To close America’s chronic middle skills gap, U.S. employers must partner much more actively than in the past with local community colleges. Due to waves of disruptive automation, the nature of middle skills jobs is evolving much faster than educators’ abilities to change curriculum. Surveys of educators and employers reveal the disconnect behind this partnership’s underperformance and underscore the need for businesses to take the lead in making it more relevant and effective in three areas: training and education aligned with industry needs, commitments to hire community college students, and sharing of data on the supply and demand for talent.
Read the full report by Faculty Co-director, Joseph Fuller, and Manjari Raman at HBS.edu.