Middle-skill jobs, which require education beyond high school but not a four-year degree, currently account for 57% of Louisiana’s labor market, but only 46% of the state’s workers are trained to the middle-skill level. Between 2014 and 2024, 54% of job openings in Louisiana will be middle-skill.1 According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, by 2020, 55.6% of all job openings in Louisiana will require some form of postsecondary education.2

According to the Board of Regents’ Response to Act 619, enacted in Louisiana’s 2016 Legislative Regular Session, 15% of good jobs (high demand and well paying) that will become available each year will require no formal education beyond a high school diploma or equivalency. Slightly more than half of the good jobs across Louisiana today and those that will become available each year require a community or technical college degree or other credential. Slightly more than 30% of good jobs in Louisiana requires a bachelor’s degree or higher.3

The “skills gap” makes it increasingly difficult for businesses to find qualified workers and remain economically competitive. This is especially true for high-demand occupational groups such as information technology and health services. Skilled craft occupations continue to experience acute labor shortages, partly as a result of the lack of emphasis on middle skills career education in past years and partly due to the ongoing boom in industrial construction, particularly along the I-10/I-12 corridor.

Louisiana’s middle skills challenge is systemic. Although the state is seeing gradual improvements in the key metrics of college and career-readiness, including ACT scores and the number of students earning college-credit qualifying scores on Advanced

MANY MILES TO GOWhat Louisiana Must Do ToFill the Middle Skills Gap

INSIDE:Louisiana’s Middle Skills Gap 1-2Education Equity and Excellence: Where is Louisiana today? • Quality Early Care & Education 3 • Elementary and Middle School Student Achievement 4 • High School Graduation Rates 5-6Growing a Ready Workforce • Jump Start 7-8

• Post-Secondary Attainment 8 • Basic Adult Education 8 Strategic Opportunities • Funding Early Care and Education 9 • Every Student Succeeds Act 9-10 • Work-Based Learning 10-11 • Adult Learning 11

2

Placement exams, Louisiana’s capacity to build and sustain a capable middle skilled workforce has been constrained by years of (a) inadequately funded education policies and programs, (b) lack of appropriate or necessary policies, and (c) the failure to lift all boats by ensuring an excellent education for historically disadvantaged children. The critical factors touch every level of the education pipeline, from birth to postsecondary education.

Meeting the middle-skills job demand will require that Louisiana do four things:

1. Make stronger investments in high-quality early care and education.

2. Raise the achievement levels of all students and narrow the sub-group achievement gaps.

3. Graduate more high school students, particularly African Americans, and ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to succeed in postsecondary education and the workplace. This includes providing more basic and advanced workforce-readiness credentials for historically disadvantaged students.

4. Better train and educate the adult learning population, particularly the population of 18-24 year-olds who have no high school diploma or equivalent.

Source: NSC analysis of long term occupational projections from state labor employment agency.

Source: NSC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics by State, May 2015 and American Community Survey data, 2015.

Job Openings by Skill Level, Louisiana, 2014-2024

Jobs by Skill Level, Louisiana, 2015

20% 26%

54%

High SkillMiddle SkillLow Skill

Source: NSC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics by State, May 2015.

16% 26%

57%

High SkillMiddle SkillLow Skill

High-Skill JobsHigh-Skill Workers

Middle-Skill JobsMiddle-Skill Workers

Low-Skill JobsLow-Skill Workers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Jobs and Workers by Skill Level, Louisiana, 2015

3

EDUCATION EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE:Where is Louisiana Today?

Access to Early Care & Education

1,50

7

3,10

6

4,02

9

15,7

43

37,7

67

42,2

33

42,5

85

41,8

10

41,6

99

43,1

83

Infants Ones Twos Threes FoursPublicly Funded Seats At-Risk Children

Gap =40,726

Gap =37,781

Gap =25,956

Gap =5,146

Gap =39,379

Source: Louisiana Department of Education

Funding Early Care & Education

39,381 38,207 33,441 25,662 20,180 15,779 14,819 12,719

FY 15/16 is 11 month average

Avg. per Month

45,000

40,000

35,000

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

CC

AP C

hild

ren

Per M

onth

08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16Fiscal Year

% Decline from Prior Year 3% 12% 23% 21% 22% 6% 14%

Source: Louisiana Department of Education

Quality Early Care & Education

Brain research has proven that high-quality early learning experiences in a child’s first five years after birth literally determine a child’s potential for future learning success. Public investments in early care and education yield as much as a 13% annual return on investment.4

Nearly half of Louisiana’s children enter kindergarten without the basic skills needed to succeed in school, and those who start behind are more likely to stay behind. As a result of the Early Childhood Education Act of 2012, Louisiana created a fully integrated, comprehensive network of publicly-funded providers of early care and education. The statewide network has uniform accountability and enrollment systems, which are resulting in more efficient service delivery and better preparation for kindergarten. Lacking are funding resources to ensure adequate access and quality of early care and education for at-risk children.

As is shown below, for at-risk children ages birth to three years old, there are critical gaps in access to publicly-funded early care and education services. The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides early care and education funding assistance to families in poverty, has been cut nearly 70% since 2009, resulting in 25,000 fewer families receiving CCAP support.5

For many parents in Louisiana the cost of child care outweighs the benefits of staying in the workforce, affecting a parent’s ability to work productively, stay in school, or enroll in training programs to lift their families out of poverty.6 Recent studies done in Louisiana and Michigan show that for many working parents with very young children the lack of affordable and accessible childcare is a significant barrier to workforce participation.The Louisiana study, Losing Ground- How Child Care Impacts Louisiana’s Workforce Productivity and the State Economy (2017), found that childcare instability has resulted in economic costs to Louisiana employers. Employee absences and turnover costs due to child care breakdowns cost Louisiana employers $816 million a year, and result in a $1.1 billion annual loss for the state’s economy.7

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

4

Elementary and Middle School Student Achievement

Louisiana is showing gradual improvement in the number of elementary and middle school students who score Mastery and above (on track to college-readiness) on high-stakes tests that measure proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Science. In the spring of 2017, approximately 54,501 students (averaged) were tested per grade level for grades 3-8 in ELA, Math, and Science. As is shown below, achievement levels increased slightly from 2015 to 2017.8

Subject2015 % at Mastery

and Above (all subjects)

2016 % at Mastery and Above (all subjects)

2017 % at Mastery and Above (all subjects)

Growth from 2015 to 2017

English Language Arts 37 41 42 +5Math 30 34 32 +2

Science 22 24 24 +2

In spite of modest gains overall, and as Superintendent of Education John White noted, “The results provide further evidence that we must do more to close gaps that persist between historically disadvantaged students and their peers.”

In Louisiana, African American students make up 44% of total enrollment, Students with Disabilities make up 11.7% of enrollment, and 71.6 of all students are Economically Disadvantaged. As is shown below, for students scoring Mastery and above, the gaps between historically disadvantaged students and their peers have remained relatively constant over the past three years. In fact, in 2017 the achievement gap between White and African American students widened by one percentage point. Equally concerning is the fact that only 1 in 10 Students with Disabilities and 1 in 5 African American elementary and middle school students are achieving Mastery and above. 9

Subgroup 2015% Mastery and Above

2016% Mastery and Above

2017% Mastery and Above

Growth

Not Economically Disadvantaged

48 53 52 4

Economically Disadvantaged 21 25 25 4Difference 27 28 27 0

White 42 45 45 3African American 17 20 19 2

Difference 25 25 26 1

Students without Disabilities 32 35 35 3Students with Disabilities 9 10 11 2

Difference 23 25 24 1

English Proficient Students 30 33 33 3Students with Limited English

Proficiency12 14 13 1

Difference 18 19 20 2

5

High School Graduation Rates

Louisiana’s 2015-2016 cohort graduation rate stands at 77.0%.

• While cohort rates for all students have gradually climbed over the past five years, the current rate is slightly down from the prior year (77.5%).

• Although the number of students graduating with a credentialed diploma is increasing, more than 11,000 students in the Class of 2016 did not graduate on time.10

• Twenty-four of Louisiana’s 69 school districts (excluding Recovery School Districts of Baton Rouge and Louisiana), have a cohort rate of at least 85%. In 2005, only two districts had achieved that distinction. Forty-four districts have rates that declined over the past year.11

In 2015-2016, rates for African Americans and Economically Disadvantaged students remained relatively the same over the prior year.

Although the graduation rate for White students declined by 7%, it continues to be substantially higher than that of other subgroups.12

Student Group 2015-2016 Cohort Rate

2014-2015 Cohort Rate

Percentage Change

African American 71.4% 71.4% ----

Economically Disadvantaged 71.2% 70.8% .4

Students with Disabilities 45.1% 44.3% .8

White 82.0 % 82.7% -.7

• For the class of 2016, African-American students in Louisiana public schools had a statewide cohort graduation rate of 71.4 percent—10.6 percentage points below the graduation rate for White students.

• Among African-American male students in Louisiana, the high school graduation rate is 64.3% or 12.7 percentage points below the statewide rate for all students.

The state’s six largest school districts, Caddo, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Calcasieu, Lafayette, and St. Tammany Parish, make up 32.3% of the state’s total enrollment of 721,197 and more than a third (33.9%) of statewide African American student enrollment.13

• St. Tammy, which has the lowest percentage of African American students (18.7%) and the lowest percentage of Economically Disadvantaged students (51.7%) among the top six districts, has the highest graduation rate (82.8%) among the top six.

• East Baton Rouge, which has the highest percentage of African American enrollment (76.1%) and the highest percentage of Economically Disadvantaged students (87.2%), has the lowest cohort rate (67.8%)among the top six districts.

• East Baton Rouge has the distinction of being the only school district in Louisiana whose cohort graduation rate has been below 70% every year since 2005.

6

Enrollment and 2016 Cohort Rates of Six Largest School Districts14

District Enrollment African American AA % of District AA Cohort % Economically Enrollment District Cohort Rate Rate DisadvantagedCaddo 40,091 25,631 63.9 73.6 70.0 72.7Calcasieu 33,009 10,981 33.3 80.4 71.4 63.0East Baton Rouge 41,032 31,235 76.1 67.8 66.1 87.2Jefferson 49,441 19,569 39.6 75.7 76.7 79.6Lafayette 30,547 12,743 41.7 75.0 68.1 70.7St. Tammany 38,709 7,252 18.7 82.8 76.6 51.7Total 232,829 107,411Total Statewide 721,197 316,598

The equity and excellence gaps in these three areas – Early Care and Education, Elementary and Middle School Student Achievement, and High School Graduation Rates – represent Louisiana’s long road ahead. Although state budget shortfalls will no doubt remain a major problem for several years to come, the State Legislature must make adequate funding for early care and education a higher priority. The Department of Education and local school districts must quicken the pace of narrowing the gaps in student achievement and high school graduation rates if Louisiana is going to succeed in meeting the growing demand for a qualified middle skills workforce.

Growing a Ready WorkforceLouisiana’s education, business, and community partners continue to innovate and make strategic investments to meet the growing demand for qualified workers. The scope and level of public-private collaborations and partnerships to address this challenge is unprecedented for Louisiana. In some cases, the state is a model for the nation.

Programs such as LED FastStart through the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Louisiana Star Jobs offered through the Louisiana Workforce

Commission (LWC), and Customized Business & Industry Training services provided through the Louisiana Community and Technical College System are making great strides in training workers in high-demand occupations while connecting workers to high-demand job opportunities.

The LWC recently launched the formation of regional sector partnerships across the state, a strategy that will help workers to better prepare for middle skill jobs and help employers to find skilled workers.

Regional and local career-readiness initiatives such as YouthForce NOLA are partnering with schools and businesses to provide in-school youth with skills and real world work experiences to succeed in high-demand jobs.

In 2016, a consortium of business leaders, in collaboration with state agency partners, launched Louisiana Calling, a multiyear public messaging campaign designed to help students and workers learn about and connect to high-demand, high-growth career pathways and job opportunities.

7

Act 392 of the 2017 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature created the Louisiana Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Advisory Council (LaSTEM) under the auspices of the Board of Regents to:

- coordinate and oversee the creation, delivery, and promotion of STEM education programs,

- increase interest and achievement in the fields of STEM,

- ensure the alignment of education, economic development, industry, and workforce needs,

- and increase the number of women who graduate with a STEM degree or credential.

Jump StartLouisiana’s most promising work-readiness initiative is Jump Start. Under the leadership of State Superintendent John White, the Louisiana Department of Education established Jump Start in 2014 to better prepare public school students to graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills required for employment. Jump Start programs fulfill and replace Career and Technical Education (CTE) areas of concentration by prescribing the academic preparation and CTE courses and training experiences by which students will meet the requirements to attain a high school diploma and earn industry credentials.

Jump Start programs are designed to prepare students to earn statewide industry-based certifications (IBCs) aligned with high-growth, high-wage job sectors as approved by the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council. Pathways preparing students to earn statewide IBCs are augmented by regionally-relevant CTE programs jointly developed by local stakeholders and approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Thus, Jump Start prepares students to participate in high-growth, high-wage and regionally-relevant job sectors while enabling them to continue their post-secondary education and career development.15

Credentials are provided at two levels:16

(1) Basic Statewide Credentials indicate that a student has attained a basic proficiency with an industry-valued skill set recognized by the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council. An example would be a student

completing a college-level course aligned to TOPS, the state-financed college tuition scholarship program, or which earns a NCCER Welding Level 1 certificate.

(2) Advanced Statewide Credentials indicate that a student has attained advanced industry-valued skills. An example would be a student earning college credit in a college-level course aligned to TOPS or earns a NCCER Welding Leveling 2 certificate.

Students who earn a Basic or Advanced high-demand industry-based credential earn from $3,000 to $8,000 more in starting salary than students in lower-demand industry sectors.17

While nearly half of high school graduates in Louisiana are earning a credential during high school, this opportunity is not being experienced equally by all students. Economically Disadvantaged students, African Americans, and Students with Disabilities have less access to college or career opportunities than their peers.18

Louisiana is expected to fully implement Jump Start by the start of the 2017-2018 school year. In January 2017 the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and JP Morgan Chase announced that Louisiana was one of 10 states to receive a three-year, $2 million grant through phase two of the New Skills for Youth (NSFY) grant program to strengthen and expand career-education pathways. The phase two grant funds will be used to expand Jump Start through stronger employer engagement and expanded pathways that lead to student success.

37

30

26

11

2013

Students Who Received Advanced + Basic Credentials

All Students Economically DisadvantagedAfrican American Students wtih Disabilities

50

40

30

20

10

0

42

33

30

15

2014

41

32

29

12

2015

43

34

30

13

2016

+6%

+4%+4%

+2%

8

To ensure that students make the best possible career choices and course selections, both students and parents must be well-informed about career options. In 2015 the Louisiana Department of Education launched All Things Jump Start (http://www.louisiana believes.com/courses/all-things-jump-start), a new online portal to give student and teachers greater access to career counseling and career education resources. Among these are online systems such as Nepris (www.Nepris.com), and Kuder Navigator (www.KuderNaviagor.com). In addition, Career Compass, a Louisiana non-profit organization, works through local districts to provide career counseling to students.19

Post-Secondary Attainment

Louisiana’s workforce and economic growth capacity is further challenged by low educational achievement among its adult citizens.

• According to a Board of Regents 2011 Master Plan, approximately 56% of all adults in Louisiana have not attended college.20

• Approximately 100,000 (21%) of Louisiana citizens ages 18 to 24 years old do not have at least a high school diploma, ranking the state 45th in the United States for 18 to 24 year olds with a high school diploma or equivalent. 21

• There are approximately 600,000 adults ages 25-64 years old in Louisiana who do not have a high school diploma or GED. It is estimated that 44% of these individuals are not participating in the workforce. 22

• According to the National Center for Higher Education Management (NCHEMS), Louisiana ranks 49th in educational attainment with only 29.1% of working-aged residents, 25-64 years, possessing an associate’s degree or higher. In order to reach the average educational attainment rate for southern states, Louisiana will need to increase the percentage of adults with some college from 29.1% to 46.6% by 2025, an increase of 148,277 credentials.23

Ben Kennedy, President and Founder of Kennedy & Company Education Strategies LLC, notes that: 24

- Between 2010 and 2013, the adult population in Louisiana holding a bachelor’s degree or higher increased 8.8 percent, from 598,000 adults ages 25 and older in 2010 to over 650,000 in 2013.

- Although Louisiana’s share of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher is increasing, the state continues to house a larger, “latent” population of adults with an associate’s degree or less (2.3 million).

- Nearly three in four adults in Louisiana do not have a postsecondary credential.

- One in five adults has college experience, but no degree.

- More than half of adult learners ages 24 and older attending four-year public institutions in Louisiana fail to graduate in six years.

Kennedy suggests that states that are successful in mobilizing their adult learner population are those which streamline their transfer process and implement more student-friendly student services operations.25

Basic Adult Education

Louisiana’s adult education and literacy programs are provided through Work Ready U at the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. The program is jointly funded with approximately $7 million through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and $4 million of state funds. Nationally, and despite the demand for and potential of these programs, federal investments in adult basic education serve fewer than 2 million adults annually. These investments have declined by roughly 20 percent since 2005 and the number of individuals served has declined by 1 million (30 percent) since 2000.26

9

Strategic OpportunitiesTogether, the ongoing reforms in early care and education, school performance, and college/career readiness create a timely window of opportunity for Louisiana to close the gaps in its education pipeline and strengthen the economic competitiveness of business and industry. The following four strategies are a rare opportunity to effect positive, systemic change not only in how well we educate our children but in how we sustain and grow a strong, capable workforce:

1. Adequately fund the statewide network of early care and education, particularly for at-risk children and low-income families.

2. Ensure that implementation of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act achieves the intended goal of providing an excellent education for all public school children.

3. Expand work-based learning programs in every school district for in-school youth and at least regionally for out-of-school youth.

4. Adopt adult learning best practice models that are producing strong outcomes in other states.

Opportunity #1: Funding Early Care and Education

In response to several legislative requests related to funding the early care and education system, the Louisiana Department of Education created a funding model that identified the need for $80 million to improve kindergarten readiness, provide equitable quality across all early care and education providers, and ensure a seat for all at-risk four-year olds whose family chooses one. In 2015, House Concurrent Resolution 174 urged BESE to identify funding sources and a funding strategy to fully implement the Early Childhood Education Act of 2012 (Act 3) in accordance with the funding model. An Ad Hoc Funding Work Group of the Early Childhood Care and Education Advisory Council studied the issue and responded with a recommended funding target of $55 million for 2016-2017.

The work group also identified potential funding sources to implement the model, all of which remain viable options for Louisiana to consider:27

• Reallocating existing federal TANF funds to support upgrading quality in child care.

• Reallocating State General Funds to early care and education by including child care and Pre-K in the current Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence program. As the state budget improves, allocate additional State General Funds to early childhood.

• Dedicate current and future revenue source(s) to early childhood, such as reserving between 5 – 10 percent of any reduction in tax credits or deductions, reserving a portion of any increases in tax revenues, and creating new revenue streams for early childhood as exist in other states, such as tobacco and cigarette taxes, gambling taxes, beer and soft drink taxes, lottery funds, etc.

• Explore innovative options such as Social Impact Bond initiatives and municipal bond financing, and explore adding Pre-K into the Minimum Foundation Program, while ensuring the availability of diverse delivery settings.

Opportunity #2: Every Student Succeeds Act

Louisiana’s best opportunity to address gaps in K-12 education equity and excellence is through implementation of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The U.S. Department of Education approved Louisiana’s ESSA plan in August 2017. The plan addresses requirements mandated by law and tied

10

to the receipt of millions of dollars of federal funding intended to increase student achievement and ensure equitable student access to a high-quality education. Although Louisiana has not received official notice of the total annual amount of ESSA funding allocated to the state, preliminary allocations total at least $396 million a year, a significant portion of which will be Title I funds targeted to educating disadvantaged students.

The state’s ESSA Plan and a description of its process for awarding grants to local districts to turn around persistently struggling schools can be found at http://www.louisianabelieves.com/schools/school-redesign. The following is a brief summary of the grant-making process:28

ESSA requires that school systems and the state intervene to improve persistently struggling schools.

• The Louisiana Department of Education is required to:

- Identify persistently struggling schools - Award school improvement set aside dollars to

school systems that have strong evidence-based plans for improving struggling schools

- Intervene in schools that do not improve over time

• Local School District are required to: - Develop an evidence-based school improvement

plan for each struggling school within their school system

- Engage local stakeholders in the development of the plan

In 2016, more than 15,800 fewer Louisiana students attended D and F schools than in 2013. However, a sizable number of schools continually struggle to provide an excellent education to students. Fourteen percent of all Louisiana students, nearly 102,000 students, attend persistently struggling schools. These students are more likely to be low income (90%, compared to 71% state average) and minority (85%, compared to 55% state average).29

Persistently struggling schools are included on the state’s School Redesign List and are eligible for Title I ESSA funding.30

• 239 schools, 18% of all schools, received a letter grade of D or F in each of the 2014, 2015, and 2016

school years and/or had a 2015 cohort graduation rate below 67%.

Combination Schools

Elem/Middle School

High Schools

Total

Number 35 165 39 239Percent 15% 69% 16% 100%

Districts with the largest number of schools on the School Redesign List include:

School System Schools Caddo Parish 25 Calcasieu Parish 9 City of Monroe School District 9 East Baton Rouge All (EBR Parish + RSD BR Schools)

34

Jefferson Parish 10 Orleans All (Orleans Parish + RSD NO Schools) 15 Rapides Parish 12 St. Landry Parish 11 Total 125

All school systems with schools listed on the School Redesign List must submit a school improvement grant application to the Department of Education in one of two rounds. Applications for the first round are due September 29, 2017. Grants for the first round will be awarded on January 23, 2018. Applications for the second round are due in March 2018, with awards given in the summer of 2018.

Opportunity #3: Work-Based Learning

One of the more effective strategies for preparing youth to earn certified skills in high-growth jobs sectors is the use of work-based learning (WBL) programs. These could include paid or unpaid internships, mentorships, on-the-job training programs, apprenticeships, and other models. WBL is training that is employer-based -- taking place while the youth or young adult is working directly with the employer and/or receiving classroom instruction, mentor guidance, or training in order to gain skills that would lead to certification or permanent employment. Internships provide the added benefit

11

of lowering business costs by reducing employee turnover and eliminating sunk training costs. • Many successful work-based learning programs

are operated by an intermediary, and entity that functions as the employer of record – hiring the youth and assuming all responsibility for insurance and workers’ compensation. The intermediary also brings all key stakeholders together to plan the startup and operation of the WBL program.31

• One of the most successful intermediary models is the Manufacturing Careers Internship Program (MCIP) operated by Business and Career Services, Inc. in Northeast Illinois. At MCIP, youth participate in a four-week boot camp session, where they learn soft skills and job preparation training and receive OSHA-10 and forklift credentials. After boot camp, participants enter and eight-week paid internship program with an employer. A video of the MCIP program can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= ue6NBCeNZxw.32

• Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requires that workforce development boards spend at least 20 percent of youth funds to support “work experiences” for out-of-school youth 16-24 years old. Expanded workplace experience opportunities are also an objective of Jump Start through the Louisiana New Skills for Youth Phase II Grant.

• Work-based learning programs rely on partnerships between businesses, community-based organiza-tions, local workforce development boards, and secondary / postsecondary schools to provide needed support services. Whether the WBL program is provided by an intermediary or directly by an employer, the success of the program requires extensive employer engagement. Strategies must be in place to recruit businesses with the promise of having more skilled individuals to fill high-demand jobs.

Opportunity #4: Adult Learning

Strong adult education programs can be effective tools for upgrading the skills of working age adults, enabling them to qualify for middle skill jobs. Adult education can function in two ways: 33

1. As a sequential building block that prepares individuals for the next step in their education and training

2. As a simultaneous model that allows people to build basic skills and participate in occupational training at the same time

States have a range of policy options for serving young adults with skill gaps and/or those who are not securely attached to the labor market. To determine the best option for Louisiana, it is recommended that the state establish a study group of stakeholders who can examine Louisiana’s landscape, opportunities, and barriers, and identify policies that are the best fit and offer the best return on investment.

Louisiana should also explore the benefit and practicality of formally establishing a statewide network of community support organizations to expand and strengthen outreach toward individuals who are in need of basic adult education. The network can also serve to identify barriers to adult learning, facilitate the delivery of support services, and provide financial resources to help augment the limited availability of publicly-supported adult education services.

412 N. Fourth Street, Suite 104A | Baton Rouge, LA 70802 | 225.383.3844www.ednexthorizon.org | John Warner Smith, CEO | jsmith@lanexthorizon.org

Education‘s Next Horizon is a convener, advocate and honest broker —

a group dedicated to framing the debate on top education issues and

connecting Louisiana‘s education, government and business leadership

as a force supporting school improvement.

Credits and Sources:1 National Skills Coalition, “Louisiana’s Forgotten Middle.”2 Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

“Recovery: Job Growth and Educational Requirements through 2010.”

3 Louisiana Board of Regents, “Response to Act 619 of the 2016 Regular Session of the Louisiana State Legislature.”

4 Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, http://www.policyinstitute-la.org/take-action.

5 Louisiana Department of Education. 6 Louisiana Policy Institute for Children.7 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, “How Childcare Strength-

ens Today’s Workforce.”8 Louisiana Department of Education.9 Ibid.10 Ibid.11 Ibid.12 Ibid.13 Ibid.14 Ibid.15 Ibid.16 Ibid.

17 Ibid.18 Ibid.19 Ibid.20 Louisiana Board of Regents 2011 Master Plan.21 Louisiana Community & Technical College System, WorkReady U.

“Moving Adult Education Forward.”22 Ibid.23 Louisiana Board of Regents, “Response to Act 619 of the 2016

Regular Session of the Louisiana State Legislature.”24 Kennedy & Company Education Strategies LLC. “Narrowing the

Gaps in Louisiana’s Adult Learner and Transfer Market. 2015.25 Ibid.26 National Skills Coalition.27 Louisiana Department of Education.28 Ibid.29 Ibid.30 Ibid31 National Skills Coalition, “Promising Practices in Work-Based

Learning for Youth.”32 Ibid33 National Skills Coalition, “Adult Education: A Crucial Foundation

for Middle-Skill Jobs.”

Special thanks to these organizations for their generous support