The report, Learning for Life and Work, came from NEBHE’s Commission on Higher Education, Employability, chaired by Rhode Island’s Governor, Gina M. Raimondo, who delivered remarks at the report’s release event. Inside, the document reveals an action agenda, policy recommendations, strategies and next steps to align institutions, policymakers, and industry to increase the life and career readiness of college and university graduates and meet the challenges that lie ahead in the future of work.
Recommendations from this report are centered around six key areas:
- Effective use of labor market data to inform programs, policy and practice,
- Re-envisioning advising and career services offered by colleges to better align supply and demand and implement best practices and “disruptive” approaches,
- Targeted higher education-industry partnerships,
- Increasing postsecondary opportunities for work-integrated, experiential and cooperative learning (for example, internships, field placements), including policy incentives and student aid programs,
- In-demand digital skills bundles that include fundamental IT and coding skills, knowledge of the digital economy, data analytics, cloud computing, technology security and entrepreneurship or other essential 21st century skills, and
- Policies related to new credentials, including the recognition and aggregation of postsecondary and non-postsecondary training and the work experiences of working adults and veterans.
As part of the recommendations around new credentials, the Commission specifically supports participation in, and the expansion of, the Credential Registry. Noting a proposed regional approach, the report further writes the data should be used to, “address high-value credentials that are important to our shared economy and economic needs.”
Credential Engine is honored and pleased to be included among the recommendations in this report. We believe that in order to best serve both students and employers as well as ensure that the next generation of graduates are ready to take on the workforce, we must provide everyone with clear and transparent information about the credentials they seek and the linkages and opportunities they provide. We look forward to continuing to work with the Commission and with NEBHE to bring New England’s postsecondary, state, business, and technology leaders together to enact these recommendations and set students and New England’s workforce up for success.
To read the press release on this report, please click here. To access the full report, please click here.