Workforce Development Seminar

Education for Employment: Covering Workforce Development

With growing labor shortages, shaken confidence in the four-year degree and rapidly changing technology rattling the job market, workforce readiness has become a major focus of postsecondary education. The learning landscape after high school is shifting, with an expansion of short-term job training programs, a focus on ensuring credentials are stackable and more apprenticeships giving students opportunities to simultaneously learn and earn. 

What do reporters need to know about the education, training and strategies that institutions — particularly community colleges, which lead much of this work — are pursuing to prepare students for the workforce? How can journalists investigate the efficacy of these programs and whether they offer pathways to economic opportunity?

Dive into the latest research, policies and programs around career education at the Education Writers Association’s Workforce Development Seminar. The new conference will take place on Nov. 17 at Lorain County Community College in Ohio. The college, located outside of Cleveland, has been recognized for its efforts in connecting students to in-demand careers and boosting the local economy. It offers a setting for reporters to thoughtfully explore the types of programs and supports that help students successfully transition into the workforce. 

Programming will include sessions on various topics, including:

• How community colleges can drive economic mobility and what skills and support students need to land jobs with good wages and pursue meaningful careers 
• The latest developments with short-term and alternative credentialing, including the implementation of Workforce Pell
• Efforts to reduce the time and cost of earning a degree, such as dual enrollment, community college baccalaureate programs and apprenticeship degrees 
• Key policy initiatives at the state and federal levels shaping workforce development 

The seminar will highlight the work of journalists, subject-matter experts and college administrators to equip attendees with knowledge, sources and story ideas to cover postsecondary education’s role in workforce development. 

Photo credit: l i g h t p o e t/Bigstock

EWA is grateful to Ascendium Education Group for providing the major funding that made this seminar possible. We are also grateful to Lorain County Community College for its generosity in hosting the seminar.

EWA retains editorial control over all programming.