Here’s a perplexing situation. Approximately 37% of young adults earn a college degree. Yet, college—defined traditionally as obtaining a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution through full-time campus attendance—remains creatively intertwined with the perceived American Dream and is often viewed as the singular pathway to success. Currently, the dual dilemmas of overwhelming student loan debts and the intricacies of labor shortages are leading to discussions about the value of the conventional college experience.
The reality of college in 2022 is quite different from the conventional image we hold. It has transformed into a more flexible, resourceful, and innovative concept. More often, educational institutions are developing avenues for students to acquire skills in ‘stackable’ formats through various non-traditional routes, such as paid internships, partnerships between public and private sectors, or early college initiatives. The most astute students are leveraging industry connections, their K-12 educational institutions, or a mix of both to reduce or even eliminate their college tuition expenses.
These diverse approaches are reflective of a nation striving to tackle a range of issues—focused on students who are on the verge of becoming a financially burdened and underpaid workforce; on employers and broader industries contending with a disillusioned workforce (consider the ongoing phenomenon known as the Great Resignation); and on higher education institutions that are increasingly finding it hard to defend high tuition fees, often inflating their graduates’ starting salaries by 100% according to various studies.
These methods indicate that institutions may view public universities as the key players in progressing towards a more equitable educational landscape for aspiring students. In this examination, we delve into the challenges and achievements of select strategies aimed at reshaping the landscape of higher education.
Reimagining apprenticeships
In 2021, over 85,000 new apprentices aged 24 and under were reported by the U.S. Department of Labor. However, Noel Ginsburg, the founder and CEO of CareerWise Colorado and a co-chair member of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship—collaborating with the U.S. Department of Labor—still regards this field as in its infancy, with considerable potential to revolutionize the American workforce yet to be realized.
CareerWise is a contemporary youth apprenticeship organization that connects students with employers and takes cues from Switzerland, where about 70% of high school students engage in vocational training in diverse fields ranging from catering and agriculture to finance and insurance. Switzerland enjoys a highly competitive economy, in part due to this established synergy between business and education. It appears that while 16- and 17-year-olds might resist making their beds, they could potentially excel as employees.
The skilled labor deficit that CareerWise seeks to mitigate is not something theoretical for Ginsburg. As the proprietor of InterTech Plastics, a manufacturing firm, he is acutely aware of this situation.
Kevin King joined during his final year of high school and has spent five years as an Automation Engineer at InterTech. He contributed to the design of systems that reduce production costs to effectively compete with Chinese manufacturers, all while maintaining product quality. Initially, as an apprentice, King earned just above $11 an hour, but now he enjoys a salary exceeding $77,000 annually, along with InterTech funding his engineering degree, a pursuit he does not feel rushed to complete.
“Honestly,” says Ginsburg, “it’s more economical for companies than paying a recruiter $40,000 to find someone from Ohio who will relocate temporarily and eventually return home to start a family. The company has received the top Innovation Award in the plastics manufacturing sector for three consecutive years. These initiatives often involved apprentices, who in many cases led those projects.”
Ironically, King diverted from the traditional college route when he chose to leave that path. “In high school, I was rather complacent,” says King. “The fact that I excelled in several AP classes indicates a failure within the system, rather than a testament to my capabilities.” He discovered his enthusiasm for engineering while serving as the fabrication director of his school’s robotics team, which motivated him to forge this new path. “I truly enjoyed creating things with my hands,” he explains.
Currently, InterTech relies partially on apprentices for its workforce pipeline. Numerous other firms, including JP Morgan Chase and Amazon, are pursuing similar strategies.
The push to rapidly expand transformative opportunities such as CareerWise seems like an obvious choice, yet there’s a complex challenge: Businesses require skilled workers immediately, while developing them is a time-consuming process. Here, both traditional partnerships and innovative collaborations between community colleges and automobile manufacturers play critical roles.
Enhancing public-private partnerships
When considering their futures and evaluating higher education options, students may not immediately think of General Motors. However, the company and the automotive sector, in general, have maintained strong connections with students and educational institutions for many years.
General Motors established contact with Suffolk County Community College in Long Island, New York, in 1987, seeking to implement a technical training program. This partnership led to the development of a new facility, and, according to David Macholz, Suffolk’s assistant dean of transportation programs, “the success of this initiative attracted other manufacturers who expressed interest in similar collaborations.” Toyota joined in 2003, followed by Honda in 2005, along with Subaru, Nissan, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz.
This arrangement proves beneficial for both parties. The school manages logistics for its 250 students, while the companies provide vehicles, tools, equipment, resource support, and instructor training. Uncommonly, Tesla showed interest as an unexpected participant. “I received a call from someone who introduced themselves as being from Tesla, expressing interest in visiting our facility. Initially, I thought it was a prank,” recalls Macholz.
In typical fashion, Tesla sought to differentiate itself. The eight trainees in Suffolk’s Tesla START program, along with those at eight other locations across the nation, are hired prior to entering the campus. Due to the proprietary nature of its technology, Tesla supplies its own trainers. Students receive stipends during a comprehensive 16-week training course, with the company covering college tuition costs. Upon completing the program successfully, students have the opportunity to apply for full employment while gaining a competitive edge.
Every year, 250 automotive students progress through Suffolk’s automotive curriculum. Given the presence of 3,000 repair shops and 400 new car dealerships in the New York metropolitan area, demand for skilled labor is vastly exceeding supply. The school aims to expand with a new facility that will be three times larger than the current one. If New York community colleges struggle to keep pace with demand, one can only imagine the challenges faced by Austin Community College—located in a city experiencing a daily influx of 200 new residents due to tech giants increasing their presence long before Tesla’s arrival.
During the construction of his “gigafactory” in Austin in 2021, with anticipation of the Model Y electric vehicles rolling off the production line, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a request for 10,000 new employees. He has since doubled that projection.
Enter Austin Community College (ACC). A student body of 70,000 is supported on 11 campuses across an expansive region of Central Texas similar to Connecticut’s size. Enrolling in a two-year associate’s degree program across the college’s 100-plus fields of study will cost an in-district student around $10,000, roughly a quarter of the median four-year degree cost for the 2021-22 academic year. ACC has emerged as a hub for innovative approaches to higher education, leading to the creation of a dedicated leader who can facilitate relationships with local businesses seeking skilled talent.
Garrett Groves, the college’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives, plays a pivotal role in linking companies with classroom learning, serving both external and internal functions, addressing an ever-growing number of workplaces seeking assistance. “We’ve historically worked with hospitals and IT firms, but now it encompasses school districts, various levels of the aviation sector. Everyone is in urgent need of skilled labor,” he states.
Much like Suffolk, ACC has maintained a longstanding business partnership model. Samsung’s semiconductor chip division reached out two decades ago, setting the stage for Tesla to capitalize on that developed infrastructure today. “The required skills for both industries are quite similar, enabling us to utilize that expertise to devise a tailored program for Tesla,” Groves observes.
In Austin, Tesla is also initiating an innovative approach. Students are being trained not only in how to service Teslas but also in the processes to manufacture them. ACC’s logo will feature on the course content utilized in Tesla training sites in locations such as Nevada, New York, California, and potentially in Berlin and Bangalore in the future. “Our training for skilled technicians will serve as a model for their global initiatives,” Groves explains.
Tesla is also collaborating with Dell Valley High School, neighboring the gigafactory, in a prototype partnership that resulted in over 60 students committing to a five-year program this year, leading to a high school diploma, an associate’s degree from ACC, and hands-on training to launch them into the workforce with an attractive salary. “We’re striving to develop scalable models for the region,” Groves reflects.
Transforming higher education and reshaping perceptions of vocational training
The expansion of public-private partnerships is urgently needed from the perspective of their organizers. While industries cope with labor shortages, workers themselves are also facing challenges. Data analysts in Central Texas reveal that young people entering the workforce with merely a traditional high school diploma have just a 12% chance of earning a living wage within six years of graduation.
Despite the urgency of this situation, schools face the daunting task of shifting entrenched systems. High schools still gauge student performance based on seat time rather than mastery of specific competencies. Altering this paradigm would disrupt over a century of established norms. Enduring assumptions within the business community also pose obstacles to progress.
“Employers often do not instinctively view high school students as viable employees,” has been discovered by Ginsburg from CareerWise. “‘What do you mean,’ they inquire, ‘Can I hire a 15-year-old and expect a return on investment?’ Employers’ lack of understanding regarding the potential advantages to their business is significant. However, if you place a young individual in a professional context, they will heed their supervisors; they do mature.”
The most significant barrier to substantial growth may be the cultural stigma attached to vocational education. “It’s a profound challenge,” Ginsburg expresses. “Society still perceives—aided by our narratives—that a degree is the key to success in America. This is not true.”
David Macholz from Suffolk Community College feels optimistic, believing that perceptions are gradually shifting due to insights gained from the COVID-19 pandemic about our reliance on essential workers. Notably, automotive occupations never ceased operations.
The evidence is increasingly visible in earnings. “Previously, education emphasized either a four-year degree or nothing, while now we are reversing that stance. Six-figure incomes are attainable in both the automotive and construction sectors,” Macholz emphasizes. “Numerous pathways exist to achieve success.”
Fostering early college initiatives
But what about students who aspire to traditional four-year degrees or have less concrete ambitions? Not every individual is suited for apprenticeships or vocational training, and enhancing access to bachelor’s degrees presents another avenue to address the skills gap and broaden future opportunities for the upcoming generation.
Massachusetts, the birthplace of Horace Mann and modern public education, naturally leads in investing significantly in inventive approaches within this domain, including early college high schools. These schools enable students to obtain an associate’s degree or two years’ worth of college credits by merging high school courses with college classes while also earning a high school diploma. This academic year, the state is facilitating partnerships between 50 high schools and 28 institutions of higher learning.
Mount Everett Regional High School is the sole partner serving a rural community, drawing students from Sheffield, a town of 3,000 in the state’s far southwest, along with several smaller adjacent towns. Fortuitously, the original early college high school, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, is located just a few miles north in Great Barrington. “Rockers” are exceptional students who have commenced college as early as 15 or 16 years old since 1966. (Award-winning journalist Ronan Farrow still holds the record of enrolling at age 11.) Bard expanded its early college model and opened another institution in lower Manhattan 21 years ago, and the network has since diversified, serving 3,000 students across seven campuses that confer degrees.
John Weinstein, presently the provost at Simon’s Rock, was part of the founding team for the New York campus, later contributing to the development of the Newark school and various others. A scholar of Chinese literature focusing on drama, he champions early college’s potential in advancing educational equity. “Early college offers substantial possibilities for students who may not conventionally envision themselves in college due to various circumstances,” Weinstein notes.
The student body at Mount Everett High School, numbering 200, now has the opportunity to earn a minimum of three or up to 31 college credits without cost during their high school journey. Classes are conducted by a blend of Simon’s Rock faculty and their own certified instructors. Flexibility is integrated into the program, and no obligation or expectation requires students to pursue higher education after high school. “We have multiple points of entry and exit, allowing a student to explore the options, which is beneficial for situations where either the student or their family are uncertain,” Weinstein explains.
Students are encouraged to utilize the program for completing the “gateway” courses, such as essential math and English classes, which frequently act as obstacles to completing college—particularly for first-generation students. After overcoming these hurdles, students, similar to the traditional college route, may select from various pathways focusing on liberal arts, technology, the arts, culinary arts, or global education that resonate with their interests. The aim is for 80% of Mount Everett’s students to engage in the early college option, with a portion of them seeking further higher education after experiencing advanced coursework.
What distinguishes a high school course from a college course? Beth Regulbuto, the superintendent of Mount Everett’s home district, Southern Berkshire Regional, underscores the open access that early college provides. (In contrast, Advanced Placement courses, a typical avenue for obtaining college credits in high school, have admission requirements.) She also believes that incorporating a college mindset into the school’s culture will yield positive outcomes. “This compels us to reconsider how we align our curriculum and prepare students, starting from pre-K, to ensure they are equipped for early college courses. For example, how can we enable students to take ownership of their learning?”
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How soon will these alternative educational pathways become mainstream? Possibly sooner than one might anticipate. Superintendent Regulbuto mentions, “The motivation for exploring early college stemmed from the fact that around two-thirds of our students expressed, ‘Our families don’t prioritize college.’ They are questioning, ‘What’s the value? Why should I incur loans if I can’t secure a job that pays them off?’”
Noel Ginsburg from CareerWise observes a similar shift. “The limitations are beginning to fade,” he states. “Both parents and students are reevaluating their perspectives on their futures.”
