Job Searching

During the recent economic slowdown, community colleges saw an exponential rise in enrollment as displaced workers sought out retraining to become employable once again. Unfortunately, many of those community college grads have no more luck finding a job than they had prior to their college experience. To compound the problem, many graduated with a significant amount of debt from tuition and other college-related expenses. President Obama is hoping to reverse that trend, with the launch of Skills for America's Future, a program designed to match potential workers and training with the industries that need them most.

What Is Skills for America's Future?

According to the Aspen Institute website, Skills for America's Future will serve as an umbrella under which businesses, labor unions and community colleges can work together to put workers back to work in this country. This organization will coordinate efforts between these entities to ensure workers are getting the necessary training to fill the employment positions that desperately need workers today.

The initiative was announced by the White House last month and will be housed within the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit research organization that fosters value-based leadership and provides a venue for discussing and acting on critical issues.

Skills for America's Future will primarily focus on identifying the most successful retraining partnerships around the country to use as a model for other colleges. Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, told the New York

In the consumer world, “satisfaction guaranteed or your money back” is a common promise. However, this guarantee has never crossed into the academic realm until recently. Michigan’s Lansing Community College is offering a guarantee that is virtually unprecedented in the world of higher education: get a job or your money back.

Program Seeks to Encourage Prospective Students

According to Lansing Community College president Brent Knight, the guarantee is meant to alleviate the apprehension some may feel about returning to school in a tough economy. Prospective students may wonder whether investing time and money in a new degree or further job training is worthwhile if their efforts will not translate into increased job prospects upon graduation.

Knight acknowledged as the Lansing State Journal reports, that “Many people are discouraged in job seeking. Why spend money, take time to learn when you may not get a job?”

The new program, called “Get a Skill, Get a Job or Your Money Back,” aims to assuage some of these fears. It promises students who enroll in certain occupational training programs that if they are not able to find a job in the field within one year of graduation, Lansing Community College will refund their tuition money.

This video offers an overview of Lansing Community College.

The Fine Print

The program covers four short-term training programs for specific occupations that are in high

Job and career fairs offer students various convenient, useful, and potentially lucrative opportunities. Considering that many community college students preparing for upcoming graduation are uncertain about how to apply for jobs, establish networks, and even get a single proverbial foot in the door, job fairs provide an excellent alternative to the traditional search.

Instead of the traditional approach, which mandates that students independently seek out jobs and send in resumes, a community college job fair brings employers to the students. Job fairs are large congregations of employers seeking new college graduates to become part of their staff. Typically, job fairs allow students to meet leaders in their career field while allowing students to submit their resumes to multiple employers at one big event. Some students attending job fairs are even hired for jobs on the spot!

Community College Job Fair Tips

Every community college provides its students with annual, biannual, or even monthly job fair events. As Lenoir Community College, located in Kingston, North Carolina, asserts, these job fair events are intended to help all students. “Anyone can use a job fair to make contacts, distribute resumes, and explore new avenues of employment.” To take advantage of the many benefits of job fair, prepare yourself with the key tips for success.

Prepare and Edit Your Resume

Before attending your job fair, ensure your resume is easy to read and completely error-free. As your resume is the only source of information by which employers can often

While many recent graduates may struggle to find sustainable work amidst a declining economy, community college students are discovering new “recession-proof” career paths that are both reliable and lucrative, despite economic hardships.

As Emily Gersema of The Arizona Republic argues, community colleges are becoming increasingly aware of job market demands since “employers come to them to set up programs tailored to their staffing needs.” Careers in various industries are proving to be strong and sustainable options for community college students after graduation.

Health Care Careers

According to research supported by Kiplinger, a renounced financial and economic forecasting company, healthcare is one the top options for students looking for a sustainable educational path or for recent graduates seeking employment: “Many of the nation's fastest-growing careers are in the healthcare industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

As the population age continues to rise, careers in health care should remain reliable and strong, as the demand is projected for years to come. Specific healthcare jobs for community college students include careers in the field of nursing, physical therapy, nursing home aid, physician assistant, and many more.

And in specifically analyzing the rising demands, Gersema further explains, “Healthcare needs…continue to rise. Clinics and dental offices are tapping programs such as the dental-hygienist program at Mesa Community College for workers.” Paired with this, jobs are also on the rise for individuals who are fluent in global languages[C1], particularly Spanish. “Demand is increasing for healthcare workers who speak Spanish

As the costs of all school programs are rising, community colleges are offering more affordable education plans that prepare young professionals for some of the top paying careers. As CNN comments on the top paying jobs, “though a college degree is not a requirement for these positions, all require moderate to extensive on-the-job training or apprenticeship. In addition, dental hygienists, radiation therapists, nuclear medicine technologists, and commercial pilots require an associate degree at a vocational or technical school.”

Ultimately, as some of the top-paying careers only require a two- year degree, certification, or select courses, community colleges are offering financially affordable and rewarding pathways for future success.

Moving Towards a New Career Frontier

The correspondence between higher education and higher income is now becoming history; according to CNN, “Though it was once conventional wisdom that you needed to have a four-year college degree to be successful, many employment experts believe that maxim has become myth. While a college education increases a worker's chances of earning more money, it's certainly not the only reliable path to well-paid and rewarding work.”

While most lucrative jobs require post-high school training, most of the top-paying careers do not require a four-year degree – and thus, community colleges really stand out against 4 year universities. In fact, “there are […] (approximately) 50 million jobs out there that don't require a bachelor's degree and pay upwards of $40,000 a year.”

According to the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, eight of