Closing the Gap: Variations in State Approaches to Postsecondary and Workforce Alignment

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

State and federal policymakers increasingly prioritize aligning postsecondary education and workforce development to meet labor market demands while delivering economic opportunity to learners. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) provides a key framework for this alignment, requiring states to develop strategic plans, identify in-demand occupations, and approve training providers. Yet limited systematic evidence examines whether state planning processes effectively connect training capacity to workforce needs—or whether sub-baccalaureate credentials lead to quality employment. This panel presents four complementary studies investigating  education-workforce alignment variations across U.S. states through the lens of WIOA policy, addressing four interconnected questions: (1) What strategies do states emphasize in WIOA plans to align education and workforce systems, and which correlate with stronger outcomes? (2) Who are workforce training providers, and what do they train for beyond WIOA-eligible programs? (3) Do states accurately identify in-demand occupations and align eligible training provider (ETP) programs with high-quality jobs?, and (4) To what extent are sub-baccalaureate systems aligned with high-quality, in-demand (HQID) occupations, and how sensitive are alignment measures to definitional choices? The panel employs complementary methodologies. Paper 1 uses mixed-methods content analysis with large language modeling to examine WIOA plans from 50 states across multiple planning cycles (2016–2024), testing which strategies correlate with credential production in high-demand fields. Paper 2 introduces updates to the Workforce Almanac, a novel dataset integrating over 20,000 training providers and 200,000 programs across WIOA-eligible providers, community colleges, apprenticeships, and nonprofit organizations—enabling cross-sector analysis typically conducted in isolation. Paper 3 analyzes all 56 WIOA plans (2024–2027), comparing plan-defined in-demand occupations to state workforce projections and ETP program offerings using state and national eligible training provider lists (ETPLs), Bureau of Labor Statistics, and MIT Living Wage data. Paper 4 constructs a nine-year, 50-state panel dataset integrating IPEDS completions, occupational projections, and wage data, introducing a sensitivity matrix with seven high-quality, in-demand definitions and dual supply allocation models. Together, the papers reveal not only varying state approaches to postsecondary and workforce alignment but where misalignment is occurring, holding implications for how workforce investments connect learners to quality employment opportunities.

Policy Area

• Employment and Training Programs

Chair

• Andrea Kirk, Opportunity@Work

Discussant

• Kerry McKittrick, Harvard University

Organizer

• Elaine W. Leigh, RAND Corporation

Individual Presentations

• “High-Impact” Strategies to Align Higher Education and Workforce Development Systems: Evidence from State WIOA Plans - Presenting Author: Jeremy Wright-Kim, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Laura Andrea Rodriguez Lora, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Guan-Fu Chou, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Elaine W. Leigh, RAND Corporation

• Gaps in State Workforce Priorities, Needs, and Training Programs - Presenting Author: Elaine W. Leigh, RAND Corporation; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Alexis Gable, RAND Corporation

• Updating the Workforce Almanac: Who are Eligible Training Providers and What Do They Train For? - Presenting Author: Alexis Gable, RAND Corporation

• Definitions Matter: Are There Enough Good Jobs for Credential Holders Without a Four-Year Degree? - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Jeremy Wright-Kim, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Presenting Author: Guan-Fu Chou, University of Michigan Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Elaine W. Leigh, RAND Corporation