Mass. education needs more business involvement
Because of its public nature and more transparent operations, public education can at times become a convenient piñata. Amid a growing cry for tougher educational standards and a taming of college costs, there are plenty of critics lined up to take their whacks at the current system.
A growing cry among parents and business leaders is how well children will be prepared for life after graduation; that is, to ask: Will they land good jobs to launch their careers? That question is being asked with a louder tone — and justifiably so — as more college students graduate with significantly higher education debt, causing many to question whether today's education programs are aligned strongly enough with where the jobs are.
A recent survey by MassINC Polling Group that examined the perceptions that Massachusetts business executives have of public education and workforce readiness found the following:
• A disconnect between education and preparation for the workforce;
• The need for greater student focus on “applied skills,” such as following directions and working in groups, to prepare them for work;
• The need for a greater focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and less teaching to standardized tests; and
• Improving STEM through more hands-on learning and partnerships with business, and partnerships and promotion for vocational/technical education.
Expanding on that last point, the report said: “Many business leaders … decried the lack of a system for fostering partnerships between businesses and schools. The lack of such a program has put the onus on businesses to develop ad hoc partnerships to address their workforce needs.”
While there are seemingly more education-business partnerships at work here in Central Massachusetts, the business leaders who took part in the MassINC survey still raise a valid point: An education system that merely churns out educated students without preparing them properly for the longer life beyond the classroom is not only doing students a disservice, it's potentially forcing businesses to spend more time, energy and money to fill that post-graduate gap in knowledge. That can place a real drag on productivity, an unwelcome result in a state where business interests assert that tax and regulatory policy is already a drag on growth.
In this region, there are notable business-education partnerships that look to train current and future workers in manufacturing fields. For example, Quinsigamond and Mount Wachusett community colleges have already partnered with business organizations such as the Worcester-based Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) to offer courses and degree programs that can help build and maintain a pipeline of skilled workers in manufacturing fields. In addition, Worcester Polytechnic Institute recently announced a $2.5-million training grant for software and educational materials that will teach vocational students new skills in advanced high-tech machinery, also part of a partnership with MassMEP.
These are strong examples of positive, business-connected partnerships. But more are needed, and they can't emanate solely from the colleges. This marks a welcome opportunity for the business sector, working with educators, to properly train tomorrow's workforce. That needs to become more the norm than the exception. At the state level, education officials need to embrace the business sector as a stronger partner not only in curriculum development at the secondary and post-secondary levels, but by going a step further in supplementing teachers' lessons with business-world wisdom. The more exposure students have to how the workplace operates, the better off business — and education — will be for the long run in Massachusetts.
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