Effectively earlier than COVID-19, politicians and enterprise leaders expressed concern concerning the hole between the abilities employers want to maximise productiveness and the abilities possessed by obtainable staff. The pandemic has solely exacerbated these gaps, with over 10 million job openings and six million unemployed staff by the top of October 2022.
Group faculty noncredit Profession and Technical Training (CTE) packages are an essential contributor to talent and workforce improvement. Roughly 5 million college students enroll in group faculty noncredit packages nationally (greater than half in CTE packages), which represents 41% of the entire enrollments in the neighborhood faculty sector. CTE packages are extremely targeted on job coaching and are a lot shorter in length than the everyday group faculty or college diploma program. In Virginia, two of the preferred CTE packages are business driver’s license and licensed medical assistant coaching, which respectively encompass 168 and 180 contact hours (for comparability, full-time college students full about 150 contact hours in a semester). Noncredit CTE packages are additionally well-liked amongst working adults: In Virginia, the common age of scholars enrolled in noncredit CTE packages is 35 years previous (authors’ calculations).
The federal and state governments more and more prioritize workforce coaching of their coverage agendas, such because the Biden Administration’s Expertise Pipeline Problem. But we all know subsequent to nothing concerning the composition of scholars who take part in these packages; the charges at which college students full packages and earn workforce-relevant credentials; and whether or not CTE program participation results in subsequent schooling and coaching or improved workforce outcomes. Whereas states have made substantial investments and progress in constructing knowledge warehouses for his or her credit-bearing postsecondary schooling establishments, most of those longitudinal knowledge techniques don’t embrace knowledge from noncredit CTE packages.
In 2016 the Virginia legislature launched an progressive pay-for-performance funding mechanism, the New Financial system Workforce Grant (WCG), to broaden participation in group faculty noncredit CTE packages, or “FastForward packages,” that result in an industry-recognized credential in one of many high-demand fields, as recognized by the Virginia Workforce Board. On this mannequin, prices are shared among the many state, the scholars, and the coaching establishment, the place the precise quantities of funding every social gathering pays relies on scholar efficiency, creating monetary incentives for packages and college students to make the packages accessible and enhance completion charges. Particularly, upon enrolling, eligible college students are required to pay just one third of the entire program value, which was a median of $802 in FY2022. If the scholar completes this system, the state supplies one third of the associated fee to the coaching establishment. If the scholar additional receives a third-party, industry-recognized credential inside six months of program completion, the state can pay two thirds of the associated fee to the coaching establishment, enabling the coaching establishment to be reimbursed totally. One essential implication of the WCG is a mandate on systematic, statewide assortment of student-level noncredit CTE knowledge on program enrollment, completion, {industry} credential attainment, and labor market knowledge.
We capitalize on these knowledge to generate proof on the tutorial and labor market outcomes of scholars enrolled in FastForward packages. We focus this weblog publish on our analyses associated to participant composition, program success, and the connection between noncredit and credit score enrollment. Future work will examine the labor market impacts of FastForward participation and the impacts of Virginia’s distinctive pay-for-performance mannequin for funding noncredit CTE packages.
New proof on group faculty CTE program participation and success
We concentrate on three major insights about FastForward packages in Virginia. For a technical abstract of our knowledge, strategies, and outcomes, go to PERI².
- FastForward packages entice and enroll a distinct phase of the inhabitants than credit-bearing packages at group faculties.
As we present in Determine 1, FastForward packages in Virginia enroll a considerably greater share of Black college students, male college students, and older college students than short-duration, credit-bearing packages at group faculties, reminiscent of certificates packages in “workplace skilled applied sciences” or in “superior medical coder” (which require 20 credit and 16 credit, respectively). As an example, 33.9% of scholars enrolled in FastForward packages are Black, in contrast with 24.1% of scholars in credit-bearing packages. From a postsecondary academic entry perspective, noncredit CTE packages reminiscent of FastForward might present an essential various pathway to abilities and workforce alternatives for populations historically underrepresented within the credit-bearing sector.
- We observe little scholar move from FastForward to the credit-bearing sector.
The prevailing literature means that an affiliate diploma from group faculties can yield substantial labor market advantages to college students. Accordingly, one objective policymakers and funders have for noncredit packages is for them to function a possible “springboard” for college students to earn extra credit and credentials in for-credit packages. But our analyses counsel that the majority college students don’t look like approaching noncredit packages on this method. Determine 2 reveals that almost all of FastForward college students—60.7%—haven’t any prior or subsequent enrollment within the credit-bearing sector. And whereas roughly one third (25.9% plus 10.6%) of FastForward enrollees had prior credit-bearing enrollment, solely a small share of these college students earned a level or certificates from this prior enrollment. This implies that noncredit might present a pathway to coaching and {industry} credentials for college students who weren’t profitable on the credit-bearing facet. Nevertheless, only a few FastForward enrollees—lower than 14% (2.7% plus 10.6%)—pursue subsequent coaching within the credit-bearing sector. That is true regardless of growing state efforts to develop the share of staff that “stack” credentials to keep up job-relevant abilities in a quickly remodeling labor market.
- Program completion and {industry} credential attainment charges are excessive in FastForward packages
FastForward program completion and {industry} credential attainment charges are a lot greater than completion and attainment charges from the credit-bearing sector (Determine 3). As an example, 70.1% of FastForward college students earn an {industry} credential inside six months, in comparison with 31% of scholars who earn a college-awarded certificates inside two years of beginning a short-term certificates in a credit-bearing program. One apparent motive for greater completion charges is that noncredit CTE packages, reminiscent of FastForward, are usually a lot shorter in length. However the FastForward program completion fee (95.2%) can be considerably greater than completion charges for noncredit CTE packages in different states (usually round 75%). One other believable clarification for the excessive completion fee is the twin monetary incentives embedded within the WCG funding mannequin. If a scholar doesn’t full their program, then: 1) they’re required to repay one other one third of the entire value to the coaching establishment; and a pair of) their establishment misses out on state funding. Group faculties are totally reimbursed by the state provided that a scholar efficiently completes their coaching and earns the third-party {industry} credential.
Underlying the general excessive {industry} credential attainment charges is essential variation between packages and scholar teams in credentialing. As we present in Determine 4, some extremely enrolled packages, like Medical Medical Assistant, have excessive {industry} credential attainment charges (80.3%). Nevertheless, different extremely enrolled packages, like Licensed Nurse Support, have a lot decrease attainment charges (48.0%).
Coverage implications
Lots of the patterns associated to enrollment and success generally related to the credit-bearing sector of group faculties don’t appear to use to FastForward packages in Virginia. They enroll college students usually underrepresented in credit-bearing packages and have a lot greater program completion and credential attainment charges. Whereas our analyses don’t but communicate to the labor market impacts of FastForward packages, the descriptive insights nonetheless inspire a number of potential areas for additional coverage consideration:
- We observe gaps in {industry} credential attainment that advantage additional investigation and potential intervention. Why, for example, are {industry} credential attainment charges considerably decrease for Black college students (59.5%) than white college students (73.8%), regardless of extra comparable program completion charges (91.3% and 95.2%, respectively)? What types of extra assist for Black FastForward program completers may result in greater credentialing?
- What FastForward program components are related to greater {industry} credential charges, and what elements of packages may hinder college students from acquiring an {industry} credential after finishing their program? (It is a query we are going to examine in upcoming work with MDRC.)
- Would extra proactive outreach and advising about alternatives to stack credentials lead extra college students to make use of noncredit CTE packages as a stepping stone to the credit-bearing sector?
Thousands and thousands of scholars pursue CTE coaching at group faculties every year, and these packages have the potential to handle essential abilities gaps within the U.S. financial system. Constructing additional proof on noncredit CTE packages—in Virginia and extra broadly—may help to information future coverage investments in efficient workforce improvement.
