The Employer-Educator Partnership That Can Fill U.S. Jobs.

This article discusses the middle-skills gap in the United States and the need for better collaboration between employers and educators to address this issue. The authors conducted surveys with community college leaders and business leaders, finding that inadequate collaboration is a major factor contributing to the skills gap. The article highlights three main problems: the struggle to produce workforce-ready graduates, an inadequate playbook for collaboration, and partnerships trapped in low expectations. The authors propose a playbook for partnership that includes strategies for aligning training and education with industry needs, establishing relationships for recruitment and hiring, and making supply-and-demand decisions based on data. They emphasize the importance of collaboration between employers and educators to close the skills gap and improve outcomes for all stakeholders. [Extracted from the article]