Conference Presentations
In addition to academic training, community colleges serve the community by providing new entrants to the workforce and opportunities for continuous skill enhancement. Today, community colleges have been identified as major change agents in the movement to lesson the skills gap in the American workforce. The quality of the American workforce is in jeopardy, because workers do not possess the skills needed to perform successfully in industries across the labor market. The skills gap is defined as the difference in the skills held by workers and those desired by employers. The issue is alarming to leaders in education, government, business and workers. Labor and workforce development leaders depend greatly on community colleges, because of their history of providing vocational training.
A strategy for lessening the skills gap is to provide greater collaboration between community colleges and adult basic education programs. Although many individuals pursue their GED in order to enroll in college, few actually attend. The number of students that obtain their GED, but do not attend community college or other forms of higher education represents a “stop out” in the academic pipeline. Addressing the issue through collaboration may produce results leading to “Closing the Skills Gap.”
The presentation listed below was given to an audience at HALE Graduate Research Colloquium on February 14, 2009
A strategy for lessening the skills gap is to provide greater collaboration between community colleges and adult basic education programs. Although many individuals pursue their GED in order to enroll in college, few actually attend. The number of students that obtain their GED, but do not attend community college or other forms of higher education represents a “stop out” in the academic pipeline. Addressing the issue through collaboration may produce results leading to “Closing the Skills Gap.”
The presentation listed below was given to an audience at HALE Graduate Research Colloquium on February 14, 2009
Closing The Skills Gap-grc.ppt | |
File Size: | 281 kb |
File Type: | ppt |