Today are delighted to welcome Adam Hastings, Director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC), to the blog. Adam shares his firsthand insights on what it really takes to land a good career and pay in today’s labor market.
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I recently gave a presentation to a group of high school counselors on the importance of industry-recognized certifications. I have been giving this presentation for years, but these days I have some new research to share.
A 2013 report from the American Institutes for Research explores the real value of a bachelor’s degree relative to an associates degree or industry certification. As it turns out, students who earn industry-recognized credentials (e.g. Dental Hygienist or Firefighter/Paramedic) out earn their peers (on average) who earn a bachelor’s degree. Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs guy, speaks about this often by calling it the “skills gap” between blue collar and white collar.
On a personal level, this makes sense to me. I attended North Carolina State University–an Ag. & Tech. school–and earned a bachelor’s degree in world literature. What did that do for my paycheck? Nothing. In fact, it didn’t even get me a raise at the job where I worked to pay for college. In order to ever use that degree to earn a good income, I had to go back to school to earn my teaching credential. That credential made me employable; employment made my skill set in literature applicable.
Here in central Virginia, reports often detail the gap between unskilled and skilled labor. Unlike our neighbors in the Shenandoah Valley, our graduates do not have the option to enter unskilled/low-skilled manufacturing or agriculture jobs that earn a living wage because the jobs do not exist in our region. Moreover, while we do see manufacturing increasing, it is advanced manufacturing, where the employees do not do the labor, the machines do. The employees run the machines. This skill set is vastly different than the skill set of the traditional mill, mine, line, or farm work. This skill set requires critical thinking, technical aptitude, mathematical reasoning, and teamwork.
At CATEC, we are heavily engaged in the work of identifying and creating training ladders that mirror career ladders. These two must be intertwined–think of a DNA double-helix model–in a what that allows for employees to access education and training when they need it. Through this work, in partnership with ACPS, CCS, PVCC, and the Workforce Center, I believe that we can truly have an impact on our local and regional workforce.
Adam Hastings is the Director of CATEC in Charlottesville, Virginia where plays a major role in the training of local high school and adult students through workforce development. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in World Literature from North Carolina State University, a Masters of Arts in Teaching from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Doctor of Education from the University of Virginia. You can follow Matt’s insights on education via Twitter at @AHastingsCATEC and on his blog at http://www.catec.org/catec/about-catec/from-the-director/
Source: Schneider, M. (2013) Higher education pays: But a lot more for some graduates than others. Washington, D.C.: American Institutes for Research. http://www.air.org/reports-products/index.cfm?fa=viewContent&content_id=2731
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