Strada collaborates with students, policymakers, educators, and employers across the U.S. to strengthen the link between education and opportunity.
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We prioritize policies, practices, and programs that help ensure postsecondary education provides equitable pathways to opportunity.
We advance our mission through research, grantmaking, social impact investments, public policy solutions, Strada-supported nonprofit organizations, and strategic initiatives.
Policymakers and executives can partner to improve outcomes for individuals and employers.
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Postsecondary education has multiple important purposes. Preparation for a career is just one of them – but for many people it is the most important one.
Too often students can’t access high-demand, high-wage programs because they cost institutions more to deliver than general education programs. Policymakers can remove that obstacle by adjusting funding levels to account for differences in program delivery costs.
At the same time, employers can have difficulty meeting their talent needs because they require a college degree even for positions that don’t require college-level skills. The result: less diverse talent pools and higher attrition rates.
We envision a future in which students can readily access programs that lead to quality jobs and mobility, and employers assess and advance individuals based on skills and experiences, not degrees.
Strada’s $4 million Employer and Community College Partnership challenge is funding partnerships that are innovating to meet regional workforce needs, boost employment and earnings for students, and drive community college enrollment.
Strada’s alumni survey showed the value of providing education that is aligned with careers and workforce needs. Alumni who reported having quality experiences connecting their education to career preparation as students also reported that they earned more money and were significantly more likely to agree their education was worth the cost.
Braven is a Strada grantee that helps students develop the skills and relationships needed to get a good first job out of college. On this Strada podcast episode, Braven CEO Aimée Eubanks Davis talks about leveling the playing field so all college graduates have connections in the workforce and can begin building successful careers.
Mentors in Tech recruits tech industry veterans from the region’s robust tech industry to mentor students at the area’s small, affordable, open-access colleges. The partnership between Green River and Mentors in Tech, or MinT, is supported in part by a $400,000 grant from Strada’s Employer and Community College Partnership Challenge.
The State Opportunity Index was developed to help states build a stronger connection between education after high school and equitable pathways to opportunity so students realize the full value of their education and employers have the workforce they need to fill high-demand jobs.
Strada Education Foundation Appoints Heather McKay to Direct Institute for the Future of Work
At the heart of MiraCosta College’s Increase Diversity, Equity, and Advancement in Biotechnology (IDEA-BTEC) program, funded in part by a $400,000 grant from Strada Education Foundation, is a unique partnership between the college and two local biotech employers: Sterogene Bio-Separations and Open Biopharma Research and Training Institute.
The community college learning lab and dental clinic is now a newly refurbished space where dental hygiene students refine their technique on mannequins outfitted with realistic incisors, molars, and cuspids. The clinic was remodeled through a partnership with Delta Dental of Rhode Island and supported by a $400,000 grant from Strada Education Foundation.
In an era of student enrollment declines, tight labor markets, rising college costs, and a growing lack of confidence in the value of a postsecondary education, community colleges and employers have ample reasons to partner together.
Partnerships between community colleges and employers have the opportunity to address local and regional economic needs through a range of tools, including supporting student success through resources and services, integrating work-based learning, and building career pathways.
Two-year grants will support proven partnerships that connect learners to education and in-demand employment opportunities and strengthen regional economies.
More than 18 months into the pandemic, the employment headlines can seem like an algebraic riddle: If U.S. employers are seeking workers to fill 10.9 million jobs, how can 8.4 million workers be unemployed?
Nationwide, about 80 percent of students enrolling in community college say they intend to continue at a four-year college or university to earn a bachelor’s degree. But only 15 percent of community college students achieve that goal within six years.
Expert panelists discuss the value of short-term programs, employer investments, and skills-based hiring
There’s no shortage of big, ambitious ideas for creating an education-workforce system that improves upward mobility for more people. Harvard education economist David Deming uses hard data to stress test those ideas and see what might work, and what probably won’t. We talk to him about what he’s learning and what he recommends we do right now to improve the value of education for an increasingly diverse workforce.
Strada Education Network’s latest Public Viewpoint research highlights widespread belief that when it comes to career, skills and experience should take precedence over formal credentials—and that Americans highly value employers who will support their education and career development.
The story of one learner’s journey through education and employment is told across several data sets. Enrollment and graduation outcomes tell one part of the story, with labor market information and employer data filling in the blanks. Brighthive, led by CEO and founder Matt Gee, is connecting siloed data systems so learners, employers, and educators alike can make better informed decisions about preparing tomorrow’s workforce.
How Intermediaries Can Connect Education and Work in a Postpandemic World