John Bouman_Opportunity Dividend Summit

Targeting Middle-Skills Jobs:

Education, Training and Completion

Opportunity Dividend Summit CEOs for Cities and the United Way of

Southeastern MichiganMarch 2, 2010

Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty lawTaking action to end poverty

Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty lawTaking action to end poverty 2

Shriver Center The Sargent Shriver National Center on

Poverty Law is a national law and policy center that aims to build opportunity and social justice through policy development, communications, and diverse advocacy strategies

Founded in 1967, based in Chicago www.povertylaw.org Multi-issue expertise across “silos”, including

workforce and work supports issues


Miss Congeniality (two of them) ARRA TANF Emergency and Contingency

Fund – public jobs program – with 80% federal funds and many ways to access the other 20%. Potentially $250M for Michigan. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3097

Health Care Reform – immense jobs engine as well as entrepreneurship opportunities. And don’t downplay its role in enabling workers to escape poverty.


Middle-Skills Jobs More than high school but less than 4-year

college degree Middle class pay and career paths Many different fields: truck drivers, health

technicians, white collar, green jobs, manufacturing, trades

Education and training: Community colleges, apprenticeship programs, non-profit training providers, private career schools

Aimed at kids AND incumbent workers


Michigan and Middle Skills Jobs

Middle-skills = 51% of the workforce Close to half of all job openings to 2016Sales and related 183,940Office and admin. 192,820Construction 44,680 Installation and Repair 40,690Production 98,800Transportation and hauling 85,650Total 646,580


National Attention National Skills Coalition (formerly

Workforce Alliance), www.nationalskillscoalition.org

Skills2Compete Campaign launched in 2007 with “America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs”, www.nationalskillscoalition.org


Key Michigan Report Skills2Compete-Michigan

Campaign, www.skills2compete.org/Michigan

“Michigan’s Forgotten Middle Skill Jobs: Meeting the Demands of a 21st Century Economy” (October 2009), http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/assets/reports-/skills2compete_forgottenjobs_mi_2009-10.pdf


Michigan – Strong Start No Worker Left Behind initiative

reaching original goal of 100,000 enrolled

Strong examples of community college, technical school, training provider, apprenticeship and business association projects

ARRA (stimulus) projects, WIA, etc.


Michigan – Policy Agenda Basic skills needed prior to middle skills A guarantee: Every Michigander should have access to the

equivalent of at least two years of education or training past high school—leading to a vocational credential, industry certification, or one’s first two years of college—to be pursued at whatever point and pace makes sense for individual workers and industries. Every person must also have access to the basic skills needed to pursue such education.


Short Term Agenda: Program Completion

“[F]rom a salary and opportunity standpoint, earning a one-year credential or associates degree is often better than failing to complete a four-year degree.”

Graduated Success: Sustainable Economic Opportunity Through One- and Two-Year Credentials, Demos (2010) http://www.demos.org/pubs/graduated_success_Final.pdf


Completion, cont. Key component of earnings is completion

of whatever course is undertaken Course-for-course, the returns on earning

power are similar for two-year and four-year degrees: twice as many courses completed= double earning power

But two-year completers earn more than four-year non-graduaters


Completion, cont. Certificate holders earn 27% higher

than those with no post-secondary credential ($8,000, Florida study)

Associate degree holders earn 8% more ($2,300)

Bachelors degree holders 35% more ($12,000)


Many Fail to Complete Nearly four out of 10 (38 percent) of

those who enroll in occupational certificate programs fail to earn a credential of any type within six years.

Nearly six out of 10 (58 percent) of students seeking an associates degree in an occupational field fail to obtain a credential of any type within six years of starting their studies


Barriers to Completion

Financing education and living expenses (through work) while keeping up with one’s studies

Job demands Family demands Lack of necessary academic preparation


Barriers -- Financial Tuition, books, educational expenses

plus rent, utilities, food, transportation, health care, child care

In academic year 2007-08, 99 percent of the lowest income students attending a community college for either a certificate or an associates degree had an average of $7,147 in unmet expenses after taking into account all the grants they received.


Barriers -- Work Three-fourths of certificate and

associate degree students have jobs 39% of those work full time Occupational certificate seekers least

likely to enroll full time Competing demands decrease

likelihood of completion


Barriers – unprepared

60% of community college students must first take remedial courses

Few take any upper level math or science courses in high school

Some need to develop study habits and time management skills


Idea: Focus Hard on Post-Secondary Completion

Continue to develop the programs – make progress on the policy agenda of addressing basic skills and building the opportunities to take certificate and degree programs

WIA, community colleges, student aid, ARRA funds of several kinds including green jobs and TANF

Focus on Barriers Case management -- individualized Cost – student aid, stipends, living expenses,

child care, health care, rent and utilities, TANF

Completion bonuses Time demands – work leaves timed to foster

completion Preparation – tutors, mentors, bridge

programs from basic skills to middle skills


For more informationJohn Bouman

PresidentSargent Shriver National Center on Poverty

Law50 E. Washington, Suite 500

Chicago, IL 60602(312) 368-2671

[email protected]
