Community College and Adult Education Job Skills Training
I have evaluated adult English learner programs as part of the San Mateo County Silicon Valley Allies Initiative, community college degree and non-credit programs at Yavapai College and ShaleNET's college consortium, and project-based learning in San Francisco's TechSF Initiative. The common threads across these studies are: 1) the role of industry in designing education content, 2) work-based learning benefits, and 3) the value of stackable credentials.
All three initiatives built their curriculum in direct response to employer-identified needs — and all three found that industry involvement improved both the quality of training and the employment prospects of graduates.
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- The SV ALLIES pilots established partnerships between workforce development agencies, adult schools, and employers for the first time, enabling them to serve English learners in ways they had not done before.
- During the grant period, ShaleNET hubs engaged more than 66 unique oil and gas employers and industry associations. Employer representatives provided input on core competencies and curriculum at all four hubs.
- In 2015, Yavapai College learned from its industry council that employers wanted graduates with broad manufacturing knowledge — described as "a liberal arts degree in manufacturing." This directly shaped the new ISET certificate combining CNC, robotics, and CAD. By the end of the grant, the primary reasons employers hired recent Yavapai graduates were their technical skills (75%), knowledge about the industry (58%), and work ethic (42%).
- Over the course of the TechSF initiative, 15 classes with a project-based learning component enrolled a total of 598 students, with employers providing real-world project briefs, feedback on student work, and input on final projects. All three employer interview respondents who participated in semester-long project-based learning reported receiving a product or technical plan their organization could use.
Across all three initiatives, education programs that integrated paid work experience with related classroom instruction produced students who were more technically prepared and more immediately valuable to employers.
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- All Silicon Valley Allies incumbent worker pilot participants were retained or promoted within 30 or 60 days after the pilot program ended. In two pilots where retention was measured for up to six months, all but one participant retained their jobs.
- ShaleNET hubs substantially enhanced existing programs through the addition of new equipment for labs and hands-on practice activities. One student said that even though he could learn from a textbook, "actually doing the work would be difficult without having the hands-on learning provided by the program."
- A total of 71 Yavapai students participated in internships supported by the NSF grant, exceeding the goal of 28 by 153%. All surveyed interns strongly agreed that the internship helped them improve their problem-solving skills, and 86% of surveyed employers were satisfied or very satisfied with Yavapai student interns.
- Students enrolled in TechSF's project-based learning courses reported gains in both technical skills and workplace readiness. In exit surveys, 86% of student respondents strongly agreed or agreed that participation allowed them to gain skills expected by employers.
All three initiatives offered students multiple endpoints — short-term certificates for those entering the workforce quickly, associate degrees for those wanting more, and transfer or advancement pathways. Removing dead ends increased completion and broadened the population served.
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- The SV ALLIES initiative piloted new program services that blended English instruction and workforce readiness skills. A majority of participants also reported that participation increased their confidence in applying for jobs with higher pay or jobs higher on the career ladder.
- During the grant period, Yavapai students earned nine Applied Pre-Engineering AAS degrees, four ISET certificates, and 183 industry-recognized certifications — exceeding the goal of 126 combined degrees and credentials by 55%.
- ShaleNET's program introduced a stackable credential model with four new certificates and two new associate programs, culminating, if desired, in the attainment of a bachelor's degree. One student explained, "The reason I did the certificate was mainly for time — it is for me to get my foot in the door. And then when I do have the money I can return to further my education."