Bridging the Gap: A New Partnership Model to Address 4-Year Enrollment Gaps and Talent Shortages
In the ever-evolving landscape of education and workforce development, challenges persist in aligning the demand for skilled workers with the offerings of traditional 4-year degree programs. At the recent CAEL conference, a workshop presented by John Casella, Katie Parrish of Indiana Tech, and Tiffani Malvin of Barry University shed light on an innovative partnership model that seeks to bridge the enrollment gap in 4-year programs and address the pressing talent shortages faced by employers.
Educational institutions and workforce development organizations are experiencing a unique challenge: Enrollment in 4-year degree programs continues to lag other educational options, while employers struggle to attract qualified candidates that possess the skills related to these degrees.
For example, there are currently upwards of 1 million open IT jobs estimated in the US, however, enrollment is far from meeting this need across 4-year IT degree programs. This dynamic produces macro- and micro-level strains across employers, communities, institutions, and households. Furthermore, communities of color and those who face barriers to education and employment are significantly affected, as they are left further behind from the opportunities and prosperity of these middle-skill, higher-paying jobs. Using a new partnership model that aligns educational institutions, workforce organizations, training providers, and employers, we are attempting to close both the 4-year enrollment gap and talent shortage.
Attendees will learn about this new approach from representatives of Indiana Tech, Barry University, and JobWorks Education and Training who have created partnerships to open doorways of opportunity to their students to 4-year degree programs and employment in higher-skill, in-demand occupations.
These organizations are piloting two new partnership structures that align their own educational institution, the local workforce development system, employers, and JobWorks as a training provider. Indiana Tech and JobWorks have partnered to offer transfer college credit and scholarships to students who successfully complete JobWorks virtual IT certification bootcamps. After completing this 12-week course, students are connected to local employment opportunities that pay nearly $20 per hour on average. Students can attend the JobWorks bootcamp potentially at no-cost through funding provided by the local workforce system.
Indiana Tech offers full-time and part-time online/in-person 4-year IT degree programs to recent graduates, who are now better equipped to succeed and finance their college education. Similarly, Barry University is partnering with JobWorks to offer the TechWorks IT training program as part of the college’s professional certificate offerings.
By leveraging local workforce development funds, these courses will be offered at no-cost to eligible students, who are often from underrepresented backgrounds in technology.
