Beyond the Skills Gap Preparing College Students for Life and Work

By Matthew T. Hora, Ross J. Benbow, & Amanda K, Oleson

Matthew T. Hora, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts & Applied Studies

Research Scientist, Wisconsin Center for Education Research matthew.hora@wisc.edu @matt_hora

Slide deck posted on: www.slideshare.net

Image Source: http://www.magoda.com

“The skills gap in the US is killing millions of jobs. More than 4.5 million job openings in the US cannot

be filled, because of a skills shortage.” (CNBC, 2015)

“I've frequently heard from employers that they cannot find enough skilled workers to fill positions. The skills gap is a very real concern in Wisconsin and around the country.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker 3/24/13

“Is the education system not adequately preparing the workforce? The consensus is yes. Too many colleges are graduating students with liberal arts degrees in

limited-job specialties such as Renaissance art.” (Daley, 2015, p.8)

Image Source: http://www.atlantic.com

“Frames help to render events or occurrences meaningful and thereby function to organize

experience and guide action.” (Benford & Snow, 2000, p. 614)

Kestrel Aircraft to relocate in Superior creating 600 jobs

“This relocation will be a huge boost to the Superior-area economy, ” said Gov. Scott Walker.Image Source: http://www.hondajet.com

Image Source:: http://www.witc.edu/newscontent/careerimpact/spring2013/preventing-a-skills-gap.pdf

But is the skills gap an accurate diagnosis of the situation?

“The skills gap is a myth. The employment problem here is not a “skills matching” issue but a deficiency in the aggregate demand for

goods and labor.” Dr. Marc Levine, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Feb 2013)

“We read the report and waited to get to the part where the professor talked to

manufacturers,” Morgan wrote. “Unfortunately, he did not.”

Jim Morgan, President of the WI Manufacturers & Commerce Foundation (3/1/13)

NSF-ECR Grant: 2012 - 2015 ($526,022) & 2016 ($104,233)

Study Methods

70 Educators 75 Employers

Manufacturing (no food or furniture)

(n=64)

Biotechnology (n=11)

(n=34)

(n=36)

Operated out of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UW-Madison

Wisconsin’s Labor Market

!1,694'

565'

2,688'

9,164'

22,801'

7,362'

23,642'

15,922'

70,748'

42,089'

17,113'

0' 100,000' 200,000' 300,000' 400,000' 500,000' 600,000' 700,000' 800,000'

Natural'Resources'and'Mining'

InformaAon'

Government'

Manufacturing'

Trade,'TransportaAon,'and'UAliAes'

Other'Services'(except'Government)'

Leisure'and'Hospitality'

Financial'AcAviAes'

EducaAon'and'Health'Services'

Professional'and'Business'Services'

ConstrucAon''

Employment*in*Sector**

Wisconsin*Long*Term*Industry*Projec9on*2012=2022*

2012'

2022'

1

2

3

What skills do employers and educators in Wisconsin consider essential for workplace success?

How, if at all, are employers and educators actively cultivating these skills?

What is the nature of cross-sector relations, and how, if at all, does this influence skills cultivation?

Lesson #1: Hiring challenges exist, but are not just caused by educational preparation

WMC Listening Session Data (2012-2013) (n=183 manufacturing employers)

0"

20"

40"

60"

80"

100"

120"

140"

Unqualified"(math/reading/tech)"

Lack"social"skills"

Poor"work"ethic"

Facility"locaCon"

UncompeCCve"w

ages"

Poor"industry"image"

Drugs/alcohol"

125"

36"

97"

18" 20"

48"

24"

When people ask, "What keeps you from hiring someone?" It's not that they don't have the technical skill.

(Manufacturing executive, Green Bay, WI)

“Problem was finding someone willing to live in a small town and work long hours for low pay.”

(Quinton, 2015)

Lesson #2: Skills are not just “skills” nor are they the same as jobs

They are complex, multi-dimensional “habits of mind”

All educators (n=49)

Manufacturing Employers (n=59)

Biotech Employers (n=7)

Term Salience Term Salience Term Salience

Technical ability 0.381 Work ethic 0.338 Experience on job 0.345

Work ethic 0.257 Technical ability 0.342 Lifelong learning 0.301Technical knowledge 0.238

Technical knowledge 0.302 Technical ability 0.227

Problem solving 0.232 Lifelong learning 0.144 Communication 0.226

Teamwork 0.204 Problem solving 0.132 Problem solving 0.182

Communication 0.183 Adaptable 0.132 Work ethic 0.163

Critical thinking 0.156 Interpersonal 0.112 Detail oriented 0.153

Innovative 0.154 Attitude 0.112 Self motivated 0.150

Detail-oriented 0.145 Teamwork 0.112 Background 0.149

Lifelong learning 0.103 Communication 0.111Technical knowledge 0.141

Skills essential for workplace success

National Research Council 21st Century Competencies

Cognitive: knowledge, cognitive strategies (critical thinking), creativity Inter-personal: teamwork and leadership Intra-personal: work ethic, intellectual openness, positive self-evaluation

Goal is transferable knowledge and competencies

You see a lot of highly technical engineers but if they cannot work with other people, you’re of no use. (Manufacturing supervisor, La Crosse, WI)

Complex, multi-dimensional habits of mind

Skills are not just “skills” nor are they the same as jobs

Lesson #3: Centrality of active learning

Imagine Two Different Ways to Teach a Course

Direct engagement in challenging, authentic tasks

Peer-peer learning/communication

Active construction of new representations Image source://www.wisc.edu

Fun facts!

To get a job in many colleges and universities you don’t need any training in how to teach.

Exception in Wisconsin: WTCS teacher certification requires the “Magic 7” courses in learning theory

Snapshot of Faculty Teaching in Research Universities

0.0

0.2

0.5

0.7

0.9

Lect w/PP Lect w/CB Group work Desk Work

Bars indicate % time spent on teaching modality (n=56 STEM faculty)

Biology

Mech Eng

Geology

Physics

Lesson #4: Role of multi-disciplinary education, and training vs. education

“Many companies will say, ‘Your two-year degrees are so bloated, why would I need someone that needs English or history,’ and they don’t understand that that’s going to make a really good employee.

I don’t argue, but it’s happened where an employer comes back and says, “You were right.”

WTCS administrator

Lesson #5: The lack of workplace training, and the problem of hiring for “cultural fit”

How Employers Cultivated Valued Skills in Employees

41% - informal shadowing (e.g., follow Bob around for 4 weeks) 11% - formal courses (e.g., new machinery)

A 2015 Manpower Group survey (n= 41,700) found that “employers are not doing enough to address talent shortages.”

To get a job, it’s not just what you know, but who you know, how you act,

and yes - what you look like.

74% screen for “fit” with organizational culture

Lesson #6: Multiple forms of cross-sector partnerships foster students’ social and cultural capital for the

workplace

Type of Collaboration Example Impacts on student competenciesCurriculum/Program

Advising

Curriculum Advisory Boards

State- or industry-mandated advisory boards w/industry reps

Direct communication of industry needs/Feedback channel re:alumni

Co-Designed Company Training

Company and local educators collaboratively design training

Employee develops new form of cultural capital/company acquires new program

Curricular Co-construction

Course projects suggested by local employers

Student acquires new form of cultural capital salient to industrial field

Work Experience/Career Pathway

Program

Multi-Contact Programs Apprenticeships and internships

Student acquires new form of cultural capital valued by both fields and social capital

networks) capital

One-Time Programs Industry field trips/career days Exposes students to new field(s)

Career Services

Career CounselingCollege/university career

services; career fairsExposes students to new field(s); cultivates

social capital

Industry Cluster/Workforce Dev Board

Chamber of Commerce events/Industry cluster activities

Sectoral collaborations may enhance above activities

Diverse forms of partnership cultivate students’ cultural/social capital

OK - now what?

What does all this mean for teachers, parents, employers, and lawmakers?

The skills gap idea contains some truths, but…

is ultimately flawed, incomplete, and leading us in the wrong direction

“What's funny is that when we talk to our development board or NTC and they talk about the skills gap they're talking about teaching people to weld.

The gap we see is that people can't hold a job and can't solve a problem.”

(Manufacturing supervisor, Wausau, WI)

To meet workforce, student, societal needs, ensuring that students have

21st century competencies (throughout their working lives)

should be the priority

Access to College

Wisconsin Government

Higher Education Employers

UW System Campuses

WTCS 2-Year CampusesAdvanced Manufacturing

Biotechnology

Hands-on, experiential education

Hands-on, experiential

training

Comprehensive, multi-disciplinary

education

Employer investment in

workplace training & collaboration

Employer investment in

workplace training & collaboration

Hands-on, experiential

training

Centers for Teaching & Learning

Career & Academic Advising/Supports

Hands-on, experiential education

Comprehensive, multi-disciplinary

education

Centers for Teaching &

LearningCareer & Academic Advising/Supports

Adequate State Funding for Public Higher Education

Supportive Rhetoric

Industry Clusters,Workforce

Development Initiatives

Curriculum & Program Advising

Advisory Boards Curricular Co-Construction

Career ServicesWork-based

Learning Programs Field Trips

Classroom Visits

The skills infrastructure: Systemic reform for college-work pathways

Persistence Graduation

Graduates w/21st Century

Competencies

Technical Inter-Personal Intra-Personal

Screening & Hiring

Continual Development of

21st Century Competencies

Return to Higher Education System

Credit, Non-

Credit,

Face-to-Face,

Online

Size of Cut Impacts

UW-Eau Claire $7.7m 2 academic affairs, 3 student affairs positions cut

UW-Parkside $2.1m Increasing class sizes and teaching load (4 courses/semester)

UW-Stevens Pt $5.7m 76.5 positions Lost 25% career services staff; lost $40k undergrad

researchUW-Madison $63m Several career/academic advising positions cut; office

undergrad advising incr. 15% student per advisor

UW-Whitewater $6.4m Admissions/counseling now largely online

UW-Platteville $8.5m Cut writing course (1 of 2 required semesters) from gen ed

How to undermine the skills infrastructure: Part 1

“Morale (on campus) is lower than it has been at any job I’ve ever worked, including waiting tables at Pizza Hut in

high school, and detasseling corn when I was 14” (UW-River Falls faculty)

How to undermine the skills infrastructure: Part 2

A narrowing vision of the purpose of higher education

The New Vocationalism

Not a matter of vocational preparation or intellectual/moral development but both/and.

Things we need to do Systemic investments in skills infrastructure at every college/university

1. Support the teaching profession * Provide mandatory training in instructional design for new faculty * Engage in talent retention strategy for all postsecondary educators, including

contingent faculty 2. Expand and enhance career services

* Hire career/academic advisors to get to 300:1 ratio (!) * Make career advising a mandatory aspect of all students education (undergrad,

grad, post-doc)

3. Create venues for educator-employer engagement * Centralized web-based portals for internships, course-embedded projects, lists

of faculty experts * Curriculum advisory boards across disciplines and institutions

Things we need to do Take a cautious, evidence-based approach to reform and innovation

Questions we need to ask/answer before “reforming” our postsecondary system

* Do employers really see badges/certificates as signaling competence?

* Is the accountability movement in higher education doing more harm than good?

* Why is China seeking to adopt the liberal arts model as part of its innovation agenda?

* Do students and educators have a seat at table when policies related to college, skills, and jobs are being made?

Reject the skills gap narrative

Adopt a vision of higher education that acknowledges the collective responsibility that educators, businesses, and the community have for cultivating a skilled generation of students

entering society and the workforce

Next Steps

Studying Education-industry dynamics in other regions and countries New ECR Project w/RIT: Focus on 4 high-STEM job regions of the US ($2.2m)

Comparative analysis of US, China, Japan, S. Korea

Thank You! For more information: matthew.hora@wisc.edu

The Team Ross Benbow, Amanda Oleson, Yimin Wang, Bailey Smolarek

New Center for Research on College-Work Transitions (CCWT)