Employers across the country struggle to fill certain jobs, particularly in fields such as nursing and teaching. And yet, a pool of untapped talent already exists within their organizations that could help meet their needs.
Third Way, a national think tank, estimates there are more than 100 million working-age people in the U.S. who do not have a postsecondary degree. Because of that, those in the workforce — a majority — are not fully recognized for their potential or the talent and skill they’ve developed on the job. Many of these working adults are stuck in low-wage jobs, with few options for advancement, change or a path forward.
Integration of work-based learning pathways, such as registered apprenticeships, in the higher education portfolio is one solution that could address this problem.
At Western Governors University (WGU), we think higher education should embrace work-based learning pathways to connect college and career. We want to help employers develop the talent they already have in-house and open doors to opportunity for these working adults — and we believe other institutions of higher education should join us in scaling earn-and-learn pathways.
The time is right to expand educational options for several reasons. There is undiminished skepticism about higher education’s value and return on investment. There is the reality of a tight labor market that, with projected population declines, will worsen. There is bipartisan support for apprenticeship programs, backed by about $3 billion in annual funding authorized in the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA).
And perhaps the most important consideration: The untapped talent pool includes individuals for whom the cost of college is just one of many barriers. Life gets in the way. So do family and other responsibilities. Forgoing work isn’t an option as they often are supporting themselves and their families.
These adult workers, whom we call “rising talent,” don’t have the time, money or resources to engage in on-campus or even online educational programs like ours that are untethered from time and place and provide the utmost flexibility.
The “First I’ll learn everything, then I’ll get paid” rubric of traditional higher education has been evolving, with community colleges paving the way with earn-and-learn models. However, it’s time to expand and accelerate this approach to meet the demands of today’s workforce at a greater scale, incorporating deeply aligned work-based learning pathways that support the needs of millions of working adults and the employers they serve.
That’s what we’re doing at WGU. This fall, we acquired Craft Education, which co-author Mallory Dwinal-Palisch founded, with the goal of scaling its technology platform to enable work-based pathways across all types of employers and education providers.
By automating the necessary data collection and reporting, Craft’s platform allows organizations to braid federal funding available through WIOA and postsecondary training together with on-the-job pathways to fill skilled labor vacancies. As Craft endeavors to provide a technology ecosystem and services platform, it will create a win-win-win for American workers seeking affordable, job-embedded training solutions, the employers that need their skilled talent and educational institutions that connect the two groups.
WGU is also setting up an academic department within the university to focus on the design, development and scaling of work-based degree programs across our schools of education, healthcare, technology and business. We hope to show, as we did with our online, personalized and flexible learning model, how to meet the needs of a broader range of working adults.
In fact, this department will expand WGU’s initial efforts with work-based learning pathways. The Leavitt School of Health began offering apprenticeships in the Prelicensure Nursing bachelor’s degree program for Utah students, for example, in 2021. The option serves an average of 193 students annually.
WGU’s School of Education, which accounts for 5.2% of all bachelor’s in education conferrals in the country, currently enrolls 670 students — from teacher’s aides to paraprofessionals — in Grow Your Own and state-based apprenticeship programs across 15 states, including Utah. We also plan to add apprenticeship-based pathways to our technology and business programs.
We want to be “the epicenter of designing and delivering earn-and-learn opportunities that increase equity in access while solving critical workforce needs,” said Joe Fuller, chair of WGU’s Board of Trustees, a distinguished management professor at Harvard Business School and co-director of Harvard’s Managing the Future of Work project.
Research has shown that work-based learning models improve student outcomes, boosting persistence, completion and career success. Our north star is the belief that by adding work-based learning pathways, we will better connect rising talent in the workplace with academic credentials that validate experience, skills and learning. We will provide workers with pathways to opportunity and employers with the talent they desperately need. Our call to action? Let’s work together.
(Courtney Hills McBeth) Courtney Hills McBeth is the chief academic officer and provost at Western Governors University.
Courtney Hills McBeth is the chief academic officer and provost at Western Governors University.
(Mallory Dwinal-Palisch) Mallory Dwinal-Palisch is the executive director of Craft Education, a nonprofit division of Western Governors University.
Mallory Dwinal-Palisch is the executive director of Craft Education, a nonprofit division of Western Governors University.
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