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BJ: How has the role of the Technical Colleges changed in the last few years in terms of meeting the needs of employers and the pool of workers they need to tap? DC: There are always going to be needs because of the changes in the economy and the needs of the workplace; the colleges have to adjust all the time, so that's nothing new. But probably we're seeing the highest level of demand that our system has ever experienced in terms of our enrollment. Generally when the economy is on a downswing, enrollment goes up, and when the economy is strong the reverse happens. But that has not taken place in the last few years. Enrollment has been high even when the economy is up. I think the way in which we try to be responsive to business is in terms of our flexibility. Being able to provide the programs at the time and place that they need them. That flexibility is probably our hallmark. The workplace is changing...the skill levels that are expected are changing all the time. They need much higher-level skills, more technical skills than ever before. Our programs are constantly being updated to reflect that. You mention that you're seeing growing demand for more technical kinds of skills. Can you elaborate on that? What sorts of skills in particular are you seeing growing demand for, and how is the technical college system adapting to meet those demands? It's both the technical side and the "soft skills." What we're seeing is that businesses are looking for people that not only have the technical capabilities--and a lot require students to have a lot more math and science in their background--many of our programs, and many of the occupations, require the individual to be very technologically advanced. So they have to have much higher-order skills than ever before. So that's one category. The other category is things like time management, work ethic, ability to think on your feet, be part of a team, and the ability to problem-solve. All those kinds of skills are needed much more in the workplace. As a result, the programs have to build those into the curriculum as much as possible. So one example of how we adapt is that we've identified a set of core skills that are being developed into a core skills program that cuts across all of our programs. That's driven in part by what businesses are telling us they need, in addition to the technical know-how. The Technical College System is now partnering with DWD using funds primarily from the Joyce Foundation for a project called Regional Industry Skills Education, or RISE. My understanding is that it's aimed at identifying regionalized career pathways, and then using those as a guide in developing education programs for low-skilled adults. Is that a fair description of the project? Yes, that's an accurate description of it. Through a generous gift from the Joyce Foundation of a million dollars over two years to look at ways in which our two systems can collaborate to make career pathways a reality and to look at on the policy level what barriers exist to prevent that from occurring. So we're looking at state level policies that need to be improved, enhanced in order to make sure that successful programs are in place that allow people to progress from low-skill to high-skill jobs, working through basic education programs and other adult education programs. What are some of the key components of the project? We're starting out initially with a series of regional meetings to which we're inviting representatives from higher education, workforce development, and business to be part of the discussion about ways to create these regionally based career pathways. So those sessions are occurring right now, leading to a statewide session in...we're currently looking at early- to mid-September. Right now we're just getting input, what's out there, what barriers are there, and then people will go back to their organizations and the planning work will start at that level. We're trying to get that grassroots understanding and then build up from there. Gazing into your crystal ball, as we continue to work toward a seamless system in which the economy is creating the right kind of jobs you can support a family on, and the workforce development system is creating exactly the kinds of workers equipped to do those jobs competently, what kinds of public policy changes do you see as needing to take place in order to get us to that future? The one thing that's really essential is resources. There is a real need for the state to recognize the role it needs to play in supporting both the education system and the workforce development system. Right now they're in the midst of debating whether education should be cut in this budget, as the Assembly is trying to do in its version of the budget. So resources are critical to providing opportunities to people. We have an initiative to expand worker training for incumbent workers that the Assembly cut back to no increase. So that's unfortunate, and we're hoping that will be restored. I guess the discussion is more focused on funding now than at any other time of year because of the budget implications. | ||||
