Recently, I’ve noticed renewed attention to the role of non-collegiate post-secondary training in helping people find lucrative, productive, fulfilling work.
- The Washington Post has reported on the need for “millions” of apprentices in careers that don’t require four-year degrees and has called for the federal government to take action, which is a very good idea and which would have significant returns on a modest investment.
- NPR has reported on a trend in GenZ choosing trade schools over college, “skilled trades make a comeback,” and identified them as the “Toolbelt Generation.”
- As his first executive order after taking office, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro eliminated the unnecessary four-year degree requirement for 92% of state jobs in the commonwealth.
Alternative training and career paths are, after several decades of an almost exclusive focus on sending young people to four-year college, having a renaissance.
You know who else has a major role to play in alternative career paths and credentialing?
Associations!
In 2016, Shelly Alcorn and I released a whitepaper, The Association Role in the New Education Paradigm, that predicted this trend, identifying a significant and growing gap between education and employment driven by several factors:
- Massive disruption in higher education
- Ballooning student loan debt (at the time, Americans held over $1.23 trillion dollars in student debt – it’s now up to $1.75 trillion)
- Decreasing public funding for education, at both the K-12 and post-secondary levels
- Significant disagreement about what a college education is supposed to accomplish, the value of a four-year degree, and whether or not college is properly preparing young people for the workforce
At the time, one-third of employers reported struggling to find qualified workers. That situation has also gotten worse in the interim, with 75% of organizations world-wide now reporting that they’re struggling to find skilled workers.
Shelly and I believe that associations enjoy major advantages that make us uniquely suited to addressing these challenges:
- Direct connection to and relationship with employers in our relative sectors
- Experience with certification and credentialing, supplements or even alternatives to four-year degrees that are gaining popularity and respect
- Speed and flexibility, at least in comparison to hidebound higher education
- “Halo” effect of our nonprofit status in the marketplace versus the many shady for-profit providers
- Experience with non-traditional students and educational settings
Want to learn more about how your association can help solve this critical societal problem while also earning non-dues revenue, doing well while doing good? Download your free copy at https://bit.ly/29CIquL.
Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash