Short-term Training Can Lead to Technology Jobs without College Degrees
2022-08-14
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1Some American states are making money available for high school graduates so they can learn skills to help them get technology jobs without a college degree.
2One example is the northeastern state of Connecticut.
3It has invested $70 million to put young people and adults through short-term training programs that can lead to good paying technology jobs.
4Some states see such programs as a good solution as college costs keep rising and businesses have trouble finding skilled technology workers.
5The programs are known as "nondegree skills training."
6They have helped people like Mohameth Seck, who left college after two years.
7Seck said he wanted to work in technology but the classes he was offered in a traditional college program "weren't really interesting" to him.
8He also said traditional college takes too long to finish.
9So Seck decided to enter a one-year computer training program run by a nonprofit organization.
10Today, the 25-year-old teaches computer coding at a skills training center, or academy, in Stamford, Connecticut.
11Seck said friends who finished the program also have good jobs.
12The academy where Seck teaches is operated by a company called Synchrony.
13The instructors teach classes in website design, management and other important subjects to current high school students and recent high school graduates.
14Nicole Samaniego is one of the students.
15She told online publication The Hechinger Report that at first, she wanted to study a form of engineering.
16But after taking classes at the academy, she had other ideas.
17"After doing this program for almost five months now, I saw that I wanted to change my career," she said.
18When she starts school at the University of Connecticut later this month, she will center her studies on computer science.
19For students who do not plan to attend college, the academy offers job search assistance.
20Niall Dammando is a leader in Connecticut's office of workforce strategy
21 He said academies like the one run by Synchrony can help a state's finances.
22This is because skilled technology workers are likely to make more money and pay more state taxes.
23Dammando said this is a real incentive for the state to get workers into higher paying jobs.
24Bridgette Gray works for a nonprofit called Opportunity@Work.
25It seeks to get employers to hire people who do not have college degrees.
26Gray said her own son left college after one school term and took classes with a group called Per Scholas that offers technology training both online and throughout the U.S.
27She said her son now earns more than $90,000 a year at the age of 27.
28Research carried out by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce showed that people who do get a college degree earn about 84 percent more over their lifetimes.
29But not everyone can get into, pay for or do well in college.
30David Soo leads an organization called Jobs for the Future.
31He said the college model that has been in place for the last 40 years does not work for everyone.
32And this is especially true for students who are Black, Hispanic or whose families do not make a lot of money.
33"We need to find a better way to serve those students," Soo said.
34Brad Hershbein, with the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, agrees.
35In the past, he said, employers would take inexperienced workers and then train them for better jobs as they got older.
36But at some point, that model became costly and businesses decided to depend on colleges to provide that kind of training.
37But now, many businesses are in great need of trained workers.
38To fill that need, some companies are creating their own academies or hiring students from places like Synchrony.
39Large technology companies like IBM and Google have started their own programs because they can train workers faster than universities.
40Recently, however, some businesses have been reducing the number of their employees because of worries about an economic slowdown.
41Among technology companies announcing job cuts are Robinhood, Oracle, Shopify, SoundCloud, Netflix and Coinbase.
42Such job cuts lead to more people seeking employment.
43As a result, industry experts say when a company considers hiring two people with the same skills, the one with a college degree is more likely to get the job.
44Anthony Carnevale is the leader of Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce.
45He said that while job training is good, it is not 100 percent correct to tell people they cannot benefit from a college degree.
46One reason companies might hire college graduates is because they think they might have better communication and teamwork skills.
47To make up for that, one job training nonprofit called YearUp is seeking to provide that kind of instruction as well.
48Gerald Chertavian, who leads the organization, said YearUp includes training on how people can succeed in office environments, rather than just teaching how to write code or design websites.
49In the end, even the experts who say it is good to get a college degree recognize that there might be reasons not to go to college.
50"The best outcome is that people have choices," said Georgetown's Carnevale.
51"And that we ensure that all the choices lead to a good job."
52I'm Bryan Lynn.
53And I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Some American states are making money available for high school graduates so they can learn skills to help them get technology jobs without a college degree. 2One example is the northeastern state of Connecticut. It has invested $70 million to put young people and adults through short-term training programs that can lead to good paying technology jobs. 3Some states see such programs as a good solution as college costs keep rising and businesses have trouble finding skilled technology workers. 4The programs are known as "nondegree skills training." They have helped people like Mohameth Seck, who left college after two years. Seck said he wanted to work in technology but the classes he was offered in a traditional college program "weren't really interesting" to him. He also said traditional college takes too long to finish. 5So Seck decided to enter a one-year computer training program run by a nonprofit organization. Today, the 25-year-old teaches computer coding at a skills training center, or academy, in Stamford, Connecticut. Seck said friends who finished the program also have good jobs. 6The academy where Seck teaches is operated by a company called Synchrony. The instructors teach classes in website design, management and other important subjects to current high school students and recent high school graduates. 7Nicole Samaniego is one of the students. She told online publication The Hechinger Report that at first, she wanted to study a form of engineering. But after taking classes at the academy, she had other ideas. "After doing this program for almost five months now, I saw that I wanted to change my career," she said. 8When she starts school at the University of Connecticut later this month, she will center her studies on computer science. For students who do not plan to attend college, the academy offers job search assistance. 9Niall Dammando is a leader in Connecticut's office of workforce strategy. He said academies like the one run by Synchrony can help a state's finances. This is because skilled technology workers are likely to make more money and pay more state taxes. Dammando said this is a real incentive for the state to get workers into higher paying jobs. 10Bridgette Gray works for a nonprofit called Opportunity@Work. It seeks to get employers to hire people who do not have college degrees. Gray said her own son left college after one school term and took classes with a group called Per Scholas that offers technology training both online and throughout the U.S. She said her son now earns more than $90,000 a year at the age of 27. 11Research carried out by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce showed that people who do get a college degree earn about 84 percent more over their lifetimes. But not everyone can get into, pay for or do well in college. 12David Soo leads an organization called Jobs for the Future. He said the college model that has been in place for the last 40 years does not work for everyone. And this is especially true for students who are Black, Hispanic or whose families do not make a lot of money. "We need to find a better way to serve those students," Soo said. 13Brad Hershbein, with the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, agrees. In the past, he said, employers would take inexperienced workers and then train them for better jobs as they got older. But at some point, that model became costly and businesses decided to depend on colleges to provide that kind of training. 14But now, many businesses are in great need of trained workers. To fill that need, some companies are creating their own academies or hiring students from places like Synchrony. Large technology companies like IBM and Google have started their own programs because they can train workers faster than universities. 15Recently, however, some businesses have been reducing the number of their employees because of worries about an economic slowdown. Among technology companies announcing job cuts are Robinhood, Oracle, Shopify, SoundCloud, Netflix and Coinbase. 16Such job cuts lead to more people seeking employment. As a result, industry experts say when a company considers hiring two people with the same skills, the one with a college degree is more likely to get the job. 17Anthony Carnevale is the leader of Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce. He said that while job training is good, it is not 100 percent correct to tell people they cannot benefit from a college degree. 18One reason companies might hire college graduates is because they think they might have better communication and teamwork skills. 19To make up for that, one job training nonprofit called YearUp is seeking to provide that kind of instruction as well. Gerald Chertavian, who leads the organization, said YearUp includes training on how people can succeed in office environments, rather than just teaching how to write code or design websites. 20In the end, even the experts who say it is good to get a college degree recognize that there might be reasons not to go to college. "The best outcome is that people have choices," said Georgetown's Carnevale. "And that we ensure that all the choices lead to a good job." 21I'm Bryan Lynn. 22And I'm Faith Pirlo. 23Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a story by the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. 24____________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26graduate- n. a person who has finished a period of school such as high school or college 27degree -n. a document that shows a person has finished a period of school 28strategy -n. a careful plan to complete something or achieve a goal over a period of time 29incentive -n. something that makes a person want to take on a task or project 30benefit -n. a good result or effect 31ensure -v. to make sure something happens 32__________________________________________________________________ 33What do you think of the students who choose not to go to college? We want to hear from you. 34We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Write your comment in the box. 36Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 37Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 38Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.