Paul Winfree and Rachel Greszler writes in the Wall Street Journal that a flexible, industry-driven alternative for workforce education has a proven record of success…(Wall Street Journal)
Employers are addressing gaps by investing in practical workforce education. When Mazda Toyota Manufacturing established a plant in Huntsville, Ala., the company educated thousands of new workers in advanced automotive manufacturing. Bank of America has a career development program called Pathways. Tech companies such as Google, Amazon and IBM have created their own certificate and training programs for employees to acquire high-demand skills.
Apprenticeships have also proved a successful alternative. A 2017 study from researchers at Burning Glass Technologies and Harvard Business School estimated the “true scope or potential for apprenticeships in the U.S.” They found that the number of occupations commonly filled through these programs could nearly triple (to 74 from 27); the number of job openings filled could expand eightfold (to 3.2 million) and the occupations ripe for apprenticeship expansion would offer 20% higher wages than traditional apprenticeship occupations.