World Education’s EdTech Center and National College Transition Network are pleased to announce a new collaboration with a coalition of organizations committed to equitable online CTE programming. Led by Urban Institute and funded by ECMC Foundation, we will work with the National Council for Workforce Education; the Instructional Technology Council; the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers; and the Office of Community College Research and Leadership. Our shared goal is to further community and technical colleges’ capacity to provide online learning, paying particular attention to creating inclusive opportunities to support success of black, indigenous, and students of color participating in online, credit-bearing CTE programs.

Join us today, January 8th at 10:00 AM Pacific, 12:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Eastern for our 20th Distance Education Strategy Session. 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic have brought about significant shifts in hiring demand and have accelerated the future of work in ways that none of us could have predicted. Immigrant and refugee communities have been disproportionately affected by job losses, and also make up a larger percentage of essential workers in healthcare and grocery/retail, among other sectors. IET Career Pathway programs must rapidly adapt to the changing needs of both their learners and the employer hiring demand within their local communities. Katie Nielson, PhD. and Tadd Wamester from the Voxy EnGen team will unpack these issues and also provide insight into how programs are transitioning to blended and virtual IET & career-focused language learning, now and into the future.

In December 2020, the National Coalition for Literacy and the Open Door Collective submitted a memo to the Biden-Harris Transition Team highlighting recommendations for policy shifts in adult education that would support the incoming administration’s “build-back-better” priorities of economic recovery and racial equity. The recommendations include: the reconceptualization of the field to a coordinated lifelong learning structure, national infrastructure improvements, and changes to accountability and outcomes requirements to accommodate a wider range of learner goals. Of note is a nod to the imperative for more federal attention to broadband infrastructure; the memo nicely articulates the connection between participation in workforce development and learning activities and access to high-speed internet. 

 

World Education is a long-time member and supporter of the National Coalition for Literacy and Open Door Collective. World Education’s Judy Mortrude is the President of NCL and the EdTech Center’s Jen Vanek serves on the Open Door Collective’s steering committee.