The Maine Community College System (MCCS) is bringing a little stress relief to hospitality workers during the pandemic. Hospitality work has always been stressful, but during the pandemic, new industry protocols such as social distancing, incessant cleaning and debating customers over face coverings, have led to on-the-job anxiety and even damaged mental and physical health. […]
Skills Gap Articles
GO CAREERS goes virtual
The GO CAREERS program at Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) is going virtual this fall — but still keeping it personal. GO CAREERS launched in 2016 and is a collaborative effort between OCTC, Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation and the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce. An advantage of the program is its accelerated degree […]
New national network focuses on helping workers
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) are launching a new network that links governors’ offices, community colleges and workforce leaders to help workers navigate transformational changes in the economy caused by the pandemic. The Reskilling and Recovery Network, which is supported by Lumina […]
Advanced technology center strategies under COVID-19 conditions
This spring, the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) pivoted – like the majority of organizations across the world – to seriously and thoughtfully follow the national coronavirus pandemic experts from the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization, as well as the National Governors Association, AACC and many others to assimilate as […]
Bridging the gap between education and employment
“If it can be done online, it will be online.” I heard a Hyundai Corp. executive make this observation in a meeting with business leaders as the world struggled to emerge from the Great Recession in 2010. It has proved prescient and consequential, as has its corollary, “If it can be automated, it will be.” […]
Apprenticeship programs still going strong
The coronavirus pandemic has caused some community colleges and employers to temporarily suspend apprenticeship programs. Many of those programs, however, are going forward online or with accommodations to protect workers’ health. The bulk of apprenticeship programs at the College of DuPage in Illinois are in manufacturing, and most participating companies have been essential so they […]
Fast-tracking with PLA
With the state of higher education in flux, tuition still a significant issue and a staggering economy, a consortium led by North Shore Community College in Massachusetts is creating pathways for local residents and students to earn college credit based on knowledge and skills they’ve learned on the job or in life, saving them time […]
Rethinking the transcript
Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) in Albuquerque is among a handful of organizations testing a program recommended by a blue-ribbon workforce development council that aims to better track learners’ credentials, whether college degrees, short-term postsecondary certificates, employer-issued training or work experience. The current system of verifying credentials is piecemeal, which can frustrate both job […]
Developing a training program for contact tracers
This week, Clark State Community College in Springfield, Ohio, launched an online short-term training program that will prepare contact tracers to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The college developed the new program in about a month. Conversations for the program started about a month ago, right after Gov. Mike DeWine noted that Ohio […]
CTE in a global economy
As automation and technological advances change the nature of work, and as global diversity and economic growth change the characteristics of the employee and consumer base, the skills of global competence will be in greater demand. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 crisis is demanding international cooperation and sharing of knowledge, demonstrating the interconnectivity of our world and […]