Institute For The Future

New IFTF Report Charting New Paths to the Future

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Institute for the Future Report Finds California Community Colleges Undergoing Dramatic Transformation in How They Prepare Students For Work

June 21, 2017, Palo Alto, CA—An Institute for the Future report out today finds that California Community Colleges’ trailblazing Doing What MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy (DWM) initiative is reorienting the fundamental structure of how community colleges operate to prepare students for a rapidly changing world of work.

IFTF’s report, Charting New Paths to the Future, shows that the DWM initiative is transforming the community college model using a “solutions network" approach that connect resources across institutions, eliminates waste, redundancy and silos, and shares lessons learned on individual campuses with the entire system to quickly capitalize on innovations.

With the advent of the gig economy, online platforms and other technology-driven shifts, the nature of work and the skills required by employers and the economy are changing. The DWM initiative focuses the California Community Colleges—the largest provider of workforce training and higher education in the country, serving more than 2.1 million students across 113 colleges—on delivering 1 million more ‘middle skilled’ workers needed by the state’s regional economies.

The initiative has been underway since 2013 and there is $1 billion in funds slated to support its implementation over the next five years. The system asked IFTF to assess the initiative to date.

In doing so, IFTF used eight zones of innovation that are driving change in the worlds of work and education to measure the progress of the DMW. The results are highlighted in the new report.

“The California Community Colleges system has made advances in all eight innovation zones, with some areas further along than others,” said Marina Gorbis, IFTF’s executive director. “The initiatives undertaken as part of the DWM framework display leadership and a willingness to prepare for the future. It’s imperative organizations are not only prepared for the future, but helping to shape it. California Community Colleges have demonstrated a desire to understand the big shifts driving the transformation of our new way of working and learning, and are preparing for the larger tides of change.”

Some examples of the changes underway include shifting the colleges from places where people go for an associate’s degree and then move on, to places where people can go throughout their lives to reskill and upskill in ways that help them advance in the working world.

“The traditional model of going to school at a particular time in life to prepare for a career is no longer viable in our rapidly changing global economy. We know most people are now working learners, and we need integrated learn and work options that match the reality of life,” said IFTF Learn and Work Futures Director, Parminder Jassal. “Our educational institutions must evolve and that is what California Community Colleges are doing. We commend them for their foresight and action.”

View the full report at: http://www.iftf.org/chartingnewpaths

CONTACT

Erin Musgrave: (530) 864-7014 | [email protected]
Jean Hagan: (650) 740-1386 | [email protected]

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About Institute for the Future

Institute for the Future (IFTF) is an independent, nonprofit strategic research group with almost 50 years of forecasting experience. The core of our work is identifying emerging discontinuities that will transform global society and the global marketplace. We provide organizations with insights into business strategy, design process, innovation, and social dilemmas. Our research spans a broad territory of deeply transformative trends, from health and health care to technology, the workplace, and human identity. IFTF is based in Palo Alto, California. For more, visit iftf.org.