Advancing Innovation in Work and Learning | march 31, 2021
Sally Chiu graduated with a bachelor’s degree in spring 2018. But in a tight job market, she learned employers had set the bar beyond her reach: They sought new hires with two to five years of experience for seemingly entry-level positions.
For deeper training in in-demand technologies, Chiu turned to Talent Path, a technology training and staffing organization. Talent Path helps new graduates — especially women and people of color — jump-start their careers, working with universities to recruit and hire graduates as consultants, then providing the grads with an immediate job, a full-time salary, and benefits.
Instead of incurring more student debt to bolster their skills, the consultants are paid to learn for the first three to four months, then assigned to a company. About 40 percent eventually go to work for the businesses where they had been consulting; the rest remain with Talent Path, move on to other careers, or head back to grad school.
The organization offers these tips for higher ed institutions hoping to support students in their path to a first job:
Partner with companies or organizations offering short-term training pathways directly tied to industry needs.
Build curriculum based on the latest industry-relevant skill trends, books, and research.
Take 100 current job descriptions and extrapolate in-demand skills.
Involve employers in the classroom.
Integrate emotional intelligence and team-based projects as a constant in the undergraduate learning experience.
WEBINAR: ALUMNI PERSPECTIVES ON STUDENT LOANS When do people believe their student loans were worth it? The amount of the loan, how much money someone makes, and how much education they completed don't tell the whole story. Even accounting for these variables, Black and Latino alumni are less likely to report their loans were worth it. However, the standout factor across all individuals is whether they believe their college provided them with resources and support to get a good job. Join us at 2 p.m. EDT April 7 as Strada Center for Education Consumer Insights researchers present recent findings and discuss their implications with guest panelists.
The events of the past year have led to the acceleration and adoption of digital technology in the workplace. In a webinar last week, UpSkill America revealed the findings from its survey of 340 business leaders about how the events of 2020 affected their businesses. The research, funded by Strada and Walmart.org, revealed that many companies have changed how they think about the skills frontline workers need to be successful in their jobs and the investments in education and training programs needed to support workers’ development.
IMPROVING TRANSFER CREDIT PRACTICES An American Council on Education Task Force of college and university presidents and chancellorsreleased a report last week offering recommendations and best practices to higher education leaders on how to modify existing transfer and award of credit practices to best support student success. The Strada-funded report, “Reimagining Transfer for Student Success: The National Task Force on the Transfer and Award of Credit,” offers six concrete recommendations that will enable higher education leaders to carry out more seamless and efficient transfer and award of credit on their campuses.
OPPORTUNITY YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO of Year Up — one of the nation’s largest youth workforce development programs — appeared as a guest on the latest episode of Strada's podcast, "Lessons Earned." He believes every young adult has potential and deserves a clear pathway to a great career, whether through college or directly into the workforce. And through his work, he’s proving that with the appropriate training and employer support, it can take as little as one year for “opportunity youth” — 16- to 24-year-olds who are neither working nor in school — to move from poverty to a well-paid, in-demand career.
WHY DO TEACHERS TEACH?
Teachers have endured a challenging year during the pandemic, yet teachers never have been more important. Roadtrip Nation’s new Teachers Community Hub provides a place to celebrate teachers and the contributions they make, to be to be inspired by real-life stories that prioritize marginalized voices, and to learn how to adapt to the new obstacles of today’s classroom. In the face of very real challenges, what keeps teachers going? Why do they teach? Roadtrip Nation brought together a group of teachers who are seeking their own answers to these questions. To renew their purpose, they’re talking to inspiring educators who have persisted in this field by staying connected to their students, their communities, and their calling.
Lessons Earned
In our podcast, we explore bold ideas to help Americans navigate between learning and earning throughout their lives.
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