Using real-time labor market data to align community college training with local job openings.
For students earning a credential, getting a job in their community is the ultimate goal. Long-time Joyce Employment Program grantee Jobs for the Future is helping community colleges understand area demands for credentials through the Joyce-supported Credentials that Work program.
Community colleges participating in the program collect real-time labor market information, helping to ensure that students who complete training programs will be in demand from local employers. By analyzing data about current and projected job openings and using software to aggregate job openings, real-time labor market data assists community colleges in adapting programs to meet an area company’s current and near future skills needs.
Real-time labor market data is a recent development and its use in postsecondary curriculum development is promising, so Credentials that Work is reviewing the different technologies available to determine what tools provide the most accurate picture of a region’s job openings. The initiative is also evaluating how these new tools can supplement traditional sources of labor market data and how states can encourage their schools to use real-time data.
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Report: Aligning Community Colleges to their Local Labor Markets