Fact Sheet The Challenge of Employer Engagement for Business Programs
Nathan Sick
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Short-term career and technical education (CTE) programs often grant relatively accessible credentials that can help new majority learners to achieve economic mobility. New majority learners is a group that includes students from low-income or underrepresented communities that have been historically marginalized, adults returning to school, parents, returning citizens, and others. We surveyed 45 business associate degree program administrators and asked them what strategies they used before the COVID-19 pandemic to help graduates get good jobs that lead to family-sustaining wages. More than half of respondent programs (55 percent) identified their biggest challenge as employer engagement: partnering closely with employers to provide work-based learning opportunities and industry exposure, gaining commitments from employers, and understanding the skills that employers desired. This fact sheet summarizes what we heard from business associate degree programs on employer engagement, including the strategies they used.

Research Areas Education Workforce Economic mobility and inequality
Tags Beyond high school: education and training Community colleges Economic well-being Employer engagement Employment Postsecondary education and training Job training Inequities in educational achievement Racial equity in education Higher education Building America’s Workforce
Policy Centers Income and Benefits Policy Center
Research Methods Data collection Data analysis Qualitative data analysis Quantitative data analysis
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