Talent Hubs’ Post

🆕 Resource from Iris Palmer and Sarah Nzau for New America: Strategies for #CommunityColleges to Build the #Workforce of the Future 🎓Community colleges are at the forefront of efforts to train workers, address workforce gaps, and prepare for future job demands. Aligning workforce development with regional economic development strategies is crucial, especially as technology reshapes workplaces, requiring workers to reskill. ❓Unfortunately, many community colleges lack the strategic capacity to align #workforce training to longer-term regional #economicdevelopment. This is particularly true for #emergingfields or changing occupations, including the #innovationeconomy. 💡Some community colleges, however, have the strategic vision and organization to bridge this gap. They equip workers with the necessary current #skills while fostering lifelong learning, supporting immediate #employment, and long-term career advancement. Columbus State Community College is one of those colleges - and we've learned a lot from Rebecca Butler, Ph.D., David Harrison, and their teams about what it takes to maximize the impact of community college education on #students and the local economic development strategy. Three tactics learned include to: 1. Make talent development a leadership priority 2. Build grant capacity and ensure that grants align with long-term strategic outcomes. 3. Leverage specific industry expertise. 📖See the details in Iris and Sarah's article: https://lnkd.in/eHjiAgpm

One of the main questions we have been getting lately from our postsecondary institutions is how can they build more and better partnerships with employers. The Michigan Center for Adult College Success team will be diving into this more in the coming months, but in the meantime I wanted to share this report from Strada Education Foundation on employer and community college partnerships. They do a nice job of laying out a process for building partnerships and lay out a lot of the key considerations to address when building employer and education partnerships. While it is community college focused, most of the recommendations would apply to a university or any other entity that is looking to build a partnership. What are the tips you would suggest for colleges and universities that are looking to build stronger partnerships with local employers? https://lnkd.in/geu55Cp9

In today’s rapidly evolving job market, collaboration is key—and there’s no better duo than community colleges and employers. Together, they’re making a difference in their communities. In states like Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, these partnerships drive community colleges to create pathways for student success while meeting industry needs—and employers are at the table. Progress is happening in communities across the country, with companies and colleges coming together to build and strengthen future workforces. Jamie Merisotis has more on how these partnerships are shaping the future of workforce development. 

North Carolina’s 2024 workforce rankings dropped from 1st to 3rd, education from 1st to 10th, and the state received a B+ in education. According to the article, impacts from “growing political divisions” threaten North Carolina’s world-class career education and workforce. Our education ecosystem is too important to succumb to external pressures. TFF CEO Meaghan Dennison says: “The Forward Fund is a student retention solution. It removes the financial barriers often precluding many from taking advantage of our state and region's world-class education and career training opportunities. We can improve retention, expand enrollment and employer-endorsed programs, and connect more individuals to high-wage careers.” #talent #jobs #training #education #highereducation #skills #workforce #nextgeneration #economicmobility https://bit.ly/4ff3tpi

NYC Department of Education is leading the country in terms of scale when it comes to building high-quality pathways for students to break into high demand, high wage industries—boosting the local economy and creating greater opportunity for economic mobility for underserved communities.  The FutureReadyNYC initiative is working to build high-quality career pathways that will successfully support more than 100,000 high school students as they transition from high-school to high-paying, in-demand careers. The latest Forbes piece from Matt Gandal explores how that ambitious goal is being actualized, and who is partnering with education leaders to make it happen. https://lnkd.in/gD2gh_FU

Recently, we presented an #MDUResourcesFoundation grant check to the Portland Workforce Alliance! The Portland Workforce Alliance is an independent nonprofit that sees young people as the key to the region’s long-term economic prosperity and quality of life. They work with local employers like OEG to educate students about career opportunities as part of a strategy to boost Oregon’s graduation rate and build a resilient, prosperous, and well-educated workforce. Their reasons for action are simple. They want to meet the region’s workforce needs by helping young Oregonians find educational paths to good careers and family-wage jobs. They know that career-learning experiences motivate students to succeed academically and continue their education after high school, and they know that students are far more likely to stay in school if they see the relevance of their education and have relationships with caring adults. Congratulations to this extremely deserving organization! #OEGPowerOn #MDUResourcesFoundationGrantRecipient #PortlandWorkforceAlliance #ACEMentorship

Texas is stepping into a new era of workforce development, spearheaded by our #TXcommunitycolleges. As the landscape of work evolves, it's crucial to bridge the gap between skills and job opportunities, and HB 8 allows colleges to do just that. In a recent conversation with the Texas Standard, our President & CEO, Ray Martinez said that the work continues, "We’re going to have to ensure that the population has access to skills-based training and that we align the needs of our employers to ensure that there’s alignment between the skills that are needed for the jobs that are being created and the workforce that we have." By aligning education with industry needs, we're not just preparing for the future — we're shaping it. 💼🚀 #SkillsTraining #WorkforceDevelopment #CCPathToSuccess READ MORE:  https://lnkd.in/gkxJzv7A

The 7 Steps To Get Hired program is a great, FREE, opportunity to assist youth with improving their employability skills! NC LEAD recently reported that, in the 2024 Employer Needs Survey, the #1 difficulty for employers when hiring for entry-level positions is employability skills (reported by 72% of employers who are having difficulty with hiring). Employability skills were also cited as a top reason for difficulty with hiring for experienced positions (46%). This link also includes information about another FREE opportunity: for the next month, young adults can secure a no-cost, digital technology-focused credential through Microsoft Fundamentals. Eight different credentials are available, and the exam must be completed by September 26, 2024, through this offer.

Students go to college or university to gain career skills. Those programs of study need to align with workforce needs in the community/region. Both students and region should benefit. Workforce programs are often expensive and need hard to find faculty. Partnerships can be the answer. Here’s a quote from the article: “While institutions may be keen to separate themselves and stand out, this report suggests a solution that runs counter to the idea of competition. The data show that greater workforce alignment happens when there are more institutions serving a singular area. As community colleges are often resource-strapped, collaborating with neighbor institutions allows for each to offer different specializations that fit the workforce needs of the area.” #talent #workforce #highered #returnoninvestment

Community colleges play a vital role in workforce development but can face challenges in aligning with long-term economic needs. Our new post highlights 5 ways colleges can do this better, drawing insights from Columbus State Community College: ➡ Prioritize talent development at the leadership level ➡ Align grant-seeking with strategic outcomes ➡ Leverage industry expertise through executives-in-residence ➡ Develop concrete strategies for racial and gender equity ➡ Bridge the credit and non-credit program divide These strategies help community colleges better prepare students for emerging careers and foster inclusive economic growth. We give practical examples of how institutions can adapt to technological shifts and create stronger partnerships with employers and economic development stakeholders. As we navigate the future of work, it's crucial that community colleges evolve to meet both immediate workforce needs and long-term regional economic development goals. Read the full article to learn more about building the workforce of the future: https://lnkd.in/ewGpxSyS #WorkforceDevelopment #CommunityColleges #EconomicGrowth #FutureOfWork