1 / 17

West Michigan Michigan Regional Adult Learning Forum

West Michigan Michigan Regional Adult Learning Forum . WELCOME!. Reframing & Reinvesting in Adult Learning West Michigan Michigan Regional Adult Learning Forum . A Case for Change in Michigan. Marcia Black-Watson Deputy Director – Employers Bureau of Workforce Transformation

eshe
Download Presentation

West Michigan Michigan Regional Adult Learning Forum

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. West Michigan Michigan Regional Adult Learning Forum WELCOME!

  2. Reframing & Reinvesting in Adult LearningWest Michigan Michigan Regional Adult Learning Forum A Case for Changein Michigan Marcia Black-Watson Deputy Director – Employers Bureau of Workforce Transformation Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth

  3. Adult Learning Workgroup • More than 20 leaders from adult education, including community colleges, from across MI • Meeting monthly and more frequently in small groups to discuss transformation • Goal: set of comprehensive policy recommendations presented by mid-Sept. 2008

  4. Pleasant surprises: • Unanimous willingness to work across program boundaries, out of “silos” • Agreement that current system is not meeting the needs of many of MI’s adults • Willingness to work hard between meetings, making key contributions to research, sub-committees and presentations

  5. Guiding Principles • High School Diploma or GED is the beginning, not the end, of an adult’s educational path • Far-reaching changes in Michigan’s economy require far-reaching changes in its adult learning infrastructure • A shared vision of Michigan’s future among key stakeholders in education, business, and government is essential

  6. What’s the Situation? Levels 1 & 2 Literacy = 44% W/O HSD or GED = 17.5% * Definitions Level 1: Below basic literacy or functionally illiterate. Level 2: Possess basic literacy skills or able to perform simple, everyday literacy activities.

  7. Nearly 2,000,000 working-age adults in Michigan have earned a GED or HSD but have not entered college

  8. 1.2 million Michigan adults lack the skills necessary to engage in post-secondary education

  9. Of Michigan’s 6.4 million working age adults (18 to 64), 68.3% have not completed college (associate’s degree or higher)

  10. Why Does This Matter? • Lifetime earnings of a person with an associates degree or higher will be at least $500,000 more than someone who stopped with high school • Higher overall educational achievement = healthier families, thriving communities, stronger economy

  11. Michiganders need further educationmore than ever before • 8 straight years of job loss in the manufacturing sector • Longest stretch of job loss since the Great Depression • More manufacturing jobs gone from MI than from any other state • Total loss estimate for period mid-2000 through end of 2008: 369,000

  12. One challenging policy area: • The auto industry accounts for about 70% of the job loss in manufacturing • Traditional voc ed pathways target manufacturing jobs • We have a long tradition of Michigan families assuming that HSD or GED will lead to well-paid auto job

  13. There is some good news… • Projected job growth in services sector: 50,000 during period 2006-2008 • Most new jobs are in health services, private education, business services and hospitality

  14. Michigan’s skills mismatch: • Michigan employers have job vacancies because our workforce lacks men and women with the required skills • Our economy will turn around, but not until we reverse the numbers: we want to see 68.3% of Michigan’s working-age adults with Associates degrees or higher

  15. Work with high schools to create credit transfers and bridge programs into community colleges Expand community college programs which link remediation to career preparation Continue to engage employers in efforts to support workers who want to go to school Encourage local-level innovations which help adult learners to transition from GED to college We need to:

  16. Contact Information Marcia Black-Watson Deputy Director – Employers Bureau of Workforce Transformation Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth black-watsonn@michigan.gov 517.335.6799

  17. Reframing & Reinvesting in Adult LearningSouthwest Michigan Regional Adult Learning Forum A Case for Changein Michigan Marcia Black-Watson Deputy Director – Employers Bureau of Workforce Transformation Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth

More Related