The employability pipeline

NEBHE launched a partnership with the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB) to advance partnerships between industry and higher education and meet the immediate demand for a skilled workforce, while also developing pathways to postsecondary credential programs.

NEBHE is working with EWIB to expand the Eastern CT Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative (MPI) to all of New England. The MPI has resulted in more than 1,000 job placements since its inception two years ago. This model is replicable and can be applied to industries such as healthcare, IT, biomedical, and financial services.

MPI is focused on meeting the demand for entry-level skills and is one of the on-ramps to other postsecondary credentials, such as associate degrees and credit-bearing certificate programs. Pathways have been created to support transferable credentials which provide students with the ability to continue their education while developing their work skills for higher-level positions.

Industry partners work in collaboration with higher educational institutions to develop relevant curricula that addresses the needs of the industry. Industry partners also provide work-based learning opportunities and hire graduates from the various programs. The benefits of such partnerships include:

  • Students, including underemployed, unemployed, adult learns, and traditional students receive the education they need to be gainfully employed
  • Employers receive the skilled workforce they require
  • Higher education institutions not only support their mission to serve the local community but also receive the economic benefits of enrollment in non-traditional programs.

NEBHE’s Professional Development

To address the dynamic changes of today’s workforce, NEBHE has developed a comprehensive, balanced approach to teaching educators. Our “Balanced Approach to Teaching and Learning” is a model used to help educators understand the differences among the three main components to teaching and learning—student, instructor and curriculum—as well as the interactions among them and their effect on learning outcomes to develop student agency, exerting power over their own learning. NEBHE employs a systems approach to working with educators to ensure they are fully supported in curriculum development through their understanding of the balance between:

  • A good student and a good learner: Moving from answering questions to asking questions through the development self-regulation, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills
  • Teacher-centered teaching and student-centered teaching: Moving from lecture-based instruction to facilitated learning
  • Technical skills and employability skills: Moving from content knowledge to application of knowledge and applying 21st century skills.