Addressing the Middle Skill Challenge with Labor Market Outreach

Todd M. OldhamVice President

September 11, 2012toldham@monroecc.edu

Monroe Community College

• 17,699 credit enrollment • 37,301 total enrollment • 90 Degree and Certificate Programs • 30 Middle-Skill Focused

• Multi-Campus Community College Serving City of Rochester in Monroe County, New York

Middle-Skill Occupation Statistics for NY

• 46% of Workforce in NYS*

• 39% of job replacement in NYS 2009-2018*

• 13,500 M-S regional jobs***

• 27% of M-S workers with associates or less earn more than average bachelor degree**

*Skills2Compete: NY’s Forgotten Middle-Skills Jobs**Harvard University, GSE: Pathways to Prosperity

***Finger Lakes REDC Higher Education Workgroup

Occupations requiring less than a four year degree but greater than a high school diploma.

Career Pathway Defined • A Career Pathway is a series of connected education and

training programs and student support services that enable individuals to secure a job or advance in a demand industry or occupation.

• Career Pathways focus on easing and facilitating student transition from high school to community college; from pre-college courses to credit postsecondary programs; and from community college to university or employment.

• GOAL: Increase the number of NYers with certificates, credentials, and degrees in demand occupations.

Key Challenge: Public Awareness of in-demand Career Pathways

• Proactive marketing and communications:– Dedicated MARCOM staff with budgetary resources– Profile local Middle-Skill/Applied STEM Career Pathways

for Parents• Career Coach • Social Media/Web 2.0/Video Profiles

– Increased enrollment in CTE• Marketing to existing MCC students (undeclared)• Expanding partnerships with area schools

– Dual enrollment • Partnerships with CBOs engaged in workforce development

MCC Career Coach Launch Plan Target Audiences: • MCC students and employees• MCC Foundation

• Secondary schools, including Skill Centers (students, teachers, counselors)

• Parents of current and prospective students• Partners – current and prospective• Business and industry • State University of New York - SUNY• Community Based Organizations • Public libraries

Why Career Coach at MCCNewly formed division for Economic and Workforce

Development • Actively promote applied-STEM / CTE and middle-

skill career pathways to students and parents • Proactively address shortages in educational pipeline• Increasing enrollment within MCC’s Career Technical

Education programming• Ultimate goal: producing more workers for regional

in-demand occupations

MCC’s Career Coach Messaging Strategy• Messaging directly linked to strategy around the

new division and MCC’s middle-skills agenda• Career Exploration Tool • Research and national conversation around aligning

community colleges to their local labor market and the impact to workforce development

• Created a Logo and Promotional Materials • Developed a formal launch plan with timeline• Tied messaging together in a one page essay

Promotions (electronic, print and online)• Use student testimonials for promotional opportunities• Reach students through faculty and key offices• Workshops (demos by MCC experts) for students, employees• College-related events, such as expos, fairs and open houses Greater Rochester community• Workshops (demos by MCC staff)• High-school and college-related events, such as expos and fairs• Share information with high schools • Use student testimonials for promotional opportunities• Incorporate into messages at speaking engagements

Tactics

http://www.monroecc.edu/go/careercoach

Career Coach Bookmarks with QR Code

Career Coach Flyer with QR Code

Community Response • Strong media interest • 81,000 visits to site since launch• K-12 and Community Based Organizations• Libraries and Workforce Investment Partners • Need to continually reinforce use of the tool – Measured by hits, conversions and time per session

• Opportunity at several levels to embed tool within curricula initiatives both internally and externally

Media Coverage from CC Launch• 13 Wham News:

http://www.13wham.com/news/story/MCC-college-students-career-coach/0rvDYQhHhEWCRXru4mGdVg.cspx

• Brighton Pittsford Post:http://www.brightonpittsfordpost.com/feature/x2112950552/MCC-launches-new-job-search-tool

• Democrat & Chronicle: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120209/BUSINESS/302090045/?odyssey=nav|head

• Rochester Business Journal:http://www.monroecc.edu/mccannou.nsf/e95eac763ca69e5d85256c29006ccdd4/16f2ea7821bc6153852579a3000bfad4/$FILE/RBJ%20article.PDF

• Rochester YNN:http://rochester.ynn.com/content/all_news/573556/mcc-launches-online-job-search-tool/

• WROC/Fox Rochester:http://rochesterhomepage.net/fulltext?nxd_id=299262

• EMSI Monthly College Report (blog):http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5ede11c8b8beab8d9a4bf8edc&id=097a0be384&e=2bedce6549

Junior Achievement: World of Work

World of Work exposes students in grades 6-12:• an understanding of their personal skills, interests and values• an understanding of the career clusters most-aligned with

those qualities• an in-depth analysis of those career choices (education

required, wages, career progression, demand) with a specific focus on the local economy and job market.

• Students will utilize JA's Kudor Skills Assessment and MCC's Career Coach tool to gain knowledge relating to local workforce opportunities.

Systematic Approach to Integrating Labor Market Information into Programming

Undeclared Career Technical Education Category

Strategic Partnerships with Community Based Organizations:Target the Non-Traditional Student

Future Directions

• Deploy CTE Interest Inventory Online• Map Financial Aid and Scholarship Info Into Career

Coach• Video Vignettes of Local In-Demand Occupations• Develop In-demand Occupations Website• Expand LMI enhanced Curricula into Dual Enrollment

and Immersive Learning Opportunities with community partners and school districts

Selected ResourcesHarvard Graduate School of Education: Pathways to Prosperity – February 2011.http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf

NYS Forgotten Middle Skills – March 2011.http://www.capreg.org/pdf/Skills2Compete_ForgottenJobs_NY_2011-03-14.pdf

An Economy that Works: Job Creation and America's Future, McKinsey Global Institute – June 2011.http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Labor_Markets/An_economy_that_works_for_US_job_creation

Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018. Georgetown University, Center on Education and the Workforce – June 2010http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/FullReport.pdf

Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council Strategic Plan – November 2011.http://nyworks.ny.gov/themes/nyopenrc/rc-files/fingerlakes/FLREDCStrategicPlan.pdf

U.S. Manufacturing Nears Tipping Point, Boston Consulting Group (BCG).https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/manufacturing_supply_chain_management_us_manufacturing_nears_the_tipping_point/

College 2.0: Transforming Higher Education through Greater Innovation and Smarter Regulation – May 2011.http://icw.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/HigherEducationReport_final_high%20res.pdf

The Case for Being Bold: A New Agenda for Business in Improving STEM Education – April 2011 http://icw.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/The%20Case%20for%20Being%20Bold_2011_v2_0.pdf

Questions?