Beyond the Tipping Point: Accelerating Innovation and Alignment through the NCRC

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Beyond the Tipping PointAccelerating Innovation
and Alignment through the NCRC

• Dr. Keith Bird
• Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
• Michigan NCRC Conference
• November 16, 2009

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Macro- Economic Environment

• Ever Increasing Rate of Change
• Global Markets and Competition for Products,
  Services and Labor
• New Rules for Churning Labor Markets
• From Employment Security to Employability Skills
  Development
• Changing Demographics
• Workplace and Learning Transformations
• Need for Middle-Skill Jobs/Training

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Momentum Points/Imperatives for Postsecondary
Transformation

• Role of CCs Focus by Foundations
• National Research and Dialogue on the Role of
  Community Colleges
• Growing adoption of targeted industry strategies
• Focus on deep engagement of business
• Emphasis on authentic credentials

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Momentum Points/Imperatives for Postsecondary
Transformation

• ARRA
• American Graduation Initiative
• the new career pathways
• Comprehensive accountability metrics
• Increasing Role of Technology and E-Learning
• Critical Importance of Career Coaching and
  Navigation

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Momentum Points WF Transformations--From
Employment Security to Employability Skills

• Life-long Learning 3.0
• Pedagogy to andragogy to heutagogy
• Algorithms replaced by New Soft Skills
• Shared responsibility for learning between worker
  and employer
• Kaizen integrates with Systems-Thinking
  (Handlungskompetenz)

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Momentum Points

• Role of PS Focus by Foundations
• Access
• Retention
• Attainment
• Credentials with labor market payoff
• Evaluation of current practices and Promising
  Practices
• Gates and Lumina funding for a national voluntary
  accountability system (process point measures
  and outcomes)

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Momentum Points

• National Research and Dialogue on the Role of PS
  and WF
• credentials with labor market value
• Multi-layered credentialing systems (NAM)
• Career Pathways (Ladders/Lattices)
• Creating on and off ramps in P-20 framework
• Middle-Skill jobs

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Challenges to US Competiveness and Worker
Prosperity (The Springboard Project (Oct. 2009)

• Employers
• 65 see increased needs for better skills, more
  technical skills, higher degrees, certifications
• 48 do not provide for training
• Workers
• 62 recognize training and better skills are
  needed
• 8 in ten workers show keen interest in training
  and education
• 71 of workers understand benefit of education
  beyond HS

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Barriers

• Convenience
• Money
• Lack of Customization
• Lack of Accreditation
• Time
• Desire
• Dont know where to look

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Overcoming Barriers

• Flexible scheduling that fits life and work
• Tuition that is partially reimbursed
• Designed by local business leaders/fill job
  growing in area
• On-line learning
• Designed by local employers/fill jobs with that
  employer

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Increasing Attention to National/Sector (and
Global) Standards

• ButUS lacks a consistent occupational licensing
  system, except for a few occupations, unlike
  other countries.
• Promising Signs
• ANSIs New Evaluation Tool for Validation of
  Certificates
• National Voluntary Standards for Higher Education
• CCSSO Common Core Standards Initiative
• From Bolognas Qualification Frameworks and
  Tuning Methodology to Luminas Tuning USA
• National Association of Manufacturers
• Manufacturing Skills Certification System (NCRC
  core foundation to specific manufacturing skills
  certifications-CPT,NIMS,AWS, SME)

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The Evolution of the Business-Education
Partnerships Beyond Business-Driven

• Off the shelf course offerings
• Needs assessment/customized training
• Organizational development approach (Trusted
  Partner)
• Deep engagement-Shared ownership of standards,
  curriculum and assessments

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Employer Engagement Toward a Common Vision and
GoalsCoordinating Around Results

• Common Vision/Goals
• Competitive businesses and communities
• Skilled and agile workforce
• Increased credentials
• Comprehensive workforce solutions

• Postsecondary Educ.
• Training capacity
• Strong business engagement
• Responsive delivery
• Leveraged resources

• Workforce and Economic Development
• Convener/Intermediary
• Workforce intelligence
• Leveraged resources
• Sector strategies

Note Not intended to be all inclusive of roles
or partners
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Synergistic Strategy Alignment

• Integrating regional targeted industry (sector)
  initiatives and a foundation skills certification
  system is a powerful combination for
  strengthening the workforce, education, and
  economic development system

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State Examples

• Georgia Work Ready
• Colorado
• Michigan
• Oklahoma
• Numerous states have strong sector initiatives or
  strong career readiness certificate initiatives,
  few are effectively combining both

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Institutional and Instructional Transformations

• Mission integration Eliminate silos, external
  and internal
• Eliminate non-credit
• Award college credit for business training
  (fractional credit)
• Performance-based learning systems
• Student mastery/formative and summative
  assessment system
• New models of business engagement
• Sector initiatives
• Cross-functional teams (academic, workforce,
  student support, developmental education)
• More vigorous curriculum development models

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Institutional and Instructional Transformations

• Multi-level industry based certifications/
  credentials
• Stackable/embedded certificates/credentials
• NCRC as Foundational Credential
• JIT, industry-driven curriculum development
• Turbo-DACUM/Delphi and "authentic assessments
• Global qualification standards
• Modularization
• Chunking curriculum/fractionalizing credit
• Sector-based career pathways integrating both
  Pipeline and Re-entry frameworks

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Institutional and Instructional Transformations

• Focus on pipeline and transitions between
  momentum points (e.g., GED attainment)
• Expanded supportive career coaching/ navigation
  services (e.g. First Choice Career Coaching-FC3)
• Accelerated learning Re-Imagineering design and
  delivery modes
• Enhanced student success supports
• To meet business/labor market needs and eliminate
  barriers

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Institutional and Instructional Transformations

• Developmental education redesign
• Integration of Basic Education with Workforce
  Education
• Contexted learning - I-BEST model
• Barriers to Increased Attainment
• Opportunities for Policy Makers and Institutions
  (NCHEMS)
• Vastly improved approach to remedial/dev. Ed.
• Utilize workplace-oriented contextual approach
  (WorkKeys and targeted instructional tools)

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Taking E-Learning and Technology to the Next Level

• E-learning modules
• Short units of instruction
• Competency based
• Award academic credit/Prior Learning
• Stackable credentials (embedded certificates)
• All modules will lead to a credential
• Peer review process for quality control
• Based on quality rubrics and standards

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National Career Readiness Certificate The Next
Level

• Provides a basic foundation for developing the
  new skills requirements of the 21st century
• Assists in building the pipeline of workers
  with portable, translatable, meaningful
  credentials
• Builds on and leverages the regional and state
  build-out of a workforce credential and
  workforce certified
• Is enhanced by the leadership and credibility of
  ACT and the power of the WorkKeys System

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National Career Readiness Certificate The Next
Level

• Powerful economic development tool in creating
  pools of certified workers
• Can compare validated skills across the state
  and nation and the system to upskill for
  evolving and new jobs

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Next Steps

• Continue to expand adoption of NCRC WorkKeys
  (P-16, WF)
• Ensure that the WorkKeys System is
  comprehensively deployed (Personal Skills
  Assessments, Exit Credential, Profiling,
  Developmental Ed)
• Coordinate WorkKeys and NCRC with Regional Sector
  Strategies, the next evolution of Career Pathways
  and the Focus on Credentials
• Align WorkKeys and NCRC with key policy
  initiatives on Federal, State and Foundation
  levels

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Advantages and Leverage Points

• Expand development of additional skills
  certification systems
• Use as collaborative tool for regional workforce
  alliances
• Value of NCRC for eliminates NIH-Factor and
  institutionalizes foundational skills credential
  (political transitions)
• Builds on the recognition of the effectiveness of
  the WK system in identification, remediation, and
  measurement of the foundational skills required
  for career advancement
• Participate in ACTs national promotion and
  marketing of the NCRC

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The 5 Ss to Success

• Strategic
• Systemic
• Synergistic
• Sustainable
• Scalable