Career technical education for young adults and skilled-trades training for older adults in employer-state funded programs might revolutionize the job training conundrum in Michigan, St. Joseph County GOP Chair Rodney Chupp said.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy's May report, "Workforce Development In Michigan," states that while Michigan has been involved in job training for decades, most of its workforce development focuses on services such as career counseling, soft skills training or help with job searches. The report states that nearly all of the skills-based training that is publicly funded takes place in high schools and community colleges.
Chupp agreed with some of the report's analysis of statewide goals for growing the workforce while disagreeing with others. Chupp envisions community colleges throughout the state as hubs and incubators for these private-public partnerships.
"If we can do that and help our employees who are going to most benefit and contribute [to the state and business]," that would be beneficial to everyone, Chupp told the Sturgis-Coldwater News.
These training programs would be free to participants, a key selling point to prospective students. At regular job fairs, both private industry and state government would have their pick of the recent crop of graduates.
"By pumping money into this program with given money, we can help support students," he said. "But it also gives businesses the first chance to talk to them and hire."
Chupp, a former Centreville Board of Public Education member, has witnessed the transformation at Glen Oaks Community College five years after President David Devier took the reins. After restoring all of the skilled trades the college had abandoned in years past, Devier added a degree-granting agricultural program.
Chupp has thought long and hard about how to make St. Joseph County work well for everyone. Unemployment might be low, but there are many manufacturers in the southeast with good-paying jobs who can't find skilled employees to do them.
"We can turn things around in Michigan by offering some really, really good opportunities for students of all ages," Chupp said. "We need to tackle our challenges with education."
Chupp thinks local and state governments should better fund high school guidance counselors, but he also likes the idea of educational advocates. These are guidance counselors for adults. They don't yet exist, but would help adults navigate job-training and placement.
"These are the people who would help people find out what could work for them," Chupp said. "There are a lot of opportunities, but if you don’t know about them, you don’t know about them."
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