The health care workforce continues to have unmet demand while having an overrepresentation of women of color in low-wage jobs with limited growth trajectory. Community colleges can play a key role in increasing the pipeline of midlevel health care workers, such as surgical technicians and registered nurses. But colleges need additional, rigorous evidence about which career services and employer engagement strategies effectively prepare students to access and stay in family-sustaining, in-demand health care jobs.

Urban has documented how colleges in the Advancing Community Equity and Upward Mobility (ACE-UP) community of practice are addressing inequitable career outcomes for Black, Latine, and other historically marginalized and underrepresented students through career services and employer engagement strategies. This post uses the health care sector as a lens to discuss additional opportunities for evidence building that can help all students achieve and advance in their chosen careers.

1. Better track students’ needs, use of services, and career development opportunities to assess impact on career outcomes

   Community colleges provide career and supportive services to promote equitable student outcomes. However, without properly tracking students’ needs and how they use services, it can be difficult to measure the impact those services have on their career outcomes.

   Incorporating student feedback collected through surveys and other methods into the design of supports and services can help meet students’ real-world needs. Documenting student experiences in the workforce following graduation can also inform the design of employer engagement strategies.

   In interviews, one ACE-UP college staff member shared that health care graduates felt prepared for the workforce but experienced unwelcoming work environments. As a result, many graduates leave or don’t advance in their jobs. These insights motivated community college staff members to join ACE-UP to learn about best practices for partnering with employers to improve their students’ employment outcomes.

   Tracking students’ take-up of services is also important for career advancement. Career development opportunities like job shadowing, career fairs, and career coaches are designed to and offer opportunities for advancement. Tracking student outcomes following receipt of such services can help college staff identify whether services are helping students obtain jobs or grow in their careers.

2. Use rigorous research methods to understand who benefits from programming and identify improvements

   Additional research is needed to inform the next generation of health education and career programming.

   Case studies provide real-world insight and context, but rigorous causal studies with comparison groups, including randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs, are essential for guiding program investments. They’re also integral for increasing access to career programming that helps all students obtain credentials, high-quality jobs, and living wages. When impact studies aren’t feasible or appropriate, community colleges can use rapid-cycle evaluations to assess an intervention’s implementation and results over time to inform continuous improvement.

   Community colleges can use these methods to understand who benefits from programming, and if programs are helping students who need it most. Rigorous research can also reveal whether and how career services support students’ job readiness and advancement. For example, staff members at one ACE-UP college are using an online platform called Career Coach to better support students’ job readiness and enrollment in programs of interest. Evaluating these types of tools is especially important in health care sector, where longer, harder training programs face challenges with student turnover and retention but are needed for employment and earnings advancement.

   Community colleges also need evidence about how supports for students pursuing on-the-job training affect their retention in academic programs and jobs. With patient care training requiring clinicals, some employers are providing apprenticeship programs in health care fields. One ACE-UP college staff member said their apprenticeship partnership with a major health care system helped more students stay in the profession. This positive return on investment is critical for recruiting more employer apprenticeship sponsors.

3. Build evidence on the effectiveness of partnerships with employers and industry

   Community colleges are leveraging employer and industry partnerships and work-based learning to support students’ access to jobs after graduation. Documenting the effects of these strategies is key to supporting disadvantaged students.

   Strategies like colocation of services, or bringing a one-stop shop model to colleges, create multiple points for students to connect with employers, career coaches, and financial assistance. Researching the impact of service delivery models that involve employers can build additional evidence about whether colocated services affect job attainment and career exposure for underserved students.

   Better data collection can also help community colleges set shared equity goals with employers and understand the effectiveness of industry partnerships. The CarolinaEast hospital system and Craven Community College conducted a student survey that identified the need for a program delivered outside working hours that helps employees achieve licensed practical nursing diplomas. This type of solution is only possible when all stakeholders work with the same data, work toward the same goals, and follow up to ensure accountability toward those goals.

   Changing hiring, opportunities for advancement, and other employer practices to advance equity in the workplace often proves challenging. One way to get buy-in from company leaders is to document how inclusive workplace training for supervising staff can improve retention. As employers see returns from these partnerships, qualitative data can reveal changes in their attitudes and help make the case for continued partnerships.

What comes next?

With better evidence about how career services and employer engagement strategies affect career attainment and retention, community colleges can better attract industry partners and improve students’ employment outcomes—whether in the health care field or another sector. Further research would also allow colleges and their partners to set goals for improving career attainment and advancement for historically marginalized and underrepresented college students and assess their progress toward such goals.