School Work Programs Offer Unique Curriculums to Meet Labor Needs
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n 2019, Forbes magazine announced the alarming news: “America is facing an unprecedented skilled labor shortage.” “According to the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy had 7.6 million unfilled jobs, but only 6.5 million people were looking for work as of January 2019,” the article went on. “It is more apparent than ever that our country is suffering because of it.” Turns out, the nation hadn’t seen anything yet. One year later, COVID-19 landed on American shores and a labor market that had grown increasingly sick for a decade flatlined altogether. And a year after that, things are still struggling to get back on track. But chaos and difficulty often produce innovation, and such is the case with Arkansas’s educational system. Across the state, several school systems are taking a comprehensive approach to meeting the labor needs of the community. The best of these programs are not the one-shop-class-a-week approach of the past, but regular, daily instruction that partners with local community colleges and industry, starting in junior high and even elementary school. The result? More Arkansas students are graduating, or will graduate high school, ready to walk into a waiting job or with some or all of their college training already completed, saving families thousands in tuition. Here’s a snapshot of three such programs that are among the leaders of the new skilled labor movement in Arkansas.
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BLUEPRINT | 2022 | ARKANSAS TIMES
