Growing demand for skilled labor and supply of skilled labor are trending in different directions, leaving companies with openings for skilled labor and individuals unemployed and underemployed. Career training offers a solution to fill this skills gap and provide both companies with skilled labor and individuals a pathway to sustainable wages. Sophia Downey’s research highlights five common practices of workforce development programs in developing industries.
Seven out of ten employers report having job openings which they cannot find skilled applicants for. On the other hand, there are currently 6.9 million unemployed people within the United States. This imbalance between the supply and demand of skilled labor is referred to as a skills gap.
A skills gap stems from a deficit of skilled labor, or in lay terms, people do not have the skills to fill open roles. This means that it is more difficult for people to find meaningful, sustainable employment and for companies to maximize productivity. As Baby Boomers age out of the workforce, the number of unfilled, skilled roles is expected to increase, presenting a crisis in the coming years.
For years, career and technical education has mitigated this skills gap issue by training individuals for skilled positions at low-cost. Career and technical education utilizes academic learning and work-based learning to prepare non-college bound students for skilled, sustainable careers.
In recent years, we have seen new industries implement programs similar to career and technical education training. This research seeks to answer how are new programs in new industries preparing individuals for skilled labor, and how similar are these techniques to traditional career and technical education frameworks.
After surveying three different, developing corporate programs in three different industries, my findings were that these new programs shared five common practices. These common practices were academic learning reinforced with work-based learning, mentorship, credentialing, partnerships, and support for continued education and advancement.
First, as we’ve seen used in traditional career training programs, using both classroom learning and hands-on, experimental learning reinforces knowledge and skills development. These programs capitalize on the psychology of learning and the hands-on approach can target students whom the traditional classroom instruction style has not reached. The parent company of these programs benefit as well, as they can tailor the curriculum specifically to the skillset demanded by these open roles.
Second, working alongside an experienced, industry professional allows participants to develop professional skills and connections. Mentorship offers the students an opportunity to ask questions and envision themselves in the role, framing the outcome as more attainable. Additionally, research has shown that learning alongside an industry professional is associated with higher job quality. In addition to professional skills development taught via mentorship, these programs also taught career guidance and professional skills development courses to prepare participants to enter and succeed in the corporate setting.
Third, two of the three programs issued graduates an industry-recognized credential to certify them as qualified, skilled candidates. This is a practice pivotal to career training in traditional industries.
Fourth, due to the developing nature of these programs, corporations relied on community partnerships with schools, governments, and non-profit organizations for curriculum support and service delivery. This allows for burden sharing and specialization, which increases the efficiency of service delivery of these programs. For example, partnerships with community colleges guide program curriculum and present students with an opportunity to further their education through an associate degree.
Finally, the corporate hierarchy structure offers opportunities for advancement so two of the programs offered support for continued education. Because these programs are housed within a company who seeks to directly hire program graduates, an incentive to support further development of skills exists. Support was offered through partnerships with a local community college and took the form of both financial support and support for admissions applications. By bolstering advancement within the company, these programs are able to create a sustainable system with entry-level positions open for new candidates and fill higher skilled roles.
Despite the relatively young age of these programs, the initial findings suggest these are five common practices of established, seemingly successful programs. However, all success metrics were self-reported by these companies and no standard evaluation method exists to measure success across the three different companies. I would suggest these programs be re-evaluated after the five-year anniversary of program launch and for a standardized evaluation method for success to be established.
If these five common practices prove to produce successful graduates, investment in similar programs can serve as a critical tool to address the skills gap and impact the future of education and employment in the United States.
Sophia Downey is a senior at the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Beginning in the Summer of 2022, Sophia will enter the public sector consulting field in Washington, D.C. This research was completed for the O’Neill Honors and CARI programs.
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