Partnerships in the Education of Future Workers

The difficulties of educating young people and highly skilled workers to meet the challenges of a changing global economy has led to new thinking and strategies in the West. Foremost among these is the formation of educational partnerships between business, labor unions and government for the education of young people. These efforts offer new lessons and approaches to help build a successful workforce in Middle East countries.

The key to these partnership programs, known as "School-to-Career" (STC) or "School-to- Work" (STW) programs, has been in the inherent value of shared responsibility for a common goal. When business and labor work together to improve a country’s educational system, a vast amount of accumulated knowledge, resources and expertise is called into play. This idea of partnerships however is not totally new. In Germany and Japan, employers have taken major responsibility for the training of their workforces. In the United States, although on a smaller scale, individual companies and unions have set up training programs to meet their own training needs. These existing programs, though narrow in scope, offer a glimpse of the potential of a STC system.

In this note, the focus is on the experience of School-to-Career partnerships, in particular, the US School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 with its guidelines, examples of US partnership models, the roles and responsibilities of the different partners in the process, and the structuring and evaluation of the programs.

The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 encourages partnerships of employers, educators and others to build high quality STC programs that prepare young people for careers in high-skill, high-wage jobs. To this end, the Act provides seed money to state and local governments. Some of the Act’s stipulations are: a) work-based learning should provide a planned program of job training or experiences, paid work opportunities and workplace mentoring; b) broad instruction in the classroom and workplace should expose students to all aspects of an industry; c) school-based learning should provide career exploration and counseling instruction in a career major; d) programs should match the student to a work-based learning opportunity; and e) partnerships should provide for the training of teachers, mentors and counselors at the job-site.

As a result of the Act, education groups, teachers, business organizations and labor unions came together to work at the national, state and local levels to propose the right mix of academic standards, career connections, support and incentives for students to achieve. Their deliberations have led to several recommendations.

• Effective, engaging teaching methods should be used, including a heavier dose of applied learning.
• Students should be provided with exposure to the workplace in ways that reinforce and show the relevance of academic learning.
• Teachers should be provided training and support.
• Programs should be regularly evaluated to assess whether the programs are leading to improved student achievement.

The School-to-Career system will offer to students who are not immediately bound for college a more engaging curriculum and new incentives to excel in schoolwork. In The Double Helix of Education and the Economy, Sue Berryman and Thomas Bailey point out that many students who traditionally perform poorly in school perform better when their academic courses are coupled with work experience. The improvements occur as students are more able to see the value of their academic skills in real workplace terms.

In the United States cities, there are several dynamic programs:

Boston, Massachusetts. A working contract between the city school district, businesses and labor unions called the Boston Contract was established. To this end, companies pledge to hire a number of students, and unions promise to take a certain number of students into their apprenticeship programs.

Louisville, Kentucky. The Gheens Professional Development Academy keeps teachers on the cutting edge of STC reform. Business and schools are partners. Students sign an agreement indicating their willingness to achieve 95 percent attendance in school, improve grades and meet employer expectations. In return, the partnership agrees to help the students find meaningful part-time summer and/or full-time jobs.

Portland, Oregon. The "Leaders’ Roundtable" was established to bring community leaders, unions, business and local government together with the goal of stimulating long-term structural improvement in employment opportunities for youth by reducing fragmentation of services and eliminating barriers to employment.

These quality programs must evolve into a part of a larger system in order to have the maximum effect of serving large groups of students. If a state is to build a School-to-Career system, it will need the active support of a great many employers and unions. States must develop and pursue active strategies to generate meaningful employer involvement in program design, local partnership participation and program operation. State governments can help identify and recruit local employers.

Partnership is the key to constructing a School-to-Career system. Employers, schools, unions, professional organizations, young people, community organizations and the government must all be actively involved. The partnership coalition plans, negotiates and helps implement the system. It forms a governing body with the following responsibilities: a) set policy; b) participate in program development and implementation; c) constitute sub-committees to pursue topics, issues and policy; and d) review plans and implementation reports from project staff and subcommittees.

Each partner has many responsibilities:

Employers: a) work with the other partners to identify occupational areas and competence standards; b) organize learning by assigning appropriate work tasks, c) supervise and assess performance; d) communicate regularly with parents, schools and the sponsoring organization about progress; and e) support career education and exploration with information and personnel.

Schools: a) set high academic standards; and b) advise about career paths as well as personal and social problems that impede learning.

Unions: a) help identify occupations and standards; b) support career education and exploration, and c) help teach young people about working life.

Young people: a) strive to meet the high performance standards in schools and workplaces; b) participate responsibly in system planning and improvement, and in work-based placements; and c) seek assistance from the school or workplace adviser for personal and social development needs.

Parents: a) help children think about and plan for careers; b) encourage and support children's school performance, including academic and personal behavior; and c) support children's participation in work-based learning.

Community organizations: a) provide career education, exploration and counseling as appropriate; b) provide work-like experiences; c) contribute to the positive socialization of youth; d) participate in design and implementation of the system; and e) coordinate programs with other organizations for optimal impact and efficiency.

Government: a) informs partners of relevant laws and regulations; b) grants needed waivers; c) provides data for planning; d) offers consultation on their areas of expertise; and e) provide work based learning opportunities as an employer.

As programs evolve into a School-to-Career system, evaluation and assessment become critical in such areas as monitoring program impact and maintaining support for innovation. The evaluations should be designed as learning opportunities for program and state policymakers, and should be aligned with the benchmarks established by the state. System and program evaluation for STC programs should focus on outcomes rather than inputs, and should occur along with program development to ensure that data collection procedures and management information systems are in place to support information sharing and assessment of effective strategies.

In conclusion, the benefits from School-to-Career programs are that young people will have at least two portable and validated credentials upon graduation — a high school diploma and a skill certificate that is recognized by employers; that employers will have access to a highly trained and versatile workforce, certified and knowledgeable in the many aspects of an industry; and that the country will have a competent trained and highly educated workforce capable of performing at high levels and prospering in a competitive global economy.

---