Workforce Development ‘Matters’
Against the backdrop of a Gallup poll that found Americans’ confidence in higher education falling to just 36% in 2023 compared to 57% in 2015, Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) President Michael J. McDonough, Ph.D., declares, “For the first time, we have an overwhelming majority of the American public thinking that for the money they invest in a four-year or a two-year degree – less so for a two-year degree – they will not receive a return on that investment.”
The development arrives at a time when employers need graduates with hands-on skillsets in the trades and similar fields in part because older workers are retiring en masse and the labor pipeline has been slow to refill.
Trade schools and community colleges with vocational training programs are experiencing the effects of the above dynamics in combination with other factors: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data reveals that in fall 2023, community colleges that centered on vocational programs had their registrations increase by 16%, compared to just a 3.7% increase before 2020.
RVCC’s McDonough comments, “The reality is that workforce programs can provide a pathway to very sustainable employment even in a high-cost-of-living state like New Jersey.” He adds that entry-level advanced manufacturing credentials, for example, can yield salaries in the $23-$26 per hour range, while two-year associates degree graduates of medical lab technician programs, certain HVAC technician programs and cleanroom technician programs can annually earn more than $60,000.
RVCC has been at the center of this educational evolution: Its 47,000-square-foot Workforce Training Center (WTC) opened in 2017 in partnership with local industry, to, as the college states, “better serve the community’s economic and employment needs.” Replete with training programs in Advanced Manufacturing Technology (metal-works fabrication), Automotive Technology, Cosmetology, Esthetics (skincare), Environmental Control/HVAC, Nail Technology/Manicurist and Commercial Energy Management, the center’s students are learning with leading-edge equipment.
The workforce center additionally offers professional certifications ranging from ECG technician and pharmacy technician to phlebotomy lab assistant and solar photovoltaic training, for example. Professional development courses range from English as a Second Language (ESL) to Microsoft® Office and AUTOCAD software training as well as training for customer service.
‘Soft Skills’
McDonough underscores that it’s not enough, however, for students to demonstrate technical competence; they must also learn so-called soft skills that are demanded by employers, which he prefers to call “habit[s] of mind.” He says, “Can you show up on time, every day? Can you demonstrate teamwork? Can you collaborate with other people? Can you be civil and respectful, and can you work with a very inclusive group of workers? Do you have stamina (grit) so you can problem-solve things?”
Echoing similar sentiments is Christine Zicchinolfi, vice president of Eatontown-based ACI Medical & Dental School, an institution that offers medical assistant, dental assistant and medical and dental administrative assistant programs. Zicchinolfi says her school keenly focuses on fostering student professionalism, adding: “The first [thing] employers say when they reach out to our director of career services is: ‘I need somebody reliable, dependable and trainable.’ Those are the attributes for which employers are looking.
With a 93% pass rate on national credentialing exams and a 91% post-graduate employment rate, ACI Medical & Dental School students undergo intensive didactic and clinical training on everything ranging from patient care and phlebotomy to how to use electrocardiogram (EKG) equipment.
ACI Medical & Dental School has accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools as well as from other entities. President Frank A. Preston says more broadly, “We are recognized for our graduates; [employers] prefer our graduates. We just need more of them to keep up with the demand [from employers].” The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 14% from 2022 to 2032 – a much more rapid rate when compared to other occupations.
Workforce Development for Individuals with Disabilities
While medical and dental workforce development as well as the skilled trades receive much fanfare, workforce development programs for those with mental and physical disabilities have also been taking center stage. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that for 2023, 22.5% of persons with disabilities were employed. This is “the highest recorded ratio since comparable data were first collected in 2008.”
Jersey City-based Hudson Community Enterprises (HCE) is part of the equation, employing people of all ages with a range of disabilities in its various businesses that include building maintenance, document imaging, document destruction, packaging and fulfillment, and a digital print shop. HCE also has a variety of employment readiness programs and other initiatives.
HCE President Joe Brown explains, “Anybody who has a disability can come to us and we try to find an employment solution and a career solution that’s good for them.”
HCE’s various businesses’ tasks include cleaning the State House in Trenton as well as the Essex County Hospital in Cedar Grove in addition to providing services for the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission. HCE also digitally scans all the court records for the State of New Jersey’s Superior Court system, for example.
Among other endeavors, HCE works with high-school-aged students with a wide variety of disabilities via a transition program where students will pursue academic work for half a day, work at HCE, and then ultimately have their first jobs. Brown explains, “They’ll work at Walgreens and Liberty Science Center and any number of local businesses where they’ll have their first job experiences. They have a job coach who shows them what they’re able to do, and hopefully they’re developing the basic skills they need to understand what it is to have a successful job experience and career.”
Conclusion
Overall, various iterations of workforce development are accelerating both in New Jersey and across the nation as career-worthy, hands-on skillsets are increasingly sought by students and their parents alike. While workforce development is suitable for all ages, RVCC’s McDonough notes that parents of high school students are “suddenly very willing to look at community colleges in general [and] allow their children to experience workforce training programs.”
He concludes, “On any [given] day, RVCC has more than 125 high school students enrolled in workforce training programs. What we’re now seeing is that [students] want workforce experiences.”