Recently this spot highlighted a newly released report "Pathways out of Poverty for Vulnerable Californians" by Oakland based PolicyLink, a national research and advocacy institute working to advance economic and social equity. The new report focuses on California community college programs working to train young people to transition into much needed future middle-skilled infrastructure jobs. The enormous community benefits of a trained workforce for the new economy, one that includes a "green jobs" future that contributes to California's environmental sustainability, is a crucial component to restoring the state's economic vitality.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to interview Rubén Lizardo, Associate Director at PolicyLink, who along with Victor Rubin, Vice President for Research there, are co-authors of the report. The interview continues in Part 2, immediately following this post.
MG: For years community colleges have served students headed toward transferring to university degrees. This route has been an economical first step toward graduation for many middle and working-class students. The Pathways report focuses on a growing segment of the community college population on a separate path. Do you see the changing role of community colleges as working alongside the university bound student, especially as state universities struggle to accommodate student class needs?
RL: Short answer: community colleges in CA have had multiple missions for some time now. In addition to being the workhorse preparing students that did not graduate ready to pursue a four year college career for the transfer process, the CCs have had the responsibility of providing Californians with workforce training, basic skills education, English as a second language, and life-long learning etc. The CCC is already the state’s largest provider of workforce training. On the first mission, in 2008-2009, the system transferred 99,583 students to four-year institutions (public, private, in-state, and out-of-state). The California State University (CSU) system continues as the most frequent transfer destination for community college students with the enrollment of 49,770 students from the community colleges. Over 14,000 community college students enrolled in the University of California (UC) system, the state’s most selective public higher education system. This figure continues a four-year trend of increasing transfers to the UC system.
On the second workforce-training mission, In 2008-2009, CA CCs helped 64,617 Californians earn associate degrees and certificates in vocational/occupational areas. In that same year, CA CCs contributed to the state’s critical health care labor force, as 8,515 students earned degrees or certificates in nursing. With greater levels of state support and stronger leadership equity barriers that students of color, immigrants, and low-income adults face, the CCs could ensure the state trains the next generation of middle skill infrastructure workers.
MG: Our culture has consistently stressed the value of a college degree and its importance to success. Do you see this long-standing American ideal as having been a barrier to realizing the potential marketability of the middle-skill worker who is highlighted in your report?
RL: Not at all. The community college degree, be it vocational, or as in other states, the “liberal arts” associate degree (which in CA will now be focused on Transfer), are important milestones/accomplishments that four year colleges/universities and employers look [at] to compare the assets potential students and employees bring to the table. A great number of the middle-skill career pathways we advocate for in our report start with the attainment of a certificate or associate degree that prepares students to work in one of the five sub-sectors we highlight in our report. The Tipping Point study (Ron Prince) cited by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors and other leaders, demonstrates that one year of post secondary training is the key to helping under-educated adults move out of poverty. [This] underscores the value of a one-year Certificate or two-year Associates degree that can serve as the on-ramp to a middle skill career.
MG: Do you see the current recession as a boost to the growing demand for community college-trained or state-certified workers; this idea seems woven into the report.
RL: Yes, the recession raises the urgency for strengthening community college workforce career pathways, for employees and businesses. Even with the downturn in the economy, certain industries, like the ones we highlight in the report, are experiencing gaps in access to trained professionals. Meanwhile, Californians who have lost their jobs in sectors that have been downsized, or are experiencing changes in skills that are required to maintain a job, are returning to the community colleges to prepare for a new career. This opportunity is also posing a challenge for the goal of equity, in that Californians who may already have a four-year college degree could leap-frog over the vulnerable Californians (e.g. the one million 18-24 year olds with less than a high school degree) in regard to access to the community college programs we highlight, as well as the middle skill jobs that are created with stepped up public investment in infrastructure.
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