The Partnership Imperative: Community Colleges, Employers, and America’s Chronic Skills Gap
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BOSTON—Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), today released “The Partnership Imperative: Community Colleges, Employers, and America's Chronic Skills Gap,” a report that examines the state of collaboration between community colleges and business leaders and calls on employers to more actively partner with educators. Educators and employers are failing to meet the challenge: how to equip enough workers with the skills needed to keep the U.S. economy competitive and fill the millions of vacant positions. Employers complain they cannot find the talent they need—in terms of quantity, quality, and diversity—and critical middle-skills positions go unfilled. At the same time, many students emerge from the community college system unable to find employment in their field of study or at a living wage. Educators struggle to engage employers—in curriculum development; information sharing on fast-changing technical and foundational skills requirements for middle-skills positions; and more. In order to diagnose the problem, the Project on Managing the Future of Work launched a multiyear, multi-method research initiative combining background research and interviews with community college leaders and business executives across the country. The Project then partnered with AACC to conduct the first-ever exhaustive survey on the state and trajectory of the partnership between educators and employers, based on a framework of more than 40 concrete actions designed to build a work-ready workforce. There are actions for educators (e.g., developing standards for what skills and knowledge students can expect to acquire in classes) and employers (e.g., offering class projects that mimic real-world work for community college courses; donating or leasing equipment or license software to community colleges). Key findings: In order to repair the relationship and build a work-ready workforce, employers and educators must:
The actions in this framework, as well as the partnership playbook provided in each chapter of the report, illuminate a path forward for educators and employers. “The current state of collaboration is failing to meet today’s business needs and putting future competitiveness and prosperity at risk,” said Professor Joe Fuller, co-chair of the Project on Managing the Future of Work. “’The Partnership Imperative’ is a wake-up call for community college leaders and business executives to fix what’s broken and ensure better outcomes for students.” “Rebooting the system will require community college educators and business leaders to work more closely to ensure that training and education is relevant to industry, students are trained and recruited for jobs, and decisions are data-driven. ‘The Partnership Imperative’ provides a playbook to achieve these goals. It’s in business’ best interest to initiate such partnerships to ensure they get the work-force ready talent they need—as well as help students access jobs with decent wages,” said Manjari Raman, Project on Managing the Future of Work research director. “America’s community colleges are extraordinary providers of training and talent. AACC is proud to partner on ‘The Partnership Imperative’ to support community colleges and employers in advancing the promise of America’s workforce development system,” said Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of AACC. The report and an executive summary with key findings can be downloaded on the Managing the Future of Work website. |
Harvard Business School:
Djenny Passe
hbsmfw@edelman.com
631 335 2909
Manjari Raman
mraman+hbs.edu
American Association of Community Colleges:
Dr. Martha Parham
mparham+aacc.nche.edu
202 728 0200 x209
ABOUT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES
As the voice of the nation’s community colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), delivers educational and economic opportunity for more than 10 million diverse students in search of the American Dream. Uniquely dedicated to access and success for all students, AACC’s member colleges provide an on-ramp to degree attainment, skilled careers and family-supporting wages. Located in Washington, D.C., AACC advocates for these not-for-profit, public-serving institutions to ensure they have the resources and support they need to deliver on the mission of increasing economic mobility for all.
ABOUT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL’S PROJECT ON MANAGING THE FUTURE OF WORK:
Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work pursues research that business and policy leaders can put into action to navigate the complex, fast-changing nature of work. The Project’s current research areas focus on six forces that are redefining the nature of work in the United States as well as in many other advanced and emerging economies: technology trends like automation and artificial intelligence, contingent workforces and the gig economy, workforce demographics and the “care economy;” the middle-skills gap and worker investments, global talent access and utilization, and spatial tensions between leading urban centers and rural areas.
ABOUT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 70 open enrollment Executive Education programs and 55 custom programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School’s digital learning platform. For more than a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who make a difference in the world, shaping the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.