Workforce Monitor Weekly - Feb. 20, 2022 - Places to Live, Systemwide CBE & The Extended Mind

Workforce Monitor has been exploring how the overall health of American cities contributes to our socio-economic well-being, and how individuals migrate to enticing job opportunities in geographic areas that also offer affordable cost-of-living arrangements.

The guide delivers a game plan for getting postsecondary institutions to provide learners with increased credential and job-placement support services via high-quality competency-based education (CBE) programs. 

I purchased “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain,” by Annie Murphy Paul, out of curiosity, thinking it was mostly about modern brain research, only to find there were several parts of the book with some helpful and interesting takeaways related to our working lives, so I decided to do a kind of mini book review of it here.

Career and technical education (CTE) and workforce development have seen a surge in the popularity of short-term training programs that purport to give community college students skills highly valued in the labor market that will help them get jobs quickly. These programs, which are often just referred to as CTE programs, actually vary greatly: Some of them last a few days, some a few weeks, and some a few years. In some, students earn college credit, some offer no credit, and many result in industry-recognized credentials or licenses.

Healthcare providers and services organizations face significant headwinds right now due to rising labor and other costs, coupled with their inability to increase reimbursements immediately. Also, the finances of many provider systems benefited in recent years from strong capital market returns, but recent volatility may undercut that budgetary support.

Two centuries after the first historically Black colleges and universities were founded, the 101 accredited HBCUs1 in operation today continue to deliver on their legacy of expanding educational opportunity for Black students that leads to successful and fulfilling lives.

Community college nonprofit that was one of the pioneers of the student success movement is now shifting its focus to include social and economic mobility. We talked with the group’s CEO about why.

The American Association of Community Colleges, Intel and Dell Technologies are launching an 18-month initiative that will design and build a network of Artificial Intelligence Incubators at community colleges across the United States.

Over the past few months, we’ve documented how the vast majority of AI’s applications today are based on the category of algorithms known as deep learning, and how deep-learning algorithms find patterns in data. We’ve also covered how these technologies affect people’s lives: how they can perpetuate injustice in hiring, retail, and security and may already be doing so in the criminal legal system.

The latest Future Forum Pulse, our quarterly survey of more than 10,000 knowledge workers in the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K., shows that the “remote versus office” debate is over: A majority of knowledge workers—58%—are working in hybrid work arrangements, and two-thirds cite hybrid as their preferred working model.

Employees say they want more training and development — but often struggle to identify which skills they’re looking for.

There are tens of millions of adults with some college credits but no degree or credential.

Israel Dominguez, director of economic and workforce development, had the gut feeling that liberal arts students possess skills that prepare them for a variety of careers beyond the academic world. He knew he had worked with many professionals in areas such as sales, marketing, or public relations who also hailed from a liberal arts background. But what could mere stories prove?

Dealing with coronavirus has declined as a policy priority, especially among Republicans. This marks a shift from last year, when the economy and the coronavirus both topped the public’s policy agenda.

Expected standards in the credentialing industry have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, sparking some concerns.

This 19-page report published in December 2020 addresses “how certifications can play a pivotal role in addressing re-employment, re-deployment, and re-education challenges that workers face in the labor market …”