Improving Noncollege Pathways to Building Skills and Successful Careers
May 23, 2019, 13:47 ET
WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to preparing students for rewarding careers and the skills needed in a 21st century economy, degree-granting institutions dominate most of the attention. Research from the Committee for Economic Development (CED), however, shows that more needs to be done to support a variety of pathways to successful careers for those students who do not secure a traditional college degree.
CED's new report Improving Noncollege Pathways to Skills and Successful Careers explores these alternative pathways and offers policymakers and business leaders specific tools to help these students successfully transition to the workforce.
More than 30 percent of high school graduates under the age of 24 are not enrolled in college, and about 40 percent of graduates who do enroll fail to successfully complete a degree within six years, the report noted. These statistics underscore the need to rethink current policy and ensure students from all backgrounds and educational attainments can successfully transition to careers as members of a skilled U.S. workforce.
The CED report offers three ways to improve noncollege pathways to employment:
- Career counseling – Develop and test scalable, evidence-based models to help individuals better navigate available education and training options.
- Apprenticeships – Support apprenticeship programs by educating the public on their benefits, expanding their reach and funding sources, and piloting and evaluating different models.
- Competency-based hiring – Encourage employers to plan for more competency-based talent evaluation and look to reduce the primacy of educational attainment.
SOURCE Committee for Economic Development
