Preparing for Tomorrow's Middle-Skill Jobs: How Community Colleges Are Responding to Technology Innovation in the Workplace

This report describes a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Task Force on the Work of the Future to understand how community colleges are adapting their workforce programs to changing skill demands, diversifying pathways to certificates and degrees, and grappling with equity concerns. Over 200 administrators, faculty, and staff at eight community colleges were interviewed to learn about each college's recent experiences with employers and students in the context of workforce programming in three occupational fields: allied health, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. These fields are growing in importance in many areas of the country, and they are undergoing rapid technological innovation. Focusing on these fields, representatives from the study colleges spoke on: (1) how skill demands are changing for good-quality entry-level jobs; (2) how colleges are modifying their instruction and support services to help students acquire essential skills; (3) how colleges are helping students who are in short-term programs get into more advanced programs that lead to better jobs; and (4) what steps the colleges are taking to promote access to high-opportunity programs for Black and Latinx students and low-income students.