Building Tomorrow's Workforce: Community Colleges Partner with Industry to Provide Skills for New Job Market

Leary, Warren, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

As the nation, bogged in recession, focuses on job creation and economic growth for relief, attention has turned to education as the key to building a workforce to fill current and future job needs. However, to the surprise of some, much of the discussion involves community colleges, rather than traditional four-year, degree-granting universities and colleges.

The renewed interest in community colleges comes with the realization that many currently unfilled jobs and more coming in the future do not require a traditional college degree. While an increasing number of American jobs require some training and education beyond high school, business and political leaders now agree that not all good jobs demand a four-year degree.

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In 2010, President Barack Obama noted that the nation's economic strength depends upon the education and skills of its workers, and that a majority of new jobs will require higher education and workforce training. To meet this need, he set two national goals: by 2020, the United States would once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world, and community colleges will produce an additional S million graduates.

To help reach these goals, Obama signed an act that provides $2 billion over four years to fund a Community College and Career Training Initiative. In September 2012, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a second round of $500 million in grants to community colleges to promote skills development and employment …

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Publication information: Article title: Building Tomorrow's Workforce: Community Colleges Partner with Industry to Provide Skills for New Job Market. Contributors: Leary, Warren - Author. Magazine title: Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Volume: 29. Issue: 23 Publication date: December 20, 2012. Page number: 28+. © 2008 Cox, Matthews & Associates. COPYRIGHT 2012 Gale Group.

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