Does Back to School Mean Back to Work?

Could K-12 schools resuming face to face instruction mean adult education programs might start to see an uptick in enrollment?

With children going "back to school", some parents may see this as their opportunity to increase their education to possibly open up more job opportunities.  According to a recent poll by Pew Research Center, a third of unemployed adults say they have already taken steps to retool their skills by pursuing job retraining programs or educational opportunities. Additionally, the report stated, "Hispanic workers (both women and men), younger workers and those with less education have seen larger percentage point increases in unemployment compared with other workers." So, what are some resources adult education programs may want to consider using to support adults in getting back to school and getting back to work?

  • Resources for parents of K-12 students- The family resource page of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education provides many helpful links including: pre-college planning, information on civil rights and disability rights, and link to a parent center hub. 
  • Resources for younger workers/out-of-school youth- Workforce GPS has a youth resources page that might have helpful tips and resources to use when working collaboratively with your local workforce boards and one-stop partners. 
  • Resources for English language learners- Check out and join the English Language Acquisition Group in the LINCS community and watch for our collaborative live event happening in November 2021 on workforce lessons and Teaching Skills that Matter.

Comments

A recent Wall Street Journal article mentioned that over a third of the people in the workforce between the ages of 25-40 were looking to change careers and many were considering further education and training to make that change. It's not clear how any of those individuals might turn to adult basic education programs, but it's likely that some go straight to a local community college or 4-year college and may not have the math and reading skills they need to be successful. Now might be a great time for adult basic education programs to talk to their postsecondary partners about bridge and IET classes. 

Does anyone in our community have tips on how to work strategically with your local postsecondary partners? 

Have any programs already seen an influx of millennials coming into their doors?