News and Ideas from the World of Workforce Programs and Services

In the mid-twentieth century most young people went to school and afterwards enjoyed more-or-less lifetime employment—threatened now and then by cyclic recessions or economic slowdowns. Then they retired to Florida. America's existing workforce policies reflect this reality. That's why we have:

  • Free public schooling for youth but not adults
  • Academic versus vocational learning
  • Unemployment insurance
  • Retirement at age 65 with ""defined benefit"" pensions provided by employers
  • Large and powerful unions negotiating with large and powerful old line industries and public agencies
  • Government aid programs targeted by race, age, gender, income, industry sector and more.

The future promises to be much different. The new century will be characterized by:
  • Skill and labor shortages
  • Frequent job and career changes
  • Constant learning to update skills
  • Portable pensions and health insurance
  • Labor force participation by individuals well past current notions of retirement age
  • Less distinction between education, work life, and leisure activities

This new landscape will require the overhaul and maybe the replacement of many current government programs and corporate human resource practices.

The Arbor Workforce Institute will explore this process of change-from a focused perspective. Our goal is not to research issues but rather to put you in touch, through links to relevant Web sites, with the best thinking on the shape of the American workforce of tomorrow. From there we will explore in occasional topical essays how these forces might influence the policy and programmatic decisions of elected officials at all levels of government, education officials (both elected and career), workforce boards and business associations, One-Stop staff, and others.

To keep this page contemporary and cutting edge, we will ask noted experts to join us in developing the topics we choose. We are interested in the insights of educators, researchers, futurists and practitioners. If you are interested in helping us develop a topic or would like to suggest an individual or organization, contact us at Workforce Institute.