There’s a critical alignment problem between higher education and workforce funding. And it’s holding America back. We have federal and state dollars pouring into workforce development, CTE, and higher-ed innovation, yet too often those funds don’t reach the people or programs that need them most. At four-year universities, grant-funded projects sometimes stall because institutions don’t fully leverage the dollars they win, or they lack the operational readiness to deliver what they promised. And at community colleges, the state’s primary funding mechanism for workforce and CTE grants, many are missing out altogether. When I was leading workforce development efforts in West Texas, I became one of the top regional producers for workforce grants not because I had special access, but because I did the work: built relationships with employers, wrote strong proposals, managed compliance, and delivered measurable results. We can fix this. It starts with better alignment, training, and accountability. We MUST help both universities and community colleges understand best practices for managing and implementing state workforce grants and federal dollars for maximum impact. These dollars represent our nation’s investment in its people. It’s time we make sure they count. #WorkforceDevelopment #HigherEdInnovation #GrantManagement #CTE #TexasWorkforce #FutureOfWork #TexasWorkforceCommission #THECB #USDepartmentofEducation
How to fix the alignment problem in workforce funding
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Many of the job training programs available to dislocated workers, and others looking for access to employment, require a secondary school credential. Adult education provides the opportunity for individuals to complete that requirement. Zeroing out adult education does not strengthen the workforce development system. It weakens it.
Inside Higher Ed shares that the Education Department has identified workforce readiness as a potential grant priority. This could indicate some positive progress in addressing the needs of students and employers, but of course, the "devil is in the details." What are your questions around this hot topic? https://lnkd.in/g_-eKKeE
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🎯 The Education Department is exploring workforce readiness as a potential grant priority, a promising step toward aligning education with real-world needs. If implemented effectively, this shift could strengthen partnerships between schools, employers, and workforce boards to better prepare students for in-demand careers. 🔗 Read more via Inside Higher Ed and share your thoughts about how this might reshape the connection between education and workforce systems?: https://lnkd.in/g27Miz9f
Inside Higher Ed shares that the Education Department has identified workforce readiness as a potential grant priority. This could indicate some positive progress in addressing the needs of students and employers, but of course, the "devil is in the details." What are your questions around this hot topic? https://lnkd.in/g_-eKKeE
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At Gov. Stein’s Oct. 14 education cabinet meeting, NC leaders emphasized aligning education with workforce needs, boosting career readiness, expanding early childhood care, increasing college access and affordability, and improving student well-being. #NCed https://lnkd.in/eyjqeHVE
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Hopefully, our federal leaders will soon get their act together and reopen. When they do, one of the proposed changes the US Department of Education has put forth is badly needed: to prioritize grants for programs that advance employment outcomes in education (not just workforce training programs). You can read my blog post here (https://lnkd.in/eAm6H7k3) on the topic, where I conclude with a strong sentiment I have expressed before, but that bears repeating: "We need to design programs that prepare students not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of advancement. To do that, we need to align public investment with economic development, ensuring that opportunity is created by design—not by geography or by luck. Just as improving K-12 excellence enabled broader access to postsecondary schools, higher education must expand access to better career outcomes."
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“We must build a system that honors multiple pathways to success—one where education and employment are seamlessly connected, and where learners of every age and background are able to use the skills they gain to find careers that allow them to thrive.”
Hopefully, our federal leaders will soon get their act together and reopen. When they do, one of the proposed changes the US Department of Education has put forth is badly needed: to prioritize grants for programs that advance employment outcomes in education (not just workforce training programs). You can read my blog post here (https://lnkd.in/eAm6H7k3) on the topic, where I conclude with a strong sentiment I have expressed before, but that bears repeating: "We need to design programs that prepare students not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of advancement. To do that, we need to align public investment with economic development, ensuring that opportunity is created by design—not by geography or by luck. Just as improving K-12 excellence enabled broader access to postsecondary schools, higher education must expand access to better career outcomes."
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Thank you to Sami Mooney, CWDP for sharing a great article from Education At Work, “Connecting Education Funding to Career Outcomes,” and it captures an essential truth: education has the greatest impact when it leads to real career mobility. Not just access to learning, but access to opportunity, mobility, and dignity. Colorado’s Title II programs are already moving in this direction, and the article underscores why this work matters and where we can go next. -Deepen partnerships with employers & workforce agencies. Align instruction with in-demand industries, apprenticeships, and work-based learning so every class leads to a clearer career step. -Support economic stability and advancement, not just first jobs. Adult learners need pathways to earning increases, promotion, and long-term growth, not just job placement. -Recognize and honor multiple pathways. Success doesn’t always look like a traditional college route. Short-term credentials, IET models, and co-enrollment strategies can all open doors. These insights resonate deeply with Colorado’s WIOA vision and AEI’s priorities: • Strengthening Title II + workforce center coordination • Expanding co-enrollment and career-connected learning • Prioritizing data systems that track not just learning, but employment and earnings • Designing career pathways rooted in learner needs and regional industry demand #AdultEducation #TitleII #WIOA #CareerPathways #EconomicMobility #Colorado #WorkforceDevelopment #EquityInEducation #Colorado #AdultLearners
Hopefully, our federal leaders will soon get their act together and reopen. When they do, one of the proposed changes the US Department of Education has put forth is badly needed: to prioritize grants for programs that advance employment outcomes in education (not just workforce training programs). You can read my blog post here (https://lnkd.in/eAm6H7k3) on the topic, where I conclude with a strong sentiment I have expressed before, but that bears repeating: "We need to design programs that prepare students not just for their first job, but for a lifetime of advancement. To do that, we need to align public investment with economic development, ensuring that opportunity is created by design—not by geography or by luck. Just as improving K-12 excellence enabled broader access to postsecondary schools, higher education must expand access to better career outcomes."
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Education Secretary Linda McMahon is prioritizing workforce development by proposing to include career pathways and workforce readiness in the U.S. Department of Education's discretionary grant funding. This strategic move could potentially shape how billions of dollars are allocated within the department's initiatives. https://lnkd.in/eWEZ_s82
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Responding to the Government's newly-published Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, London Higher CEO Liz Hutchinson said: “We welcome the ambitions set out in the White Paper and its commitment to build on the strengths of the UK’s world-renowned higher education sector. London’s universities and specialist institutions are central to that global reputation for excellence – from outstanding teaching and student support, to world-class research and innovation. London’s higher education sector combines global and national reach with deep local roots and we are well-placed to strengthen collaboration across London’s education and skills landscape. We look forward to working in partnership with Further Education and employers, using both the White Paper and the Mayor of London’s Inclusive Talent Strategy to build clear, flexible pathways and to deliver the talent our economy needs.” Read the full statement linked in the comments below. Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Greater London Authority, London & Partners
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Back to the Future? Reflections on HE System Reform Earlier today, I read HEPI’s 'Back to the Future: What Could System Reform of Higher Education Look Like?' and it’s given me plenty to think about. The blog suggests that the sector is relying too heavily on short-term measures to stay afloat: cost-cutting, recruitment freezes, trimming portfolios. Instead, it calls for deeper, system-wide reform with more modular and lifelong learning, stronger collaboration across providers, and funding models that reflect how people actually learn today. For those of us working in Financial Operations, the implications are real. If the structure of higher education shifts, so will the way money moves through it. That could mean: New kinds of transactions and funding flows More partnerships and shared services to manage A bigger focus on agility, accuracy, and responsiveness in the back office Teams needing to adapt quickly to new systems and expectations Change on that scale isn’t easy, but it’s also an opportunity. We’re often seen as the ones who 'keep things running,' yet our insight into how the system works day to day could make a real difference as reform ideas take shape. It’s left me with this question: How can operational teams prepare now for a sector that might soon look very different? https://lnkd.in/eM5QwWmw #Highereducation #Change #Newwaysofworking
