These reports are a product of the Harvard Project on Workforce’s Summer Fellowship Program. In Summer 2023, the Project on Workforce hosted Summer Fellows from Harvard's policy, business, and education graduate schools. Our fellows worked in cross-sector teams and collaborated alongside leading organizations in the field. These reports highlight their key learnings and findings. The views expressed in these reports are the sole responsibility of the Summer Fellows and are not meant to represent the views of the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, or any of the summer fellowship collaborators. The Project on Workforce would like to thank the Capital One Foundation for their support for the Summer Fellows program.
The Path Forward for Non-Degree Credentials
Summer Fellows with the Strada Education Network discuss the types of non-degree credential offerings available at eleven colleges and universities and the extent to which those NDCs deliver on the promise of better jobs.
By: Emily Demsetz (HGSE ‘24), Mannat Singh (HKS ‘24), Athena Tassis (HGSE ‘23)
Building the U.S. Construction Workforce
Summer Fellows with the U.S. Department of Transportation analyze and discuss best practices that unions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies have taken to recruit and retain women, opportunity youth, and people with disabilities in construction trades.
By: Rachel Snyder (HKS ‘23), Richard Flahive (HKS ‘23), Tracey Matheny (HGSE '23)
Friends in Both Places: An investigation into Best Practices for Community College and Employer Partnerships
Summer Fellows with the Education Design Lab highlight similarities among successful college-workforce partnerships and contribute to the growing body of literature on the subject by identifying five key employer partnership best practices that have been central to successful community college initiatives.
By: Hector Ortiz Domenech (HKS ‘24), Nandini Thogarapalli (HKS ‘24), Cole Wilson (HGSE '23)
Supporting Earners as Learners
Summer Fellows with Education Design Lab offer five recommendations, including focusing on the needs of small to medium-sized employers, building diverse partnerships, centering employees' needs, supporting communities of practice, and offering comprehensive services tailored to employers.
By: Laney Umland (HGSE ‘23), Jennifer Walker (HBS ‘24), Eliazar Chacha (HKS '23)
Expanding Youth Apprenticeships
Summer Fellows with the U.S. Department of Labor examine six factors which have contributed to the under-enrollment of young people ages 16-18 in apprenticeships. They recommend three high-impact strategies to increase participation in youth apprenticeships.
By: Adeola Lawal (HGSE ‘23), Charlie Meynet (HKS ‘24), Krizia Lopez (HKS '23)
Improving Employment Outcomes Through Continuing Education
Summer Fellows with the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology discuss their evaluation framework and recommendations for higher education institutions seeking to deliver meaningful economic benefits for continuing education students.
By: Kathryn Grice (HKS ‘23),
Yeti Khim (HKS ‘23), Kimberly Turner (HKS Postdoctoral Fellow '23)
These reports are a product of the Harvard Project on Workforce’s Summer Fellowship Program, a short-term research and policy opportunity for Harvard graduate students and recent alumni from the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Summer fellows are placed in interdisciplinary, cross-school project teams over the course of the summer and complete projects focused on pressing policy or operational challenges at the intersection of education, labor markets, and workforce development. The Fellowship Program also provides students with opportunities for professional development and engagement with staff and faculty at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, the Managing the Future of Work Project at Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The views expressed in this report are the sole responsibility of the Summer Fellows and are not meant to represent the views of the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, or any other organization or government entity mentioned in the reports.