The Critical Role of Community Colleges in Workforce Development

The connection between education and economic development is one that employers have emphasized for many years.  In fact, it is the reason MBAE exists – to provide every child the excellent education they need to prepare for the demanding jobs of an innovation economy.  Recent studies confirm that there is a serious mismatch between the competencies that young people currently bring to the workforce and the demands of increasingly complex “middle skills” and knowledge-based jobs.  So we are pleased to learn that Governor Patrick plans to include in his State of the State Address and FY13 budget a proposal to ensure that the “skills of our workforce meet the evolving needs of our employers.”

Community colleges are a logical place to turn at least in the short run to provide the training to close this skills gap.  Accordingly, we are pleased that the governor will call for “an integrated and comprehensive community college system” with 15 line items consolidated into one.  A single appropriation makes comparison of results among community colleges more transparent and significant, and thereby enhances accountability for performance.  It will also promote the ease of credit transfer and alignment with regional workforce needs that the Governor is promising. 

 The challenges are not new.  A 2007 article in Commonwealth magazine  raised concerns about low graduation rates at community colleges, and a lack of a coherent vision and clear mission.  The comparison to other states where graduation rates were being used to rank performance; and where curriculum and credit alignment was easing transfer for students to pursue a four-year degree did not reflect well on Massachusetts. 

A recent report commissioned by The Boston Foundation clearly outlines the problem, identifies promising models for alignment, and offers suggestions for reforms.   The Case for Community Colleges: Aligning Higher Education and Workforce Needs in Massachusetts calls for developing a blueprint that would involve:

• Strong partnerships with employers
• Effective governance across institutions
• Clearly defined performance metrics to establish standards for accountability and tie success to distribution of funding
• Use of financial incentives to promote innovation and bring programs to scale

Centralizing governance has already met with strong resistance, but we believe it is an important step in clarifying the mission of our community colleges, adopting performance metrics, and allocating funding appropriately to meet critical workforce needs and thereby to enhance employment prospects for community college graduates who face a very challenging employment market. 

The report also emphasizes the importance of preparing students for college and career success during their pre-K-12 years.  This remains the focus of MBAE’s advocacy because it is essential to ensuring the long-term economic health of the Commonwealth.  While community colleges have an important role to play as well — and we support the Governor’s initiatives — we must ensure that all children graduate from high school ready for college and career.