Conference Presentation, Panel
New Educational Pathways to Middle-Class Jobs
Milken InstituteJeffrey Selingo, Joseph Aoun, Gene Block, John Hickenlooper, Gail Mellow, Gregg Roden, Jeff Selingo, Patrick Fine, Nick Hilsner, Mark Yossowitz, Ray Jacobson, Jason Summers
- Approximately 70% of high school graduates enter college, leaving 30% historically directed toward military or manufacturing pathways that currently face a technical skills gap in 80% of U.S. manufacturers.
- Frito-Lay has established a two-year apprenticeship with the Houston County Career Academy and Central Georgia Technical College starting with 24 students in the fall to address local talent gaps, with a plan to offer full-time employment post-graduation, though placement for all participants is not guaranteed.
- Additional Frito-Lay initiatives include a 17-week, four-day-a-week program with Weill Cornell for high school graduates who left school five years prior, a "Ready to Return" 10-week internship for those out of the workforce two years or longer, and the hiring of approximately 250 interns annually.
- Automation risks are projected to affect 50% of American jobs, with half of known job categories expected to disappear within the next 15 years, while 68% of higher education learners are now classified as nontraditional, defined as starting at age 27 or returning for degrees.
- Burning Glass Technologies analyzed 20 million job ads to identify that 25 specific skills are repeatedly requested, with problem solving, data analysis, writing, and communication ranking among the top five.
- Future educational models are expected to shift toward combined five-year bachelor's and master's degrees, short intensive sessions, and stackable certificates, with universities moving beyond campuses to locations like Silicon Valley and Seattle.
- Labor market challenges include 160 million people in the U.S. workforce with nearly one-third facing employment barriers and 92 million requiring workforce development, with 15% of Colorado residents earning less than they did 15 years ago and fears that low-wage employment could rise to 25% or 40% in the next decade.
- Colorado is expanding an apprenticeship program to 2,500 participants next fall, utilizing a three-day work and two-day school model, following a pilot phase and aiming to reduce youth unemployment rates that currently range between 11.5% and 28% for specific demographics.
- Public education faces defunding concerns, and while Colorado has reached a historic low unemployment rate of 2.6%, critics argue high college costs lead to underemployment and that the private sector pays significantly more for cybersecurity roles than the government.
- MOOC graduation rates stand at 6%, whereas Frito-Lay reports higher conversion and retention rates for interns compared to direct campus hires, and Northeastern University requires at least two six-month internships across 146 countries for its students.
- Major online education platforms include Coursera with 25 million learners adding 500,000 monthly, edX launched by MIT and Harvard, and Frito-Lay's international exchange programs facilitating six-month placements in regions such as Brazil and the U.S.