A study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that 24 million Americans in the workforce have low literacy skills, and nearly 46 million Americans struggle with numeracy. This skills deficit negatively impacts not only the individuals, but their families and communities, as well. Conversely, data suggests that higher skills are linked to improved economic and social outcomes, including better employment, earnings, health, social mobility, and civic engagement. This report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education offers seven strategies that have the potential to improve conditions that perpetuate poor literacy and numeracy skills. These strategies are based on the principle that America’s skills challenge is too large to be addressed by any one stakeholder, and that a solution must come from a group effort.

A substantial skills gap exists between the education and training of the labor force and the needs of employers in many high growth industries, including healthcare and manufacturing. This gap results in unemployment while good paying jobs go unfilled. At the same time, many low-skilled adults persist in low wage work with little opportunity for advancement.

Career pathways programs, like the Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Program, are an approach to fill a vital need for skilled workers in the economy and offer low-wage workers the opportunity to obtain occupational and other skills and advance into the middle class.

This brief was produced by Abt Associates as part of the Innovative Strategies to Increase Self-Sufficiency (ISIS) project, a random assignment evaluation of nine promising career pathways programs that aim to improve employment and self-sufficiency outcomes for low-income, low-skilled individuals. (author abstract)

The U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics released a report examining the basic skills of American adults by demographic and other socioeconomic factors including race, educational attainment, foreign status, and age. This critical information will allow for the design of smarter, more effective policy solutions that improve the skills of American adults and youth.