Addressing the Middle Skill Challenge
with Labor Market Outreach
Todd M. Oldham
Vice President
September 11, 2012
toldham@monroecc.edu
Monroe Community College
• 17,699 credit enrollment
• 37,301 total enrollment
• 90 Degree and Certificate Programs
• 30 Middle-Skill Focused
• Multi-Campus Community College Serving
City of Rochester in Monroe County, New
York
Middle-Skill Occupation Statistics for NY
Occupations requiring less than a four year degree but
greater than a high school diploma.
• 46% of Workforce in
NYS*
• 39% of job replacement
in NYS 2009-2018*
• 13,500 M-S regional
jobs***
• 27% of M-S workers
with associates or less
earn more than average
bachelor degree**
*Skills2Compete: NY’s Forgotten Middle-Skills Jobs
**Harvard University, GSE: Pathways to Prosperity
***Finger Lakes REDC Higher Education Workgroup
Career Pathway Defined
• A Career Pathway is a series of connected education and
training programs and student support services that enable
individuals to secure a job or advance in a demand industry or
occupation.
• Career Pathways focus on easing and facilitating student
transition from high school to community college; from precollege courses to credit postsecondary programs; and from
community college to university or employment.
• GOAL: Increase the number of NYers with certificates,
credentials, and degrees in demand occupations.
Key Challenge: Public Awareness of
in-demand Career Pathways
• Proactive marketing and communications:
– Dedicated MARCOM staff with budgetary resources
– Profile local Middle-Skill/Applied STEM Career Pathways
for Parents
• Career Coach
• Social Media/Web 2.0/Video Profiles
– Increased enrollment in CTE
• Marketing to existing MCC students (undeclared)
• Expanding partnerships with area schools
– Dual enrollment
• Partnerships with CBOs engaged in workforce development
MCC Career Coach Launch Plan
Target Audiences:
• MCC students and employees
• MCC Foundation
• Secondary schools, including Skill Centers (students,
teachers, counselors)
• Parents of current and prospective students
• Partners – current and prospective
• Business and industry
• State University of New York - SUNY
• Community Based Organizations
• Public libraries
Why Career Coach at MCC
Newly formed division for Economic and Workforce
Development
• Actively promote applied-STEM / CTE and middleskill career pathways to students and parents
• Proactively address shortages in educational pipeline
• Increasing enrollment within MCC’s Career Technical
Education programming
• Ultimate goal: producing more workers for regional
in-demand occupations
MCC’s Career Coach Messaging Strategy
• Messaging directly linked to strategy around the
new division and MCC’s middle-skills agenda
• Career Exploration Tool
• Research and national conversation around aligning
community colleges to their local labor market and
the impact to workforce development
• Created a Logo and Promotional Materials
• Developed a formal launch plan with timeline
• Tied messaging together in a one page essay
Tactics
Promotions (electronic, print and online)
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Use student testimonials for promotional opportunities
Reach students through faculty and key offices
Workshops (demos by MCC experts) for students, employees
College-related events, such as expos, fairs and open houses
Greater Rochester community
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Workshops (demos by MCC staff)
High-school and college-related events, such as expos and fairs
Share information with high schools
Use student testimonials for promotional opportunities
Incorporate into messages at speaking engagements
Career Coach Bookmarks with QR Code
Career Coach Flyer with QR Code
Community Response
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Strong media interest
81,000 visits to site since launch
K-12 and Community Based Organizations
Libraries and Workforce Investment Partners
Need to continually reinforce use of the tool
– Measured by hits, conversions and time per session
• Opportunity at several levels to embed tool within
curricula initiatives both internally and externally
Media Coverage from CC Launch
•
13 Wham News:
http://www.13wham.com/news/story/MCC-college-students-career-coach/0rvDYQhHhEWCRXru4mGdVg.cspx
•
Brighton Pittsford Post:
http://www.brightonpittsfordpost.com/feature/x2112950552/MCC-launches-new-job-search-tool
•
Democrat & Chronicle:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120209/BUSINESS/302090045/?odyssey=nav|head
•
Rochester Business Journal:
http://www.monroecc.edu/mccannou.nsf/e95eac763ca69e5d85256c29006ccdd4/16f2ea7821bc6153852579a300
0bfad4/$FILE/RBJ%20article.PDF
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Rochester YNN:
http://rochester.ynn.com/content/all_news/573556/mcc-launches-online-job-search-tool/
•
WROC/Fox Rochester:
http://rochesterhomepage.net/fulltext?nxd_id=299262
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EMSI Monthly College Report (blog):
http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5ede11c8b8beab8d9a4bf8edc&id=097a0be384&e=2bedce6549
Junior Achievement: World of Work
World of Work exposes students in grades 6-12:
• an understanding of their personal skills, interests and values
• an understanding of the career clusters most-aligned with
those qualities
• an in-depth analysis of those career choices (education
required, wages, career progression, demand) with a specific
focus on the local economy and job market.
• Students will utilize JA's Kudor Skills Assessment and MCC's
Career Coach tool to gain knowledge relating to local
workforce opportunities.
Systematic Approach to Integrating Labor Market Information into Programming
Undeclared Career Technical Education Category
Strategic Partnerships with Community Based Organizations:
Target the Non-Traditional Student
Future Directions
• Deploy CTE Interest Inventory Online
• Map Financial Aid and Scholarship Info Into Career
Coach
• Video Vignettes of Local In-Demand Occupations
• Develop In-demand Occupations Website
• Expand LMI enhanced Curricula into Dual Enrollment
and Immersive Learning Opportunities with
community partners and school districts
Selected Resources
Harvard Graduate School of Education: Pathways to Prosperity – February 2011.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf
NYS Forgotten Middle Skills – March 2011.
http://www.capreg.org/pdf/Skills2Compete_ForgottenJobs_NY_2011-03-14.pdf
An Economy that Works: Job Creation and America's Future, McKinsey Global Institute – June 2011.
http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Labor_Markets/An_economy_that_works_for_US_job_creation
Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018. Georgetown University, Center on Education and the
Workforce – June 2010
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/FullReport.pdf
Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council Strategic Plan – November 2011.
http://nyworks.ny.gov/themes/nyopenrc/rc-files/fingerlakes/FLREDCStrategicPlan.pdf
U.S. Manufacturing Nears Tipping Point, Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/manufacturing_supply_chain_management_us_manufacturing_nears_the_tipping_
point/
College 2.0: Transforming Higher Education through Greater Innovation and Smarter Regulation – May 2011.
http://icw.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/HigherEducationReport_final_high%20res.pdf
The Case for Being Bold: A New Agenda for Business in Improving STEM Education – April 2011
http://icw.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/The%20Case%20for%20Being%20Bold_2011_v2_0.pdf
Questions?