TECH-BASED EDUCATION RAISES ECONOMIC MARKS

Technology innovations creating more jobs

By Becky Gillette

An Oxford University study of the U.S. economy predicted that in the next 25 years, about 47 percent of current jobs will disappear due to automation and artificial intelligence.

“That means entire sorts of jobs will not be necessary anymore,” said Dr. Stephen Addison, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. “Technology and automation have been with us a long time. While technology has typically resulted in the elimination of some types of jobs, historically it has ended up creating even more new jobs. There is often a lag in that, but I fully anticipate new jobs and different types of jobs will start appearing.”

Addison sees the current layoffs at large technology companies as an aftereffect of the pandemic. Employers hired more tech employees when a vast majority of work moved online. Many businesses were using Zoom conferencing online, and more customers were shopping online. Now that everything is opening back up, people have shifted back to the normal mode of interacting and shopping, leading to some job losses in the big tech companies.

Technology has changed so rapidly in the past decade, and particularly during the pandemic. Has it reached an apex, or will we continue to be astounded at the new uses of technology? Addison expects the pace of changes to oc- cur faster and faster. And he said it is critical for Arkansas to train workers to be ready for those new jobs.

“The state has received a $20-million National Science Foundation grant matched by $4 million in state funds to produce a workforce in the area of data science, which is really, really important,” said Addison, who is one of the co-leaders of that project. “We are working with industries to make sure we fully understand what their needs are today and in the future. We are developing programs across the state at two-year colleges and four-year universities to prepare students for heavily data-driven careers that will be present in the future.

“We are creating the infrastructure to educate people for the jobs of the future. With all the technology companies we have in Arkansas such as Walmart, Dillard’s and J.B. Hunt, it is going to be really important for them to be able to hire workers with the right technology skills.”

The pandemic forced teachers to rethink how they taught their classes. When everything went online, people had to figure out how to use these tools most effectively. In some cases, they found the new tools were very beneficial, so they have continued using them online or in the classroom.

“These days instead of teaching abstract concepts, we put students to work learning how to use the technologies,” Addison said. “It makes things in the classroom more like what they will be doing in the modern workplace. The modern economy is being driven by the need to be economically competitive by automating at ever accelerating rates.”

Most people have experienced frustration dealing with bots for customer service. Bots often don’t give answers to simple questions. But just in recent months, bots have become much more capable.

“ChatGPT has been discussed widely in the news recently,” Addison said. “It is a new bot that will write essays for you. It is an example of a far more advanced AI system. It basically does tend to answer the questions you have. It does some things really well. It is really good in a wide variety of areas. It can interface with other technology to automate even more processes. Some of the things I have experimented with are using ChatGPT to create web pages, write computer programs and blog posts. Bots are getting better and better.”

UCA is an Apple Distinguished School, the only one in Arkansas for higher education and one of only a few across the country. Dr. Victoria Groves-Scott, UCA College of Education dean, said this prestigious designation allows the school to use iPads and other types of mobile technology to prepare future teachers to embed technology in the classroom.

“It is about using the technology to engage K-12 students to give them a voice and choice, including teachers creating videos to teach subjects like history and science,” Groves-Scott said. “In one collaboration, fourth grade math students are engaging with math educators at the university using video technology and answering questions. Children are getting coaching on how to approach math or science problems. Students are using iPads, smartphones, and videos at a very, very early age. We are just taking a child’s natural curiosity and expanding it to create learning spaces.”

Groves-Scott said it is exciting to see that technology-based education can help meet students where they are at in their development, whether they are struggling, learning at a normal pace or gifted. If a high school student needs additional support in a physics class, there are online modules that can help. For advanced students, personalized video instruction gives them more opportunities.

Groves-Scott has a background in special education and has been amazed at how students who struggle to speak can be fluent on a communications device.

“People thought for years these kids had limited intellectual abilities,” she said. “Give them a communication device, and you are stunned at how bright they are and what they can do. The teacher has to really moderate it and be trained to use the technology. It is a real skill. It is a science. When it is applied correctly, it expands the horizon of the classroom.”

She sees this work being vital to preparing students for a wide range of jobs.

“We have to make sure we are preparing our children in Arkansas to be competitive in all job markets when they leave school,” Groves-Scott said. “The other issue is equity. We have to make sure all of the children in Arkansas have access to technology. If we don’t do that, we will see the gap widen. Broadband is really important in rural areas across Arkansas, and we need to make sure all of our students in all of our schools have access to technology appropriate for their age group. It is good for all of us because it creates a better workforce and prepares us for the future.”

Increasingly, some technology training is necessary for nearly any job. Particularly in an era when skilled worker shortages are widespread, efficient tech training specific to industries is critical. The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM) has a niche for customized training, said Workforce Development and Education Dean Jessica Rohlman.

“Skilled trades today are higher skilled jobs that utilize technology in new ways,” Rohlman said. “Skilled trades are not the ‘dirty jobs’ of our past. Don’t get me wrong. Some of them are still tough jobs that are in the environmental elements, but there is a higher technology skill set now required in the skilled trades industries.”

UACCM can design training around skillsgaps a company is seeing and help to fill those gaps. Rohlman said they work closely with companies to customize trainings by meeting with their leaders and touring their facilities so the instructors can get some first-hand knowledge of what is needed.

“We work to align the customized and short-term trainings with the degree programs, where applicable, so that if students later decide to pursue their degree, then credit may be granted for some of the trainings they have already completed,” Rohlman said. “When industry comes to UACCM with a need, we are able to quickly respond with short-term, non-credit training as long as resources/equipment is available.”

UACCM commonly offers customized trainings in safety, HVAC troubleshooting, electricity, hydraulics and pneumatics, various welding processes, motors and systems controls, programmable logic controls as well as other manufacturing industry areas. Their short-term, noncredit trainings offered on a regular schedule are entry-level Commercial Driver Training (Class A and B), horizontal directional drilling, heavy equipment operations and welding.

Rohlman said UACCM provides high-quality training in a state-of-art facility with equipment that meets industry standards (not simulators) while keeping training affordable. The school hires trainers and instructors from the industry.

“It’s not important for these trainers/instructors to have a formal education,” Rohlman said. “We want them to have industry experience so they can teach/train in a real-world setting providing training that will prepare students for the workforce they are entering. Many of our trainings are designed around providing the opportunity for students to learn a skill that will help them get a job to earn a good living wage. The trainings are for high-demand, high-wage jobs in most cases.

“The costs are not only less than a four-year but are also significantly less than the independent training facilities.”