Sobering data from the American Association of Community
Colleges reveals over 70% of students who begin community college are not even
achieving an associates degree after six years.
A recent study released by National Center on Education and the Economy
(NCEE) discovered that the high non-completion rate is rooted in student's lack
of understanding of basic middle school arithmetic, ratio, proportion,
expressions and simple equations, concepts which are prevalent in first year
college math courses. The NCEE report concluded that "a very large
fraction of high school graduates does not meet the very low expectations
(mathematics, reading, and writing) that community colleges currently have of
them."
The results of non-completion can sandbag young adults
with unforgivable debt and no degree, leaving them floundering in low-skill
jobs and still dependent on aging parents.
But there is a positive alternative to the
"one-size-fits-all" approach to education and the notion that
everyone should go to college. According to Tom Pauken, former chairman of the
Texas Workforce Commission, there is a significant demand for those skilled in
the conventional and emerging trades, vocations which do not even require a two
year degree and cannot be easily outsourced overseas. In his book, Bringing
America Home, Pauken cites Charles Murray, author of Real Education,
"Finding a good
carpenter, painter, electrician, plumber, glazier, mason-the list goes on-is
difficult, and it is a seller's market. Journeymen craftsmen routinely make
incomes in the top half of the income distribution while master craftsman can
make six figures. They have work even in a soft economy. Their jobs cannot be
outsourced to India. And the craftsman's job provides wonderful intrinsic
rewards that come from mastery of a challenging skill that produces tangible
results. How many white-collar jobs
provide nearly as much satisfaction?"
According to Don Tracy, Director of Operations and
Marketing for Continuing Education at Austin Community College, the workforce
demand in the "middle-skill" trades and occupations dwarfs the demand
for workers in the low-skill and high-skill markets. Certification programs for
a large number of those middle-skill trades can be completed in two years or
less, providing the young adult with a marketable, employable skill which can
serve as a launch-pad for continuing education and further career success.
IDMyPlan empowers young men and women to take those first
steps in assessing their personal strengths, interests, preferences and work
styles in order to make better decisions about their work, training and
education opportunities.
