While the “skills gap” is undoubtedly felt by many of our country’s employers, small and medium-sized businesses in the technology industry especially are scrambling to fill open positions. This need was highlighted at the recent CompTIA meetings in Washington, D.C., where the executive vice president of Alvaka Networks stated that there are currently 450,000 unfilled IT jobs. That’s why it’s critical for small and medium-sized business owners to play an important role in jumpstarting IT workforce development.
In response to the persistent talent mismatch in our country’s workforce, an employer-led effort called Skills for America’s Future (SAF) launched last year as an innovative, public-private solution to worker training in our country. Housed at the Aspen Institute, SAF works to connect businesses with community colleges, helping establish partnerships that offer employers a crop of trained workers to fill their talent needs.
The fact that these partnerships are formed with community colleges should not be overlooked. Not only do community colleges educate 44 percent of all students in the United States, they allow businesses to generate a flexible worker pipeline, since the training program can respond to shifting workforce demands. This ability to react to changing needs is especially important as the IT field grows and integrates into many other sectors, such as healthcare.
In just a year, Skills for America’s Future has grown into a national network of leaders from businesses, community colleges, and associations that is focused on sharing best practices and replicating successful models. Recognizing existing industry organizations and communities, Skills for America’s Future helps these groups spread knowledge and resources to others who may benefit.
That’s why Skills for America’s Future has been proud to work with CompTIA as it begins the process of identifying successful IT training and certification models. Over the next year, SAF hopes to solidify this collaboration and connect with individual CompTIA members to build and expand partnerships.
Our effort also has already produced results, highlighting successful training models from other companies in the IT industry. One such model comes from IBM and its effort to expand its P-TECH program. This model provides mentors, gives students workplace experiences and internships, maps skills to the curriculum, and develops a blueprint for a replicable education model.
So what can interested IT employers do to get involved and help close the skills gap?
- Understand where training needs exist. Identify if there are areas where your new or incumbent employees are lacking, and evaluate how effective your current training models really are.
- Work with Skills for America’s Future to connect to a local community college. By working with SAF to form a partnership with a local community college, you can learn about the college’s training programs and address your own talent needs.
- Highlight your current partnerships through Skills for America’s Future’s network. Businesses already partnering with community colleges can join our national network of employers and education institutions, allowing SAF to underscore your efforts and share your best practices with others.
If you would like to be a part of the Skills for America’s Future network and either build a meaningful partnership or have your current work highlighted, please let us know directly or ask your CompTIA representatives to help you get involved. We look forward to working with you.
Karen Elzey is the director of Skills for America’s Future, a policy initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen Institute. She can be reached at [email protected].
