What is Workforce Education

Community colleges play a crucial role in developing a skilled workforce through preparation. The questions that this chapter addresses are: How are community colleges ensuring that they are addressing current workforce and industry needs? What evidence is there in the published scholarship? What is the process of continual program review to update career technical education and workforce education? To address the questions, a systematic literature review of the scholarship on workforce training at community colleges was conducted. The chapter illustrates the findings emerging from the literature review and particularly highlights 1) the changing focus of the community college, 2) the refinement of workforce education through program review, and 3) including student outcomes as part of program review. These findings incorporate an overview of the role community colleges play in workforce development and education while a focus on program review procedures speaks to the innovation, evolution, and future of workforce education.