Career

Survey: Tech schools and credentialing programs offer best career pathways

63% of respondents favor employer-paid education programs like those offered by Walmart and Target
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A majority of Americans think colleges are not adapting to the changing needs of students fast enough, and that alternatives to four-year schools are offering a better option for young adults looking to kickstart a good career.

In a new survey released by the Charles Koch Foundation, more than half of Americans say they believe tech schools and credentialing programs better prepare students for their future in the workplace.

“51% would recommend someone they know pursue a credential provided by a reputable tech company over attending a highly prestigious college—if it provided a high likelihood of landing a job,” according to the survey released this morning.

“When presented with a list of educational options, 32% said technical education programs do the best job of preparing learners for successful careers.” Four-year institutions came in second at 21%.

61% of respondents say universities and colleges “should do a better job of changing to meet the needs of students.” One way four-year institutions can accommodate the changing needs of learners is to offer more accessible and flexible options, says the survey, with 62% of the respondents saying that there is a need for more online classes and 19% adding that it would make postsecondary education more affordable.

“We must remove barriers like cost and inflexibility that stand in the way of people reaching their potential,” says Ryan Stowers, the executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation.

“Now is the time to empower all learners to discover, develop, and apply their unique aptitudes,” he continues in a statement released with the survey. “Our survey indicates that Americans are supportive of more individualized options that accelerate innovation of the status quo.”

According to the survey, the demand is there for more employer-provided education benefits. “Americans overwhelmingly favor the type of programs being offered by companies like Walmart and Target where employers pay for employees’ college tuition. Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents say these work-and-learn programs would be a good idea for young people.”

Stowers calls learning a “lifelong endeavor” and adds, “By supporting education entrepreneurs and bottom-up solutions, we can help transform the postsecondary education landscape.”

The survey of 1,000 respondents was conducted by YouGov for the Charles Koch Foundation from August 11-16.

Ryan Stowers on Purpose and Work at ASU+GSV Summit

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.