Better Workforce Pathways

Saturday, 02 March 2024 542 Views

Listened to an Economist video with the CEO of JP Morgan pine on the future of our country. I agreed with one of his points "create a contingency on a seventy thousand dollar job for a college graduate (or someone earning a similar credential)".

Whether you agree on the actual number (70K might be high), a person who invests in higher education or training should get some guarantee of gainful employment. A skills framework matching current open jobs with required application of skills is more practical than the current two – four year degrees and credit hour system. At a minimum, let professors or trainers inject tasks, activities, or experiences into their courses based on live, accurate job requirements.

We built a platform accomplishing precisely this - connecting learning, course, and job labels to design multiple, responsive learning and training pathways. (Someone in the banking industry might appreciate how the learning gains flicker like a stock price when a learning pathway is updated.)

In a WSJ article last week, the author says "In place of a degree, some employers are adopting skills-based hiring, looking at what students know as opposed to what credential they hold." (I'd mention more on this, but I do not agree how WSJ leans in supporting certain individuals or companies.)

On a job label, there is separation of 'past experience requirements' and 'first year application' on a skill by skill basis.

job labels

Lets connect the five User Personas for our learning labels application:

  • Practitioner: Designs learning tasks, experiences, and activities. Game and VR designers, publishers, learning designers, etc.

  • Teacher: Teaches students any type of course. A teacher or professor at any learning stage.

  • Trainer: Provides instruction to prepare a student or worker for a job.

  • Sourcer: Creates, lists, and/or sources job postings or listings. Could be someone in HR, a recruiter, etc.

  • Workforce: Designs workforce pathways or curriculum (a combination of courses).

When you signup for a new account, you choose a persona and the interface is tuned for that persona.