Degrees aren’t getting graduates jobs. Here’s what can.

4-year college degrees don’t guarantee stable, fulfilling jobs. That’s why this team is working with employers to design a faster, more affordable way to equip worker’s for today’s jobs — and it could transform how we define “qualified”

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Higher education is at a crossroads, struggling to keep pace with the dynamic demands of the modern job market. Graduates often find themselves trapped in a cycle of underemployment, holding degrees that don't align with the skills employers are looking for. That’s why Education Design Lab is redefining the journey from school to the workplace through the concept of micro-pathways.

These innovative pathways prioritize skill-specific micro-credentials, designed with employers to meet the precise needs of today's workplace. By breaking down traditional degrees into more focused units of learning, they offer a laser-like precision in skill development, which can be readily applied across a range of industries and positions. The initiative, spearheaded by Don Fraser, has quickly gained momentum, with more than 50 community college systems collaborating to implement these programs nationwide.

But this movement transcends mere skill acquisition. It's about aligning individual talents with fulfilling careers and uniting employers with specifically equipped workers, empowering people to make meaningful contributions in a rapidly changing workforce. Education Design Lab unites the collaborative effort of learners, educators, and employers in co-designing these pathways, fostering a future where education is not just about degrees, but about unlocking potential and opportunities for all.

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[randrothify]

Micro-credentials are not new. The real problem is the volatility in the economy and the skills needed to participate in this economy. Neither students nor schools can keep up with the pace of change. This leaves subjects guessing what they should study and schools guessing what they should teach. That is an expensive proposition in time, money, and effort. Micro-credentials don’t completely alleviate the problem and it is not realistic to expect students or schools to make speculative inferences about skills specific to individual industries or companies. Higher education was never meant to be vocational. It is meant to create good citizens of sound judgment and to educate by instilling critical thinking from which adaptability can bloom. Vocational training is why McDonald’s created their own Hamburger University and General Motors created the GMI Institute. If companies want to find better employees for their specific needs it’s time for them to stop shifting the burden solely to students and schools and have some skin in the training and development game.

[MattCRHughes]

I’m on my 3rd read-through of “Why Liberalism Failed” by Patrick Deneen, and the thing that keeps striking me the hardest is his dissection of what he terms “servile education.”

College is not supposed to be about getting a job. However, we’ve reached the point where that’s a heretical thing to say. We need to return to a place where a university education is something you do to improve your critical thinking skills, rather than a 4-year party with watered-down standards so that everyone passes & schools keep collecting federal funding.

[thewb]

The fact is that we have too many college graduates.
For example, there are three times more law school graduates for every job available in the field of law practice.
Most jobs don’t require a college degree but it has been a way to discriminate against people everything else being equal.
Universities have become a booming industry selling something that is worthless to 2/3’s of graduates and half of attendees that drop out in the first year.

[williamparrish]

The problem isn't "collaboration skills". The problem is employers want something for nothing. They are like a short, bald guy with no money holding out for a supermodel that will be a traditional wife! And when they don't find that they say there is no one out there. Most of the empty jobs waiting to be filled fits this scenario. Entry level jobs that require 3-5 years of experience. And just like a passport bro, these jobs are going overseas to find people, then bringing them back. Its time to end the H1-B and make these companies train Americans.

[burazfly]

Yea, that is how online courses in IT are working at a moment.

I know since I have 7 certificates already.
You can study and work at the same time, which is much more stimulating than just going to college

[hemlockVape]

Most employers don't examine people before hiring, not even a basic literacy test. If our education system has anything to do with it, I'd guess more than half of our occupations are filled by unfit personnel.

[dedmo]

college was never meant as a means to the end of “getting a job”, it was meant to teach you how to think. And that’s often what it did. Problem is, now too many college professors try to teach you WHAT to think, not HOW to think, and instead of turning their students into critical thinkers they turn them into unthinking activists who just toe a party line.

[jcfranco]

For me, the “what’s the catch?“ with this solution is the cost of such flexibility. Like with most things ‘custom’, there’s a premium that only a select few can afford.

[angeperdudw]

I just denied research funding to work on this issue. I thought there should just be a software that scans as many jobs in a filter as possible and shows you a pie chart about what skills are mentioned the most. It would at least help us see what is actually being asked for by employers. Then maybe it could be used in real time to watch trends in what employer listings say. At least we could see the changes and feel less worried that we can’t keep up. So I agree with this video, new ways need to be made!

[WifeWantsAWizard]

(2:04) And there it is. Why would a computer programmer need PEOPLE skills? It's because the employer in question, instead of hiring two people to handle two jobs wants to "maximize shareholder value" by forcing a coder to leave the computer center and walk upstairs to sit at the front desk and greet people. This is about "multitasking"--the lie that companies are looking for resourceful people when in reality they are looking to have one person do the work of 2-3 jobs so they can take the extra cash and buy yachts and golf outings.

This guy is making a profit off of the unemployed by crafting "multitakers" who will burn out helping some rich prick achieve his multi-mansion dreams. This man is NOT a hero.

[MakelLayton]

I have a solution companies should pay for employees higher education for those who want promotions and higher pay. Instead of looking for the best talent they should create it. High school should also prepare young adults for the work of their choice to entry level roles for after graduation.

[BB.]

From my personal experience I saw many classmates who didn’t care, purely memorized enough to regurgitate material, and couldn’t think critically to save their life and are now struggling in the real world. I am by no means a genius and I graduated 3rd in my class while also holding a full time job to establish a resume of real-world skills. The biggest difference I saw was that I engaged in critical thought, politely questioned my professors to prove to me why they were correct, and I saw college as an opportunity to push myself and learn resilience. I believe my mindset is becoming less and less appreciated in today’s classrooms.

[fremontpathfinder]

But skilled degrees will get you a job- engineering etc. And jobs that have gatekeeper status- you must have a license or certification to enter. So yes a degree will get you a job but it depends on the degree and having more than one skill is important too

[chaz-e]

But micro credentials are generally for < 1 year. And if students are looking for industry-relevant skills, they can quickly do so by joining Internships and OJTs.

[williamparrish]

I'm the first person in my extended family to go to college. I was about halfway through my degree when I realized I had no clue how to get a job, and that college was no guarantee to get a job. I remember thinking, "Wait a minute... you I go through all this and their isn't a demand for what I learned?" It felt like the biggest scam. Now that I have a job in my field, I am glad that I went, even though I'm deep in debt. It gave me the skills to keep the job I got. Most people don't know what I know and that is why they fail at technical support. But there has to be a better way.

[bert]

Rather than *improved*, 4 years of ineffective, unaffordable undergrad is to be *supplemented* by 1-2 years of mediocre job training!? OMG.

[shaunmc]

It’s not for College to keep up with the job market. Employers need to stop being cheap and start investing in training programs, to aid in creating the kind of employees that they’re looking to hire. It all comes down to what employers are looking for.. Higher Education is an institution of higher learning….. that’s it.. if he’s saying employers just need soft skills, any major in higher education will equip you with those skills..

[psikeyhackr]

Double entry accounting is 700 years old. There is an article from 2003 that said 5th graders could learn accounting as well as college students.

Corporations started programming computers to do accounting in the 1950s. Why hasn't it been mandatory in high schools since Sputnik.

Planned Obsolescence is bad for your Net Worth.

[ThePrabutube]

Welcome to the new mumbo jumbo.. So called learning experts are the best in reinventing the wheel indefinitely.

[kreativeforce]

Thats odd because degrees in Art teach skills yet are the most ridiculed. A portfolio is required to get the degree. Tests on theory are not. If what he's proposing worked then companies would be clamouring to snatch up every graduate from an art school.