New-Collar Jobs

CBS news just interviewed IBM CEO Ginni Rometty this morning about the emerging and, in my view, promising spread of New-Collar Jobs that fall into the category of Pathways to Technology. Briefly, these new, high-paying, STEM-related jobs do not require or advocate university degrees. Rather, they are jobs that are open to students (younger and older adults) that combine a high-school with a community-college curriculum that is designed by industry. Rometty reported that this approach is vastly different from our traditional vocational education approach in many significant ways.

Will these jobs require a high level of academic proficiency? I would suggest that they would, but the type of proficiency required in those areas is probably directed at industry-related academic-skills as opposed to university-level reading, writing, and math proficiency. What do you think? Will this relatively "new kid on our Adult Education block" change the instruction we provide many of our learners? Should it? Are we likely to see greater funding offered to our programs from this initiative? According to Rometty, the concept is spreading rapidly in very favorable winds.

If you are so inclined, please review the 5-minute CBS interview, below, from this morning's news and share your views here as we talk more about IBM's move to promote new-collar jobs. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNCTtfk5WxU

Leecy