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U.S. Department of Labor
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2003 Biennial National Research Conference


The ETA national research conference is held every two years and focuses on issues related to trends, challenges and impacts of the macro-economy to workforce investment, significant of recent changes in workforce investment, workforce competitiveness in the global economy, changing business requirements, workforce security in our new economy, and major policy options to increase productivity by meeting the skill needs of business and promoting economic opportunities for the United States workforce. It is an opportunity for ETA and other interested parties to keep abreast of new research in the workforce development field.

The research conference also serves as an important source of information in the development of the
ETA Five Year Research Plan. The research plan, which ETA prepares every two years, provides a strategic vision for research efforts based upon extensive input from stakeholder, a review of recent research efforts, an identification of areas where future research may be needed, and a review of possible research methodologies.

Previous Research Conference

2003:A Compilation of Selected Papers from 2003 Biennial National Research Conference (http://wdr.doleta.gov/conference/pdf/BOOK1.pdf) is available for download. This book contains selected papers from the 2003 Biennial Research Conference held in Washington, DC, in early June 2003. The papers cover a wide range of topics from front-line decision support and worker profiling to faith-based services and workforce investment programs for former welfare recipients.

2001:Conference Papers (summaries and full-text) from the 2001 Workforce Network Research Conference are available for you to download. The papers address a wide range of policy and program issues, in some cases documenting program practices. Issues include unemployment insurance, welfare to work, employment services, training and skill development, and labor market policy and development. Some of the research papers provide specific applications to women, older workers and low-wage workers.