University Business - November/December 2011 - (Page 25)

Want Ads Show What’s in Demand T’S A SIMPlE IDEA fOr COMMunITy COllEgES ThAT SOunDS Almost archaic: Check the help wanted ads and shape programs around available jobs. In practice, the idea involves new, sophisticated “spidering” and artificial intelligence technologies that can aggregate and analyze online job ads, providing a comprehensive source of information. A Jobs for the future report published this fall explores the options and how the analysis is being done by a handful of colleges and states. Community colleges have always taken steps to understand business needs, but there are limitations to strategies like partnering with local businesses and economic development agencies, including the difficulty of using government data to ascertain current and ongoing demand for specific occupations at the local level. Community colleges typically lack the resources to conduct the deep analyses needed to match curricula to local employers’ needs. This is where real-time demand data that can be extracted from advertised jobs comes into play. Technology can be used to aggregate and analyze online job ads and provide intelligence on hiring trends for industries and occupations, job requirements, and compensation. One case study details how the new Jersey Council of County Colleges Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development uses job ad data from EmployOn, a subsidiary of Burning glass, to identify occupations with Organizations Offering a lot of hiring. The group’s job developers Job Ad Technologies contact employers listing the jobs to deterBurning Glass, www.burning-glass.com mine which ones employers struggle to find Conference Board, www.conference-board.org qualified workers for. Employers help verify Geographic Solutions, the skill needs, design a curriculum for unwww.geographicsolutions.com/solutions-alma.asp employment insurance recipients, and screen Indeed, http://blog.indeed.com trainees. Workforce Investment Act funds Monster, http://about-monster.com/employment-index pay for the training, which occurs at a seSimply Hired, www.simplyhired.com lected community college. As of the fall, 100 Wanted Technologies, www.wantedtech.com unemployed workers had been trained for jobs, with a placement rate of 82 percent. Download the report, called “Aligning Community Colleges to Their local labor Markets,” at www.jff.org/publications. —M.E. F state update F I state, 10-college consortium that received a $19.6 million grant focused on health professions. Consortium members will focus on a career pathways framework and competency-based core curriculum. Cincinnati State will use part of the grant to create a Pathway to Employment Center, a “onestop” career assessment, planning, and placement center. Other consortium members are: Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Pine Technical College in Minnesota; El Centro College and Texarkana College in Texas; Ashland Community and Techni- cal College and Jefferson Community and Technical College in Kentucky; Owens Community College in Ohio; City Colleges of Chicago in Illinois; and Community College of the District of Columbia. According to the Department of Education, states that did not receive grants in this round are being provided assistance in developing a project to qualify for a second round grant of at least $2.5 million. The complete list of recipients can be found at www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta /eta20111409fs.htm. —A.M. ETErAnS rETurnIng TO civilian life will find it easier to get education and employment with a new “memorandum of understanding” between California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet). under the agreement, CalVet will help veterans streamline the community college application process and inform them of their surrounding community colleges by using the ZIP code on completed reintegration forms to identify the closest schools. They will also assist them with information on applying for and using Veterans Administration education benefits to pay for college. for its part, CCC will provide details on all 112 colleges in its system, as well as college contacts and student veteran websites. The CCC is the largest higher education system in the country, with more than 2.9 million students. It enrolls 75 percent of the veterans using gI Bill education benefits in California. According to California’s Employment Development Department, some 30,000 men and women return to civilian life each year in the state. “Our returning service members need access to the training offered at our colleges and this memorandum of understanding reaffirms the commitment our system and CalVet have to these veterans to get them enrolled and working toward their educational goals,” says Chancellor Jack Scott. —Tim Goral November/December 2011 | 25 V california universitybusiness.com http://www.burning-glass.com http://www.conference-board.org http://www.geographicsolutions.com/solutions-alma.asp http://blog.indeed.com http://www.about-monster.com/employment-index http://www.simplyhired.com http://www.wantedtech.com http://www.jff.org/publications http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20111409fs.htm http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20111409fs.htm http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - November/December 2011

University Business - November/December 2011
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Financial Aid
Viewpoint
Education Gateways
Models of Efficiency
Business Intelligence Gets Smarter
Internet Technology
Independent Outlook
End Note

University Business - November/December 2011