Educating the Workforce

Ready to Work!

Education and Industry Partnering to Improve South Dakotas Future Workforce

Greg.VonWald@mitchelltech.edu

Not enough people

Wrong skills

Perception problem with skilled trades

Misdirection of resources

The Workforce Problem1. Not Enough People US

Not Enough People JRV

Not Enough YouthDistrict III

Not Enough Graduates2. Wrong Skills 2007 Supply vs DemandSD DegreesSD Annual GradsSD Annual DemandPsychology17012Sociology1096History1180Power Line54110Electrician43140

A Recent HR ExperienceTactile Learners

Georgetown Center on Education & WorkforceWrong Skills

..of the 31 million jobs created by 2018 that will require post- secondary degreesnearly half of those will go to people with an Associates degree or occupational certificate. Most of these will be in middle-skilled occupations.

Post-secondary education is the key to future middle class success197373% HS diploma or less200741% HS diploma or lessBut College for All mantra has made students and parents think that college is the ONLY road to successNCLB squeezed out CTE coursesSkilled worker careers have become careers of last resortsomebody elses kidSD has only public Tech Institutes in Nationothers are Tech Colleges

3. Perception ProblemResults

45% of SD Public College students graduate in 6 years40th in nation

71% of SD Tech students graduate in 3 years1st in nation

College Board 2010 Report

ResultsWhy the disparity?

Education must be seen as relevant to a career.

National statistics indicate that those that drop out of College wander for an average of seven years before settling in on a careerThe Workforce Gap

Council for Economic AdvisorsReality The fastest job growth is likely to come among occupations that require an Associate degree or post-secondary vocational award.

Harvard Pathways to Prosperity StudyReality27% of people with post-secondary licenses or certificatescredentials short of an Associates degreeearn more than the average Bachelors degree recipient.

Industry Perception

Wasted federal Pell grant money ($5,500/student annually)Wasted state aid (@$6,120/student/annum)Increased personal student loan debtLost opportunity for student and SD economy

4. Misdirection of ResourcesNo silver bullets!Not a new problemwe need to address itNeed to get Education path aligned with the workforce demandsMust be a multi-dimensional approach with different solutions over timeSolving the Workforce Problem

Solutions

Short-Term SolutionsBeware of wage wars, the shell game and eating your own seed corn Recruit from in/out-of-state unemployedTraining Living wagesFamily housingSpouse EmploymentFacilitate cultural adjustmentPartnership among Industry, Community, Government and Education

Short-Term Solutions

Mid-Term SolutionsContinue Short-Term StrategyShift recruiting primarily in region/stateEstablish or expand training programsIncentive to go into in-demand careersRecruiting a joint education/industry functionTuition assistance with job at endInternships

Mid-Term Solutions

Long-Term Solutions1. We need balance in our workforce efforts to meet our economic needs

Systemic Long-Term Changes1. We need balance in our workforce efforts to meet our economic needs

2. Change the perception of technical careers--Industry and Education need to collaborate in creating interest in technical careers

Systemic Long-Term ChangesChanging Perceptions

SD MyLife Students Career & academic planning 7th 12th graders (and their educators/parents) All SD schools Public, Private and BIE 61,000+ students

Each high school student required to develop a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) in 8th grade and update annuallyPLP based upon interest assessment matched to possible career clusters PLP helps student strategically choose courses based upon career goalsResults in more relevanceSD MyLife StudentsSD MyLife Network

Integrated with SDMyLife.com Went live in schools in AugustExperiences (WLE)Company tours, job shadowing, internships, etc.Free industry interface so student is exposed to your business and careerCompany ProfileCareer Coach volunteers Provides Work-based learning experiencesGuest speakerCompany tourTeacher externshipJob shadowInternshipWWW.SDMYLIFE.COM/NETWORKSD MyLife NetworkHold ALL post-secondary institutions accountable for publicly reporting employment dataFeds Gainful Employment requirementAre they employed?Are they employed in area of study?Are they employed in state?What is their salary/wage level?Changing Perceptions1.We need balance in our workforce efforts to meet our economic needs

2. Change the Perception of Technical Careers

3. Change the CTE Education Model

Systemic Long-Term ChangesAnoka Secondary Technical Education Program (STEP) ModelMarriage of Technical College and High School CTE

HS instructors teach college credit courses in CTE

Share curriculum and labs

College atmosphere and rigor (CTE Advanced Placement)

Provides pathway to Technical College and Industry

Industry advisors and support critical for success

Change the CTE Education ModelMust have a good match on partner program instructors for Tech College and CTEAttracts higher quality HS students HS student drop out rate decreased (relevancy) Good model for a trial in SDInstructor qualifications need to be changedFunding changes would need to be made for SD secondary and post secondary systems

Lessons Learned from Anoka1.We need balance in our workforce efforts to meet our economic needs

2. Change the Perception of Technical Careers

3. Change the CTE Education Model

4. Invest in educating the workforce

Systemic Long-Term ChangesThe writing is on the wallyour post- secondary educated population must grow for economic growth

Funding balance between post-secondary types of education needs to be achievedInvest in Educating the WorkforceState Financial Support of SD Post-Secondary Ed 2007-PresentThe best time to plant a tree was 20 years agothe second best time is now!

We need to take actions NOW to solve the workforce problem is South Dakota.In Short

We simply need more GOOD employees!

Bruce YakleyCEO, Trail KingEmployee of the Month

Questions?