Guest Column By Harper President Kenneth Ender
Like any son, I admired my dad, who passed away 30 years ago. He was a first-generation American who supported a family, built and paid off three homes and several automobiles, and provided a comfortable middle-class lifestyle for my mom and four kids. He did this with a high school diploma and a modest white collar job that no longer exists.
In many ways I envy the era in which he lived, where a high school education, a strong back and a strong work ethic were the only prerequisites needed to live out the American dream. Jobs like my dad’s created and sustained the great American middle class of the 20th century. But the world has changed.
Think about all the middle class jobs our country has lost, especially in the manufacturing arena: the automobile factories, the steel factories, the food processing plants, the glass foundries and more. Think about the financial services jobs and other white collar jobs that have disappeared. In fact, every employment sector in our country has lost jobs, except health care and education.
Those 20th century jobs are being replaced with the new “middle skills” jobs of the 21st century. They include jobs in fields such as medical information technology, forensics and public safety, and jobs in green industries such as renewable energy, green construction and energy conservation. These new economy jobs have several common features:
• Like the old economy, these jobs require a strong work ethic.
• Unlike the old jobs, these jobs require an ability to learn at a post-secondary level and critical thinking skills.
• Unlike the old jobs, these jobs require skills and knowledge that can be certified with a post-secondary credential.
• Unlike the old jobs, these jobs require a lifetime of continuous education and credentialing.
Careers that have these features will be the new family-sustaining jobs of the 21st century. In Illinois alone, it is predicted that we will create more than one million of these new middle skills jobs by 2016.
Where will workers go to train and retrain for these new jobs? The answer is your local community college.
Today, community colleges are at the forefront of building partnerships with local school systems and businesses, to make sure our workforce is equipped with new skills to meet the challenges of competing in a global economy.
At Harper College, for example, we have programs beginning in high schools that lead directly to a career in nursing; our corporate services department offers workforce training programs in businesses and factory floors across the northwest suburbs; and our career programs have advisory boards made up of local professionals in their respective fields to make sure the skills we’re teaching are relevant and up to date.
It is critical that community colleges and businesses continue to forge strong partnerships to make sure workers have the skills to succeed in today’s new economy jobs, as well as access to affordable and relevant training over a lifetime of work. A highly trained workforce that’s able to continually adapt to changing needs is our best competitive advantage to stem the flow of businesses leaving the U.S. and attract new businesses to our respective areas.
Community colleges are on the front lines of a new economic reality, which is the largest overhaul of the workforce in U.S. history. I’m not sure what my father would have thought of this new and different world. But make no mistake about it, the world of my father has changed, and we must change with it.
Dr. Kenneth Ender was installed as president of Harper College in Palatine in November, 2009. Contact him at 847-925-6159.