggered the need for graduating construction engineering students equipped with the necessary skills for deploying the technologies. For construction engineering students to acquire technical skills for implementing sensing technologies, it is pertinent to engage them in hands-on learning with the technologies. However, limited opportunities for hands-on learning experiences on construction sites and in some cases, high upfront costs of acquiring sensing technologies are encumbrances to equipping construction engineering students with the required technical skills. Inspired by opportunities offered by mixed reality, this study presents an interactive holographic learning environment that can afford learners an experiential opportunity to acquire competencies for implementing sensing systems on construction projects. Firstly, this study explores the required competencies for deploying sensing technologies on construction projects. The current state of sensing technologies in the industry and sensing technology education in construction engineering and management programs were investigated. The learning contents of the holographic learning environment were then driven by the identified competencies. Afterwards, a learnability study was conducted with industry practitioners already adopting sensing technologies to assess the learning environment. Feedback from the learnability study was implemented to further improve the learning environment after which a usability evaluation was conducted. To investigate the pedagogical value of the learning environment in construction education, a summative evaluation was conducted with construction engineering students. This research contributes to the definition of the domain-specific skills required of the future workforce for implementing sensing technologies in the construction industry and how such skills can be developed and enhanced within a

The research brief suggests that worker centers are invaluable actors in the state's public workforce development system. Worker centers -- community-based organizations created by and for BIPOC and immigrant job seekers and workers in low-wage industries -- provide a comprehensive alternative to the status quo of workforce development through fostering leadership development, movement building, and systemic change.&nbsp

BACKGROUND: For community health workers (CHWs) and promotores de salud (CHWs who primarily serve Latinx communities and are grounded in a social, rather than a clinical model of care), the process of certification highlights the tension between developing a certified workforce with formal requirements (i.e., certified CHWs) and valuing CHWs, without formal requirements, based on their roles, knowledge, and being part of the communities where they live and work (i.e., non-certified CHWs). California serves as an ideal case study to examine how these two paths can coexist. Californias CHW workforce represents distinct ideologies of care (e.g., clinical CHWs, community-based CHWs, and promotores de salud) and California stakeholders have debated certification for nearly twenty years but have not implemented such processes. METHODS: We employed purposive sampling to interview 108 stakeholders (i.e., 66 CHWs, 11 program managers, and 31 system-level participants) to understand their perspectives on the opportunities and risks that certification may raise for CHWs and the communities they serve. We conducted focus groups with CHWs, interviews with program managers and system-level participants, and observations of public forums that discussed CHW workforce issues. We used a thematic analysis approach to identify, analyze, and report themes. RESULTS: Some CHW participants supported inclusive certification training opportunities while others feared that certification might erode their identity and undermine their work in communities. Some program managers and system-level participants acknowledged the opportunities of certification but also expressed concerns that certification may distance CHWs from their communities. Program managers and system-level participants also highlighted that certification may not address all challenges related to integrating CHWs into health care systems. CHWs, program managers, and system-level participants agreed that CHWs should be involved

The Alabama Burst Energetics eXplorer (ABEX) is a 12U CubeSat commissioned by the Alabama Space Grant Consortium; its astrophysics mission is to study the low energy, prompt emission of Gamma-ray Bursts in both gamma and X-ray spectra. The ABEX program is unique in that its workforce is comprised of individuals at seven colleges and universities around the state of Alabama. ABEX management releases Requests for Proposals (RFP) for Senior Design (SD) projects or university research groups to design and build spacecraft subsystems; university faculty with experience and facilities for the development of that subsystem respond to the RFPs to create a team. ABEX supports undergraduate SD students, graduate student mentors, and faculty technical advisors for all spacecraft subsystems in both ground and flight mission segments. Each team has between 5-15 undergraduate students, meaning ABEX teaches spacecraft design to ~85 undergraduate students at any given time; ABEX may be the largest collegiate CubeSat program in the world. The undergraduate labor force turns over, or cycles to new students, every 4-8 months, so ABEX can teach hands-on spacecraft design to over 100 students every year and has taught over 200 to date. Two features of ABEX create a difficult Systems Engineering (SE) environment: the undergraduate labor force turnover rate and the geographically disperse workforce. Most subsystem teams exist within two-semester SD courses, but some teams, like Flight Software, only exist for one semester before the undergraduate team turns over. This means the student onboarding process must be efficient and the material hand-off process effective if any substantive contribution to the spacecraft is to be made in their brief course period. A Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Integrated System Model (ISM) was created using SysML as a full-program organization of mission requirements, subsystem architectures, verification and validation procedures, and team interactio

Purpose - Over the past twenty years, the UK Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) workforce have experienced significant developments as part of New Labour’s modernisation agenda with the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 and the increasing focus on prevention and community safety. Subsequent organisational changes and the introduction of new safety services dynamically altered the role of Fire Fighters and introduced new roles into these organisations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues relating to an evolving fire service workforce and the tensions present in the development of new professional roles. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory qualitative critical realist case study approach was undertaken, employing semi-structured interviews and focus groups of employees across one UK Fire and Rescue Service. Findings – The findings of the present study identify several emerging issues from a changing fire service. In particular the frictions between different aspects of the organisation, and the tensions in the development of career ‘ladders’ for non-operational roles. Originality/value – To the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper that examines the issues surrounding the development and evolution of professional roles in community safety aspects within the UK Fire and Rescue Service.

The High Road to Economic Prosperity offers a macro analysis of the California Workforce Development Board’s (CWDB) High Road Training Partnership (HRTP) initiative. The report defines the HRTP model and evaluates the successes and challenges of adopting the high road approach, including recommendations on how to strengthen the HRTP framework and model as the initiative expands. The report finds that HRTPs offer a more inclusive definition of industry leadership and build collective power. HRTPs bring together employers, labor, and community actors to look at their industries from a bird’s eye view and use their collective expertise to find mutually beneficial industry solutions. This values-based approach prioritizes underlying systemic issues like racial inequality. HRTPs move beyond diversity initiatives by identifying racial inequalities and creating tailored workforce development interventions, including sustainable long term policies that can be widely adopted to address the needs of disadvantaged communities. The initiative offers an innovative model for public programs that are responsive to change. HRTPs are continuously experimenting, learning, and refining their interventions, which allows them to respond to external shifts, such as economic downturns and climate change, in real time and work toward solutions that meet the needs of firms, workers, and communities. The HRTP approach advances a shift in measuring workforce development success. Traditional workforce development metrics often measure success by the number — not quality — of job placements. HRTPs also associate success with promoting worker voice and power, systems change, culture shifts, and other qualitatively measured indicators of high road success.

Dismantling Disparity: Breaking Barriers to Employment explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the systemic discrimination Black workers have long faced. From March to December of 2020, 84% of the Black labor force in California filed for unemployment. Institutionalized racism leads to Black people being overrepresented in incarcerated and homeless populations and at risk for a number of health and educational disparities. These factors create economic insecurity and barriers to employment that are difficult to overcome without strategic support.The California Workforce Development Board’s (CWDB) Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative aims to create grant programs that ensure that individuals are equipped with skills training and educational services that will reduce barriers to employment. Authors note the need for state and federal funding allocated to workforce development prioritize addressing the barriers that impact many Black workers.

Cybersecurity capacity building has been one of the main pillars of the UAE cybersecurity strategy to shorten the cybersecurity skills gap in the UAE. There have been several capacity building initiatives introduced by the UAE government to upscale the hands-on technical skills amongst cybersecurity professionals in the UAE. However, there has not been any mechanism nor a platform in place to either measure the scale of the skills gap that currently exist and needs to be addressed nor any measurement tool to provide visibility into the effectiveness of the capacity building initiatives introduced. Furthermore, there have been a plethora of undergraduate cybersecurity academic degree programs taught in various recognized educational institutions across the UAE. However, the shortage of cybersecurity practitioners globally and locally has never been more acute. Hence, there is a crucial need to introduce a UAE nation-wide cybersecurity skills performance dashboard that shall provide the required visibility into the scale of the skills gap that currently exists, hands-on technical skills that is currently available, and those skills that need to be developed and trained. The Cybersecurity Skills Performance Dashboard (CSPD) shall provide the true measurement of the current existent skills gap shortage in the UAE to enable the concerned entities to introduce the needed capacity building initiatives to shorten the skills gap. In addition, there is a heightened need to introduce new ways of instructing cybersecurity academic program to upscale the hands-on technical cybersecurity skills amongst university undergraduate students and thus improve a variety of technical skills such as digital forensics, incident response, reverse engineering, cryptography, penetration testing, and many more. This research study aims to design and develop the Cybersecurity Skills Performance Dashboard (CSPD) as a measurement tool for capacity building of cybersecurity professionals. It record

Interest in building dedicated quantum information science and engineering (QISE) education programs has greatly expanded in recent years. These programs are inherently convergent, complex, often resource intensive and likely require collaboration with a broad variety of stakeholders. In order to address this combination of challenges, we have captured ideas from many members in the community. This manuscript not only addresses policy makers and funding agencies (both public and private and from the regional to the international level) but also contains needs identified by industry leaders and discusses the difficulties inherent in creating an inclusive QISE curriculum. We report on the status of eighteen post-secondary education programs in QISE and provide guidance for building new programs. Lastly, we encourage the development of a comprehensive strategic plan for quantum education and workforce development as a means to make the most of the ongoing substantial investments being made in QISE., QN/Thijssen Group

Although secondary traumatic stress (STS) has garnered some attention in related human service fields, it has only recently begun to be investigated in child welfare. In this article I offer a detailed description of the problem of secondary traumatic stress (STS) in child welfare. The focus of this article is on child welfare in the United States; however the ideas and principles may cut across international systems of child protection. First I provide a background to justify a need for a continuing dialogue regarding STS and its impact on workers. I then provide a comprehensive review of the literature including both the current state of research and emerging theory regarding STS. Also, I offer a rationale for more research regarding the impact of STS on child welfare workers. The current state of the existing STS literature provides indicators of future needs, however still is filled with mainly gaps and silences. Note. Wrongly, on the original pdf the name 'Jeannette Rankin Hall' was mentioned as that of a co-author; the paper was only written by James C. Caringi. The second name is removed from the revised version.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed every aspect of healthcare delivery and training. Few studies have reported on the impact of these changes on the experiences, skill development, and career expectations of medical students.MethodUsing 59 responses to a short reflection essay prompt, 3rd year medical students in Philadelphia described how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their education in mid-2020. Using conventional content analysis, six main themes were identified across 14 codes.ResultsStudents reported concerns regarding their decreased clinical skill training and specialty exposure on their career development due to the loss of in-person experience during their family medicine clerkship. A small number felt very let down and exploited by the continued high cost of tuition while missing clinical interactions. However, many students also expressed professional pride and derived meaning from limited patient and mentorship opportunities. Many students developed a new sense of purpose and a call to become stronger public health and patient advocates.ConclusionsThe medical field will need to adapt to support medical students adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, from an educational and mental health standpoint. However, there are encouraging signs that this may also galvanize many students to engage in leadership roles in their communities, to become more empathetic and thoughtful physicians, and to redesign healthcare in the future to better meet the needs of their most vulnerable patients.

The manufacturing sector is integral to Ohio’s economy, as it employed about 698,000 workers and produced an estimated $106.9 billion in output in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report examines the subsequent effects of the pandemic on Ohio’s manufacturing industry by analyzing changes in its workforce and productivity between 2019 and 2020, as well as the strategies used by manufacturing companies to adapt to pandemic circumstances. We found that Ohio manufacturing employment decreased by 6.7% from 2019 to 2020, contrasting with an increase in GDP and productivity over the same period. This report explores possible explanations for these trends, including the shift to digitization in manufacturing and the pivot to PPE production during the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking forward to the future of manufacturing after COVID-19, we identify Ohio’s unique opportunities and challenges for continued growth in the sector, especially considering the consequences of continued technological adoption.

Community health workers (CHWs) are trusted members of the community who have an intimate understanding of the populations and communities they serve. They deliver culturally informed interventions to their communities and leverage their shared experiences and linguistic and cultural relationships to bridge their community to health care and social services. Historically successful in developing countries, CHWs promote chronic disease management, improve health outcomes, and reduce health care costs.Despite the evidence, CHWs are not widely utilized within the health care system. The National Academy of Medicine declares barriers to working with CHWs, such as inconsistent scope of practice, variable training and qualifications, and lack of professional recognition by other health care providers. States are investigating ways to standardize the CHW workforce, such as certification, to set workforce entry standards and integrate CHWs into health care systems.Currently, the CHW workforce faces a crossroads. One path leads to a standardized CHW workforce integrated into health care systems via formalized training and qualifications. The other path holds CHWs as part of the communities where they live and work, valuing their relationships and embodied knowledge. While both paths are options for the CHW workforce, CHWs and CHW stakeholders must determine if or how these two paths can coexist. California is the perfect case study because there is continued debate across CHW stakeholders about the stakes of certifying CHWs. California’s diverse CHW workforce represents varying CHW types with contrasting ideologies of care, such as clinical and community-based CHWs and promotores de salud, a subset of CHWs who primarily serve Latinx communities and are grounded in a social, rather than medical, model of care. California’s size and social characteristics pose implementation factors that are relevant for the diverse issues other states will have to address for their own CHW wo

Talent attraction and workforce development are urgent topics in Northeast Ohio, as many companies are finding it challenging to locate and attract necessary workers for open jobs. This dilemma spans across sectors: from the manufacturing industry finding appropriately skilled labor to professional services finding experienced IT staff. This research analyzes employment dynamics among Northeast Ohio (NEO) industries, so policymakers and economic development practitioners can utilize our findings and design programs to improve the economic conditions in the region. This report builds on The Center for Economic Development’s prior work, which identified NEO’s Groups of Regional Industry Drivers (GRIDs). These sectors are industries with strong productivity, growing output, high regional specialization, and local competitive advantage. GRID industries connect via supply chains; thus, GRIDs identification focuses on classifying industries that contribute the most to wealth creation. The following report discusses the jobs that are created by GRIDs and their supply chain industries to put forward a relevant discussion on these industries’ futures.

The Center analyzed the relationship between public transit availability and employment in the entry-level job hubs. Using a Poisson model for the Youngstown origin-destination matrix, we found that a 10-minute decrease in rush-hour travel times by public transit is expected to increase employment by almost 7%. This means that 224 more residents of each low-income census tract will have access to the entry-level job hubs in Youngstown. As transit agencies are experiencing major disruptions to normal operating procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings show that without access to public transportation many people lose prospective employment.

Workforce pipelines are essential to sustain a productive workforce in an increasingly competitive, high-tech environment. Advanced automation, sensors, materials and data analytics will increase the need for highly skilled workers in the manufacturing (and manufactured construction) sector. Attracting and developing the next-generation workforce is not without its challenges; however, students are often deficient in technical skills and generally have negative perceptions about manufacturing and construction. As a result, new education and training models have been developed to provide instruction at all levels of the educational system, with a focus on both traditional students and non-traditional students, including ethnic minorities, women, veterans, disabled persons and older adult learners. This study focused specifically on certain underrepresented students in STEM programs offered at community colleges in the Great Plains region of the U.S. An available online training program by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers was used as a contextualized online training tool. The Learning Management System embedded in this online training tool was used to gather student data. Conducting multiple regression analyses on the test outcomes, completion rates, and improvement between post-test and pre-test scores showed that female participants achieved greater improvement between pre- and post-test scores than males, and achieved higher rates of credentialing compared to all other demographic groups. African American participants achieved greatest improvement between pre- and post-test scores than all other ethnic groups while Hispanics achieved higher rates of module completion. Additionally, this study also examines the background related to contextualized teaching and learning, as well as the effectiveness of this delivery method for these underrepresented populations.

Formal mentoring programs are increasingly recognized as critical for faculty career development. We describe a mentoring academy (MA) developed for faculty across tracks (i.e., researchers, clinicians, educators) within a "school of health" encompassing schools of medicine and nursing. The program is anchored dually in a clinical and translational science center and a school of health. The structure includes the involvement of departmental and center mentoring directors to achieve widespread uptake and oversight. A fundamental resource provided by the MA includes providing workshops to enhance mentoring skills. Initiatives for junior faculty emphasize establishing and maintaining strong mentoring relationships and implementing individual development plans (IDPs) for career planning. We present self-report data on competency improvement from mentor workshops and data on resources and barriers identified by junior faculty (n = 222) in their IDPs. Mentors reported statistically significantly improved mentoring competency after workshop participation. Junior faculty most frequently identified mentors (61%) and collaborators (23%) as resources for goal attainment. Top barriers included insufficient time and time-management issues (57%), funding limitations (18%), work-life balance issues (18%), including inadequate time for self-care and career development activities. Our MA can serve as a model and roadmap for providing resources to faculty across traditional tracks within medical schools.

Nurturing undergraduate students' interest in careers in science, technology, engineering, and medicine is important to developing the future health-care workforce. Summer research internships provide experiential learning that is important to sustaining students' interest in science, technology, engineering, and medicine careers and inspiring higher educational goals. The Edmondson Summer Research Internship is a mentored program for undergraduate students in University of California Davis Health's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. To evaluate intern satisfaction, perceptions on the program's influence on their career development, and higher educational outcomes, 102 former interns from a 15-year period were invited to participate in an online survey. Responses were received by 58 (57%) of 102 respondents. Not all respondents answered every question. Overall satisfaction was very high/high in 55 (95%) of 58. Ninety-three percent (54/58) strongly agreed/agreed that the internship was an important part of their career development. Almost all who applied to career/professional opportunities strongly agree/agreed that they perceived the internship to be advantageous (96%, 46/48). Forty-four percent (25/57) received additional education after completing their undergraduate degree, with 25% (14/57) receiving a doctoral degree. Few reported prior experience with a clinical laboratory (8/48, 17%), pathologist (10/48, 21%), or clinical laboratory scientist (12/48, 25%). Based on their internship experience, 55% (32/58) strongly agree/agreed that they positively considered pathology or laboratory medicine as a career choice. The Edmondson Summer Research Internship is seen as important to higher educational goals and career development, increases exposure to pathology and laboratory medicine, and demonstrates the value of hosting a mentored research program for undergraduates.

IntroductionThe structure and capacity of the health workforce to address changing patterns of disease and emerging global health risks has become a significant policy issue within Australia and internationally. It has been argued within this environment it is now critical to rethink the way public health professionals are educated and developed, including the fostering of senior roles within the workforce to not only use, but generate, service-based research. Despite this, the potential role of professional doctorates to strengthen public health leadership to connect policy, practice and research has had scant attention in Australia.This paper reports on a longitudinal research study tracing the profile and experiences of doctoral candidates in one work-based professional doctorate offered through an Australian university. Begun in 2009 as an innovative collaboration between a government health system and the university, the Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) was designed to foster a cadre of senior public health leaders who could generate applied research to provide evidence-informed population health practices for the state. In 2013 the DrPH was opened to attract emerging health leaders more broadly, shifting the program to partnerships with a diversity of health services. It is within this evolving landscape of the program that the perspectives and formation of the doctoral candidates as public health leaders is considered.AimsThis research aims to illuminate the subjective experiences and outcomes of participating in a professional doctorate within the broader context of the field of public health within Australia. In particular it seeks to trace the ways in which the doctorate configures professional formation and capacities for taking up leadership roles within the workforce and the implications for health system strengthening and practice.MethodsThis study is being conducted as a longitudinal study tracing the learning and career trajectories of forty-five pr

This thesis investigated the preparedness of Australian pharmacists to respond to disasters affecting their local community. This research demonstrated that preparedness of pharmacists is complex, being made up of a multitude of internal factors including beliefs, experiences, knowledge, as well as external factors such as resources, and their professional environment. A new definition of disaster preparedness for pharmacists, and a concept map of preparedness were formulated as a result of this research. This research is a step forward in developing better resources and interventions to prepare the Australian pharmacy workforce for disasters.

This report reviews the current state of the co-working industry and its potential for growth according to current supply-demand relationships as it relates to larger economic movements and to the regional market for Cleveland, Ohio, and the surrounding area. The report analyzes factors that influence co-working growth and uptake and projects the likely state of the industry in coming years. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the nature and scope of co-working supply and demand and develops a typology that can identify benefits and approaches for distinct types of co-workers and co-working stakeholders.

Climate change is the greatest global public health challenge of the 21st century. The nature and extent of health impacts of climate change will vary widely from region to region and will be felt unequally among communities around the country. The local public health workforce is at the forefront in understanding, anticipating, and addressing the health effects of climate change for their jurisdiction. Global and national calls for action define the public health role and encourage action by all public health partners. However, climate adaptation continues to be a challenge for this sector and is not perceived as a key public health priority. This dissertation seeks to understand the level of engagement and activities undertaken by an engaged public health workforce that includes not just public health departments at the municipal, county, state, tribal, and territorial levels but also non-profit and private agencies that are a part of this sector (Appendix A). By focusing on those members of the workforce that are already acting on climate change, this study hopes to evaluate the use, accessibility, and relevance of available climate science. This dissertation also aims to understand the individual level behaviors, interactions, and collaborations which influence climate work at the local level and identify strategies to build the public health capacity for climate change adaptation (Appendix B). Finally, this study attempts to illustrate the role of academia in enhancing public health capacity for climate adaptation through both education and research (Appendix C). Ultimately, this dissertation fills a gap in public health adaptation to climate change and provides practical solutions to enhance public health capacity to prepare, manage, and respond to the health impacts of a changing climate. Methods: Three different methodologies are adopted to address these questions: online survey, key informant interviews, and review of graduate course curriculum. An online s

Today’s urban youth and/or teens are at risk due to many socio-emotional factors standing in the way of their development. Libraries for many years have provided significant organizational support unto offering ways to counterattack the possibility of negative-related outcomes. Library officials realize, however, that such institution needs rebranding to remain relatable to young adults while offering them alternatives against paths that lead to “juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.”1 The public continues to depend upon the library as a safe-haven for its youth. However, offering the physical library simply as place is not enough. Teens need education to help assist them in becoming well-informed adults. At the heart of its concept, “the connected learning model” suggests that education must speak to more than just the requirements needed to increase a teen’s college entry test score. Rather, information leaders must find ways to tap into the spirit of what drives a teen --- and often displayed as triune, connected learning takes into account a young person’s “peer culture, interests, and academic subjects.”2 Through the lens of Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design, this paper will shed light on why teens need libraries to: 1) bridge the growing digital and knowledge divide, 2) leverage teens’ motivation to learn, 3) provide workforce development training, and 4) serve as the connector between teens and other community agencies --- as suggested by the Young Adult Library Services Association during a year-long national forum (The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: Call to Action) conducted in 2013.

The fast-paced and changeable nature of contemporary society results in organizations that increasingly need to train their employees to become more energetic, flexible, and adaptable: the so called “agile” employees. This study used personal development portfolios including frequent feedback interviews (with mentors and peers) over 2.5 years to assist 32 employees working in an organization undergoing change to become more agile. A portfolio implies setting agility goals, recording and assessing progress in one's agility. Data were collected on employees' agility, and were related to their portfolio. Results showed that the portfolio use significantly increased employees' agility and significantly enhanced the agreement between self-rated and other-rated agility. Findings favor the use of development portfolios by organizations in improving agility among their employees. Therefore, this study gives tools for the practice of Human Resources Development (HRD).

Purpose Engaging trusted care providers and empowering them with information and skills about abortion is a critical opportunity to improve coordination of care for women seeking abortion, if and when these services are needed. Description Provide, a nonprofit that works in partnership with health and social service providers to build a health system that is equipped to respond to women's health care needs around abortion, launched a referrals training program in 2013. To assess the effectiveness of this training program, we conducted an evaluation of satisfaction with training and the impact of the intervention on provider knowledge of safety of abortion, self-efficacy to provide abortion referrals, and intention to provide pregnancy options counseling and referrals in the future. Assessment Approximately 90% of participants were "very satisfied" with their training experience. Results show significant increase in intention to provide non-judgmental pregnancy options counseling and referrals for abortion care after participants went through training. Post-training, significantly more reported that they would present all pregnancy options without judgment or bias (94 vs. 82%, p < .0001), provide a referral for abortion care if needed (80 vs. 50%, p < .0001), and follow-up with the client (71 vs. 39%, p < .0001). Further, more also reported they would refer a client for prenatal care if the client requested it (78 vs. 67%, p < .0001). Conclusion Our results suggest that abortion referrals training hold potential to build the capacity of health and social service providers' ability to meet client needs related to pregnancy and could be implemented at a larger scale.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to understand how schools of public health (SPHs) define and operationalize diversity and inclusion. Methods. Data were collected in February 2017 from publicly available websites for each of the 59 Council on Education in Public Health–accredited SPHs, including mission/vision, goals/strategic plans, and diversity statements. Mentions of diversity were quantified to generate the proportion of SPHs that explicitly address diversity or inclusion. As a related secondary point, mentions of equity were also considered. Results. One third of SPHs do not mention diversity, inclusion, or equity as central tenets of the school. Twenty percent do not mention strategic plans or goals related to diversity, inclusion, or equity. Only 12 of the 59 schools define what they mean by diversity. Conclusions. Recently released Council on Education in Public Health accreditation competencies point to a need for increased attention by SPHs to inclusion and equity. Currently, however, most SPHs do not have a clear definition of how they define diversity. Implications. Additional research is needed into how SPHs will evolve their conceptualizations of diversity, inclusion, and equity to meet the training needs of the next generation of public health professionals.