To fight teacher shortages, schools turn to grow your own programs

South Dakota technical colleges partner closely with the renewable energy industry through specialized academic programs, responsive curriculum changes, and targeted scholarships, effectively addressing workforce shortages, achieving high-paying job placements, and catalyzing local economic growth.

In an effort to boost staff and retain current healthcare workers, Catholic Health and McGuire Group's nursing homes are working with D’Youville University to fund the education of those interested in becoming a certified nursing assistant (CNA). Participants are paid for their time spent training and taking courses and are guaranteed a job once they complete the program. Catholic Health and the McGuire Group hired 29 CNAs from the program in 2022 across its nine nursing homes in the Western part of the state.

Access Code is a nonprofit in New York that gives young adults, particularly those from minority groups, instruction and resources to learn coding. This education promotes greater access to lucrative careers in the world of technology.

To quickly build a skilled workforce, two Kansas community colleges and Panasonic created an accelerated 8-week apprenticeship, funded by the company and featuring tailored classroom and practical training. The program aims to fast-track workers into Panasonic's new EV battery factory while providing clear career pathways through stackable credentials.

A new program through Adams State University hires incarcerated professors to teach in prison bachelor’s programs, providing them training and income while giving more people access to education behind bars. Students report that they prefer learning from someone who understands their experiences and is available to connect with outside of formal classes.

Transfr is a tech company that provides free virtual reality job training and education to help facilitate employment opportunities. Transfr specifically focuses on providing these opportunities for disadvantaged people in places like domestic violence shelters, mental health clinics, juvenile detention centers and state correctional institutions where access to skill-building and further education is often hard to access. So far Transfr has 30 partnerships across 18 states.

The Afolabi Abdulakeem Faisol (AAF) Academy connects with prospective students via WhatsApp and teaches them graphic design and video editing skills as a way to earn money. Since 2021, the Academy has held seven educational boot camps, teaching thousands of people across several countries.

The Springs Rescue Mission is a homeless shelter that provides care and resources from food and shelter to job and skill training. The Springs Rescue Mission, alongside similar local groups, has reduced homelessness in the area by 50% and 30% of those who go through the program’s job training leave with the skills necessary to get a job and live independently.

The Sewing Labs provides apprenticeships that teach sewing skills as a route to jobs, financial independence and dignity. The Sewing Labs was recently chosen as one of 207 businesses to participate in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Ambassadors Initiative to present an “earn and learn” model to create equitable and debt-free pathways to good-paying jobs.

Training rural residents to work from home eases the struggle with unemployment. Utah’s Rural Online Initiative program provides rural residents with an online work certificate and training in online tools such as video-conferencing software. The one-month course is run by the Utah State University Extension and funded by Utah’s state legislature.