Monday, October 28, 2013

Lit blog #4



Shulock, Nancy, Colleen Moore, Su Jin Jez, and Eric Chisholm. "Career Opportunities: Career Technical Education and the College Completion Agenda." Institution for Higher Education Leadership and Policy (March 2012): n. pag. Print.
This article is addressing the issues California is having with its Community College  Career Technical Education system.  The Career Technical Education system is a system where state and federally funded community colleges offer associate and certificate job training and education.  "Community colleges offer a broad array of career-oriented certificates and associate degrees through what is generally called "career technical education" or CTE. Policymakers across the country are hoping to rely heavily on community college CTE programs to recharge their economies by helping students earn credentials with labor market value" (Shulock 1).   They analyse some of the specific issues California is having and some of the issues  that community colleges offering CTE are finding. One such problem is having many broad similar certificates offered  resulting in overall lower quality.    "State accountability reporting consists primarily of annual counts of degrees and certificates by field and extensive reporting of activities and enrollments. Outcomes by program are not reported because, with few exceptions, students do not officially enroll in CTE programs. Colleges can track course outcomes but not program outcomes, so there is no clear basis for evaluating how well subscribed a program is or how many program entrants complete it and reap benefits in the labor market" (Shulock 4).  One key concept is associates degrees versus certificates.  Associates require 60 credits, about two years, while  certificates are job specific training in under 60 credits.  One issue is that many certificate programs are not regulated or standardized.  "The considerable inconsistency across similar programs - in name, credit length, course requirements, expectations for basic skills competency - creates unnecessary confusion that prevents good understanding among students and employers about the meaning of particular credentials… Most unfortunately, this variability can dilute the value of credentials that students earn because employers are uncertain of the skills, knowledge, and competencies that a credential represents" (Shulock  8).   All four authors of this article were research or policy annalists for the California government and Board of Education and were tasked with the research and writing of this article as an official policy brief.  This article is extremely valuable to my research because it provides information on a good american career training and education system already in affect.  While it does need some improvement it is nice to know that it is in effect already.  It ties in very well as a direct comparison to the similar programs flourishing in Europe.   

Monday, October 21, 2013

Lit Review #3

OECD (2012), Post-Secondary Vocational Education and Training: Pathways and Partnerships, Higher Education in Regional and City Development, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264097551-en
         This article is about the education system of Sweden as compared to other European countries and which is very different form that of America's.  It was published by the OECD or The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development whose goal is to provide forums for governments to work together on common problems.  The goal of this article is to compare cities and education methods so as to see the effectiveness and educate others on these systems.  One of the most important consepts of this article is the idea of "post secondary vocational education."  "[Post Secondary Vocation education and training schools] aim is to fill a gap in education market flowing from the increasing demand for higher professional and technical skills from employers and the rising demand for high level education from groups that traditionally did not participate in post-secondary education" (OECD p.18).  In other words it would provide a mix of College's study of knowledge and learning and technical school's study of specific skills and training.  "Along side job-specific training nearly all PSV programs provide students with generic skills and theoretical vocational knowledge that are part of professional preparations" (OECD p.18).  Further more the article focuses on the range of education and how it relates to training.  The article does not define training as inherently specific.  It can also the abstract or broad acquiring of skills. "The complexity of educational content and knowledge increases through the sequence of education levels, reaching university and postgraduate studies at the top, so within any individual professional field PSV provides more advanced competencies than upper secondary education and training but less advanced than longer academic post-secondary programs" (OECD p. 27).  This Resource gives a good comparison to the american system to show how vocations can be a good alternative if reform is made.  This is a photo of the cover of this article.

Literary Review #2

Selingo, Jeffrey J. "Why College?" College (un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students. New York: Houghton Mifflin, NY. 160-66. Print.
         This book is about the current state of the education system from administration to how to get the most of an education. The author, Jeffrey Selingo, is widely recognized for his writings on the higher education system including being top editor for the Chronicle.  The chapter "Why College?" is specifically about an individuals choice to attend a degree program or to chose another respectable program, namely vocational schools.  He analyses the economic and personal benefits certificate programs can have on people.  He advocates that degrees are not the only option saying, "We need an expanded notion of what constitutes an education after high school.  That definition should include on-the-job training and apprenticeships, coupled with learning across a range of subjects, as well as experiences before college that improve the often difficult transition from highly structured high schools to freewheeling college campuses" (Selingo p.162).  He also returns to this idea of 'on-the-job training' many times.  To him on-the-job training is a specific hands on training coupled with valued job experience for employment.  He laments the lack of this by saying, "On-the-job training has virtually disappeared in the United States as companies have left it to colleges and universities to supply an educated workforce.  For the twelve million manufacturing jobs now in the United States, there are only 18,000 apprentices" (Selingo p.164).  He also expands on the idea of middle jobs which he explains very well in this chapter.  "In extending our definition of higher education, more attention needs to be given to what Tony Carnival, the Georgetown economist calls “middle jobs.”  These are positions that do not require a bachelor’s degree, but pay middle-class wages.  Nearly half of the jobs in the United States today that put people in the middle class are these middle jobs.  Corporate executives worry more about filling these positions than they do about finding employment for high-end careers in engineering, design, and technology.  ‘We can secure all the grads we need from elite schools,’ Thomas Bowler, senior vice president at United Technologies, says.  ‘That’s not a challenge.  It’s the other half of the workforce that I worry about” (Selingo p.163).  this resource is extremely useful because it compares directly higher education and other forms of post-secondary education and job training.  It also chronicles the changes in the education system from a time of greater skilled labor to now in a clear and concise way.  The cover of the book is also included as the visual component.  

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Research Proposal

Working title:  Skills over Degrees
Topic
With jobs being so difficult to find and higher education costs skyrocketing, Americans should turn their focus from degrees to vocational schools and skilled labor jobs.   Because so many people turn to higher education, there are fewer and fewer skilled laborers being produced in America.  This results in more of a demand for vocational students creating a great job market with promise of worthwhile wages.  Because of the disproportional higher education to vocational students, it is logical to conclude that more students should go into vocations than degree driven work.
Research Question
Is vocational school potentially a better investment than higher education and how should it reform itself to attract more students?
Theory
With more people turning to higher education there is less jobs and so more people unemployed or turning to entry level positions.  This is partly because there is more students than jobs that require a degree (Vedder).   There are also a lot of people attending college who are maybe not suited for college life.  “We’re trying to push all students through this very narrow pipeline without any thought or regard as to what they want to do, where their interests are, where they’ll be successful,” says Janet Bray, executive director of the association for career and technical education.  “If they don’t know what they want to do and they have no skills at the end of that degree, they’re in debt in many other ways.  They have a four year degree when a one or two year program certificate would get them a job much faster.”(Selingo p.162) The un- and under-employed people also add to the average wages of people with degrees.  “For males with a high-school education, earnings rose 1.87 percent, while for those with bachelor’s degrees, they fell 4.17 percent (for those with master’s degrees, earnings were essentially unchanged)” (Vedder).  If this is the case then the amount of money being made by degree students is not only cut by the market but also by the amount of money spent at college and the time spent not being able to work while in school.  “According to a 2012 study by Georgetown University's Center for Education and the Workforce, 39% of men with an educational certificate earn more than men with an associate's degree, and 24% earn more than men with a bachelor's degree” (Watson).  This fact shows that there is clearly a decent amount of people making an on or above degree par salary. Just because there is a large demand for skilled workers that does not mean it is a perfect system.  As Chairwoman Foxx said, “In an economy that is constantly changing, the federal government has made it more difficult for workforce investment leaders to address the priorities of their communities” (United States).  The government has severely cut funding to training schools in favor of higher education.  Furthermore, skilled workers are not immune to unemployment.  “While we know that there are millions of Americans out there, who are still having a difficult time accessing good jobs in this economy, we also know that there are a substantial number of jobs in healthcare, in advanced manufacturing, in high-growth industries and sectors that are left unfilled because employers require specialized skills for these positions in this 21st century” (United States p. 5).  Part of this is due to america’s narrow view of education.  “We need an expanded notion of what constitutes an education after high school.  That definition should include on-the-job training and apprenticeships, coupled with learning across a range of subjects, as well as experiences before college that improve the often difficult transition from highly structured high schools to freewheeling college campuses” (Selingo p.162).  In America we tend to segregate higher education and vocations but this in not so in European countries such as sweden.  “[Post Secondary Vocational education and training schools] aim is to fill a gap in education market flowing from the increasing demand for higher professional and technical skills from employers and the rising demand for high level education from groups that traditionally did not participate in post-secondary education” (OECD p.18).  This system makes graduates more marketable upon graduation because they have a wide variety of skills.  Not only that but they have the skills to learn, secondary education, and to act, vocational education.  So while the american vocational system has some problems it is a good alternative to college that provides good jobs and wages.
 



Works Cited
OECD (2012), Post-Secondary Vocational Education and Training: Pathways and Partnerships, Higher Education in Regional and City Development, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264097551-en
Selingo, Jeffrey J. "Why College?" College (un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students. New York: Houghton Mifflin, NY. 160-66. Print.
United States. Cong. House. Committee on Education and the Workforce. Putting America Back to Work: Reforming the Nation's Workforce Investment System : Hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, Hearing Held in Washington, DC, February 26, 2013. 113th Cong., 1st sess. HR 113-5. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Vedder, Richard. "The College-Graduate Glut: Evidence From Labor Markets." Chronicle. N.p., 11 July 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.
Watson, Bruce. "Why College May Not Be the Best Choice for Your Education Dollar."DailyFinance.com. N.p., 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2013

Monday, October 14, 2013

Bibliography

My Five sources thus far are:
OECD (2012), Post-Secondary Vocational Education and Training: Pathways and Partnerships, Higher Education in Regional and City Development, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264097551-en
Selingo, Jeffrey J. "Why College?" College (un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students. New York: Houghton Mifflin, NY. 160-66. Print.
United States. Cong. House. Committee on Education and the Workforce. Putting America Back to Work: Reforming the Nation's Workforce Investment System : Hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, Hearing Held in Washington, DC, February 26, 2013. 113th Cong., 1st sess. HR 113-5. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Vedder, Richard. "The College-Graduate Glut: Evidence From Labor Markets." Chronicle. N.p., 11 July 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.
Watson, Bruce. "Why College May Not Be the Best Choice for Your Education Dollar." DailyFinance.com. N.p., 13 Aug. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2013

Monday, October 7, 2013

Blog #3

Privatization has an effect on vocational schools because the federal government does not create a lot of vocational schools.  If the SKILLS act is pasted there will be even less federal vocational schools because of consolidation.  Because of this the privet sector is dominating this facet of education.  Furthermore, the government used to train and hire workers for their own use.  Now the government has privet educators train workers ad then hires workers through privet companies who have workers, managers, and executives.  This makes work more expensive because the privet company acts as a middleman.  If the government trained and hired its own workers then training would have to pay less for training and the government, and by extension the taxpayer, would have to pay less for skilled labor. On the other hand, privatization creates more opportunities for business so workers can potentially move up into executive positions.  

Lit Review #1



  United States. Cong. House. Committee on Education and the Workforce. Putting America Back to Work: Reforming the Nation's Workforce Investment System : Hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, Hearing Held in Washington, DC, February 26, 2013. 113th Cong., 1st sess. HR 113-5. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.


 Putting America Back to Work is a congressional transcript of the 1st hearing over the issues with updating the Federal laws on job training.  The current law is Workforce Investment Act which was created in 1998.  WIA is an act which was made to consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training, literacy, and vocational rehabilitation programs in the United States, and for other purposes. In other words, the act is responsible for providing job training and placement for citizens. The bill is in need of updating and a panel was created to discuss the pros and cons of updating or replacing it. The leading bill made to replace WIA is the SKILLS Act. SKILLS stands for Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Life Long Skills and is focused on consolidation of smaller local training and placement facilities. This Bill is supported by Chairwoman Foxx. The main speakers are "Mr. Chris Hart is president and CEO of Workforce Florida, Inc., the nonprofit, public-private organization charged with policy setting and oversight of Florida's workforce system. Dr. Scott Ralls is the seventh president of the North Carolina Community College System, which is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, and is internationally recognized for its programs to foster economic and workforce development. Dr. Harry Holzer serves as a professor of public policy at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and is a faculty director and is faculty director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy. Dr. Todd Gustafson serves as the executive director of Michigan Works!, Berrien Cass Van Buren, one of the 25 workforce development boards in the state of Michigan" (p. 8-9).
This article is very helpful because it acts to acclimate me with current workforce laws and issues pertaining to vocational training and placement. It also provided reliable numbers and real issues with the current system. One important quote is "America's 143 million working people and its 12 million job seekers represent diverse groups with a variety of needs. The comprehensive workforce system must use a holistic approach to advance people along a continuum that leads to work opportunities, career advancement, and economic and family stability" (p. 55). This shows specific and reliable numbers and vocational employees. Another quote is said by Mr. Holtz on page 45. "We heard stunning stories at the depths of the great recession in 2009 and 2010. There were welder shortages around the country. Welding isn't necessarily rocket science. There were thousands of unemployed welders, but they didn't have exactly the skill set often sought by particular employers at that time."  This explained some of the short comings of skilled labor.  Yet another is "It is very important that we institute reforms in our workforce system to better integrate and better coordinate our nation's higher education programs with our workforce systems and to make both of them more responsive to the needs of the U.S. labor market and the economy, but a simple consolidation of many programs into one with fewer dollars attached does not necessarily help us achieve this goal" (p. 21).  This quote references higher education and how it needs to be viewed in conjunction with vocations.  
attached is a video of the Chairwoman Foxx.  She is discussing education versus training as she does often and did during the meeting I have discussed. 
This is over all an extremely useful resource and also a great stepping stone to my paper and topic choice.   

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

scouting the territory

In looking looking up information, I have found a lot of news articles and specials on trades such as:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/19/pipe-dream-skip-college-become-plumber-nyc-mayor-bloomberg-says/
http://www.thenation.com/blog/167476/future-vocational-education#
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/08/09/college-vs-vocational-education-better-wages-less-debt/

most of the articles are about specific trades, namely plumbers, but vocational schools in general have a good bit written on them.
I have also found the government sight explaining the value and meaning of k-12 education and most of it is as college prep, not necessarily has a basis for all the the information one will need.
http://www2.ed.gov/students/prep/college/consumerinfo/questions.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12
 on the Rutgers library web sight I have also found a book amount of books and articles skilled and unskilled laborers and there wadges and quality of life. I have also found a few on the overall effect that a rush to trades would have on the economy.  I have been mostly unsuccessful finding opposition, mostly because no one has bothered to right on it.  Any articles that are written on the value of college are in comparison to no, or very little, formal job training which is very unlike trades.  Trades involve a fair amount of schooling and are rewarded with a higher pay.  Skilled labor jobs are not ones that people will just wander into, they often take planning schooling and are usually a goal.