Daily Lumina News 032221

The economic churn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for courses that can help people quickly learn what they need to find work. And some traditional higher education institutions are taking note.
In Connecticut, Sacred Heart University is launching career-focused programs to give its students vocational credentials that can speed them into their first jobs while expanding the institution’s market to older adults who are hoping to get new ones.

South Bend Mayor James Mueller says lifelong learning will only help people move up the ladders of opportunity. Thanks to a partnership with the Drucker Institute, Mueller's vision is coming to life for the city's residents.
The collaboration with Drucker involves a learning platform called Bendable that holds curated content accessible to anyone in South Bend with a library card. The goal is to help people acquire new knowledge and training through both online courses and in-person learning opportunities.

To keep high school seniors engaged and on track to graduate amid the pandemic, a school district in Indiana got creative. Wayne Township administrators turned to a previously untapped resource: hourly employees still on payroll, but with time on their hands because students had switched to learning virtually.
The strategy is paying off for students and employees alike. Students are getting college and career readiness guidance and other support. Meanwhile, Wayne Township bus driver Erica Woods is now a student case manager—and hoping to earn a teaching credential.

Thousands of jobs are available in the Dayton, Ohio, area—despite the ongoing effects of the pandemic recession—but many employers face a familiar challenge: finding and keeping skilled workers.
That’s led to an intense focus on training tied to in-demand jobs, providing everything from basic job-hunting to high-tech skills.

As Texas lawmakers grapple with a struggling economy hurt by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and a winter storm that thrust the state’s electrical infrastructure into the spotlight, higher education advocates are desperately trying to make the case that the state still needs to increase investment in its colleges and universities.

Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark, and Vince Marigna, executive director of Braven Newark, say postings for entry-level jobs are significantly down during the pandemic, just as students are graduating from college.
In this opinion piece, Cantor and Marigna call on state and federal policymakers to support programs that can help first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color build contacts and skills leading to jobs.