The Continuing Crisis in the Field Workforce

It's no secret that the trades are in crisis and our educational systems seem unable to address the issue. How did we get here?

• A shrinking labor pool
• Negative stereotypes
• Immigration policies that scare away skilled workers
• Significant lack of awareness of the benefits
• Financing for a technical education

Even with all these challenges, the existing labor pool is experiencing a skills gap.

• Tasks in the trades are more complex.
• New methods and materials require continuous education.
• There is a greater focus on safety.
• There is a greater need for quality control.
• New field applications and devices require training in their proper use.

Barriers to developing a new trades-centric workforce:

• Cost and time: Apprenticeship programs, which are the primary way to train workers for trade jobs, can be expensive and time-consuming for both employers and apprentices.
• Lack of support: Many trade employers do not have the resources to provide adequate training to their apprentices. Additionally, there is a lack of government and industry support for apprenticeship programs.
• Equity and diversity: The trades have a long history of underrepresentation of women and minorities. This is due to a number of factors, including discrimination, lack of access to training, and cultural barriers.

What should be done?

• Raise the alarm! Make this crisis a national focus. Write stories pointing out the risks to life and the economy. 
• Make trade jobs more accessible through well-funded apprenticeship programs
• Make the investment in training worthwhile. Offer tax incentives, stipends, improved access to bidding, streamline licensing and certification.
• Provide financial assistance to apprentices and employers.
• Create a national taskforce that addresses and reduces prejudice and bigotry in the trades. 
• Work with the media to highlight positive forces in diverse populations.
• Provide incentives for lenders to invest in tradespeople.
• Strengthen the SBAs focus on trades.
• Work with the media to highlight the essential nature of tradespeople and without them our society ceases to function.

Lastly, the 2022 Infrastructure  Act provided 800MM in funds for Advancing Equitable Workforce Development. Here are the details https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Advancing-Equitable-Workforce-Development-for-Infrastructure-Jobs_110122.pdf 

eLearning - To LMS or Not to LMS

BACKGROUND

Have you ever wondered why we are so dependent on Learning Management Systems? 

The LMS is not new, but its effectiveness has diminished over the years.

While the present definition for a Learning Management System calls it "automated," way back in the 1700s solutions were paper-based tools such as books and assignments. 

I the early 1900s correspondence courses became popular using the mail and mentors. Each student had an advisor who would evaluate the submitted assignments and determine if the student was meeting the criteria for advancement. 

Study and preparation required the student to read, analyze, and solve the case studies and assignments provided. Additional reading outside the course was often encouraged, as was extra credit for thinking outside the box.

With the advent of the "Cold War," the United States military began an accelerated and focused training program using computers. Also, the need to quickly share defense research led to DARPA, the beginning of the Internet built connecting the leading research institutions and the Defense Department.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the transfer of this technology to the public sector began. The first popular graphical browser,  NCSA Mosaic, was made available in 1993, followed by the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. 

Imagine, all this is only 30 years old!

With the advent of secure cloud-based platforms, the economics of  computer-based training was all it took for a whole new industry to be built.

But remember, before the web and computer-based learning, students were encouraged to study, analyze, process, question, attempt, and were offered personal feedback. 

Personal instruction and feedback are the most labor intensive aspect of traditional classroom and correspondence learning; they were the first set of methods to be automated.

And, the only working model for a computer-based Learning Management System in the beginning of for Higher Ed. and K-12 was technology transferred from the military.

IS AN LMS RIGHT FOR YOU? Coming soon.