Adult Training and Education: Results from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2016. First Look.

This First Look report from the National Center for Education Statistics provides selected key findings on adults' attainment of nondegree credentials (licenses, certifications, and postsecondary certificates), and their completion of work experience programs such as apprenticeships and internships.

Author(s)
Stephanie Cronen
Meghan McQuiggan
Emily Isenberg
Author(s) Organizational Affiliation
American Institutes for Research
Publication Year
2018
Resource Type
Research
Number of Pages
45
Abstract

This report presents data on adults’ training and education in the United States as of 2016. The report focuses on nondegree credentials and work experience programs. Nondegree credentials include two types of work credentials—certifications and licenses—and postsecondary educational certificates. Work experience programs include internships, co-ops, practicums, clerkships, externships, residencies, clinical experiences, apprenticeships, and similar programs. Characteristics of the adults who earn these credentials and complete these programs are also presented, including sex, race/ethnicity, age, level of education, labor force and employment status, earnings, job sector, and occupational field.

Readers are cautioned not to draw causal inferences based on the results presented. It is important to note that many of the variables examined in the report may be related to one another, and complex interactions and relationships among the variables have not been explored. The variables examined are just a few of the variables that can be examined in these data; they were selected to demonstrate the range of information available from the study. The release of the report is intended to encourage more in-depth analysis of the data using more sophisticated statistical methods.

This report (NCES 2017-103rev) is revised from an earlier version (NCES 2017-103) that was released in September 2017. This updated version corrects an error in the row header for occupational field in tables 1, 2, and 5 to specify that estimates are among adults who were ever employed. All estimates presented in the report remain unchanged.

The appendices include technical notes, glossary, and standard error tables.

Benefits and Uses

This report provides policymakers with information about the prevalence of nondegree work credentials, the type of work they are for, the perceptions of the usefulness of these credentials in the labor market, and the role of postsecondary education programs in preparing adults for these credentials. It also provides policymakers with information about the characteristics of participants in these programs. The descriptive statistics direct researchers toward potentially useful lines of inquiry.

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