Innovators Talk: Preparing for the World of Work
Michael Collins, Vice President at JFF
Key Takeaways:
The College Conversation: Is how we talk about college giving students the wrong impression? For many students, particularly those from vulnerable populations, our national conversation has created the idea that a college degree is the finish line instead of a part of the journey. “Helping people understand the variation of different types of credentials and what your employment prospects and earning prospects are... I think that’s really important and I don’t think it happens.”
Over-Indexing in Tough Times: It’s a common trend during challenging economic times to focus on degrees and credentials that make someone immediately employable, such as STEM degrees. However, data shows that after 10 years those with liberal arts degrees catch up and surpass, in both earnings and prestige, their peers with STEM degrees. Why? “I would argue that they have more of the skills that suggest mental dexterity: they’re problem solvers, they’re critical thinkers, they synthesize...all of the things that we know will be important for the future of work.”
Digging Deeper to Help Vulnerable Populations: Michael provided some wonderful insights during the Talk into the challenges facing vulnerable populations, especially Black learners and workers. He challenged us in higher education to look beyond some of the statistics and really understand where members of those populations are struggling. For example, we may see that the rate of Black learners finishing their degree has increased substantially since the 1970s, but the Black unemployment rate is still nearly double that of the White unemployment rate. Additionally, the jobs that most Black Americans hold are mostly low-wage with little opportunity for economic advancement. “The mobility narrative of higher education is not actually true for Black Americans. What are we going to do to disrupt these numbers?”
The Variable of Social Capital in the Mobility Narrative: Social capital is often missing from the conversation. The narrative of economic mobility needs to include the fact that you have to cultivate a network. “People who don’t have [social capital] are really at a disadvantage. We know...that if you come from a family in the top fifth of income, you’re more likely to have parents who are educated...they can open doors for their children that people from low income backgrounds can not.” We have to focus on structures that help students from low-income backgrounds build this capital and support.
Either/Or Should Really Be Both/And: The argument that higher education is either about getting a job immediately or about “civics, and being an educated person, and being a humanist” is a flawed juxtaposition. If we are going to provide foundations for vulnerable populations to be successful in the short, medium, and long terms, we have to combine a focus on employability with the more liberal arts aspects of college that create adaptable graduates.
“The question for all of us today is how are we going to partner, how are we going to ally, how are we going to use our organizational capacity and our individual capacity to disrupt patterns [of inequality in our systems].”
Every student needs to have a clear understanding of their path ahead. Too often, we have relied on the students themselves being proactive in seeking advice they need. While that reliance may work for some, it does not work for everyone. This is particularly true of students from vulnerable populations who have been told that the college degree in itself will lead to the economic mobility they seek. The structures we build in the post-Covid world can not rely on proactive students. Rather the challenge before us is to create systems where we are the proactive ones and get in front of ALL students to provide better understanding of the role their education will play in their futures.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove works with institutions to actively provide and scale that guidance.
