Job-Driven Public/Private Partnerships: "A Powerful Tool For Upward Mobility"

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One thing we can all agree never changes about our world is that it is always changing. As we guide students through the murky waters of high school and beyond, we try always to prepare them for their futures – even though we’re never quite sure what being prepared for those futures will look like.

The importance, for STEM teachers specifically, of being connected to the “real world” of industry, innovation and research, cannot be overstated if they want to get their students excited about STEM fields and on a path to success. So, how best to stay on top of new information and shifting possibilities? How do we develop students’ enthusiasm for these subjects and encourage them to create a vision of their future lives?

On July 22nd, President Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, legislation to make use of job- and skill-driven strategies to “improve business engagement in federally-funded training programs” (see full report here).

"Job training is so yesterday," said U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina legislator and a former community college president who was extensively involved in writing the Act. "Workforce development and skills development is tomorrow."

The bipartisan support for the long-overdue (by 11 years) update to the nation’s job training programs reflects evidence that private sector involvement leads to better outcomes. The report is full of references to the need for “job-driven” programs, and statistics about the numbers of IT and engineering jobs that will need to be filled within the next several years.  Between 2012 and 2022, for example, 1.3 million jobs in IT will be open – and not just in the Bay Area and New York; job market data is showing new IT hubs forming in other states, including Pennsylvania, Illinois and Oklahoma.

At the same time, many colleges and universities are shifting their STEM programs to include more partnerships with industry, as even famously-selective employers like Google are concluding that specific skills can be more valuable than (or at least equivalent to) bachelor’s degrees.

As educators, we always want to give our students the best preparation possible for the world they will be living in as graduates – what do these new trends tell us about the careers they will need to be ready to build?

STEM teachers may well be wondering what this all means for their students who aspire to work in high-opportunity STEM fields, and how to encourage students to find realistic pathways to their goals. CEE’s Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP) is continuing to provide local, on-the-ground opportunities for teachers to connect with leading experts from industry and academia, and make meaningful professional links with direct benefits for their students.

As educators, how do we bridge the gap between high school STEM classes and the range of possibilities waiting for our students? Providing direction and inspiration is our day-to-day work – how are we doing this locally, on the ground in our communities? What are some of the barriers and how can we best address them? Please post your thoughts and experiences in the comments section; let’s connect and share what works.