{"id":466,"date":"2022-07-07T14:06:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T14:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/autodesk-foundation\/?p=466"},"modified":"2023-05-04T16:29:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T22:29:41","slug":"our-investment-in-education-design-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/autodesk-foundation\/2022\/07\/07\/our-investment-in-education-design-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"Our investment in Education Design Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Designing inclusive learning
for the future of industry<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The growing skills gap between the demands of employers in high-growth fields and the skills being taught to learners at public post-secondary institutions is widening. An overlooked solution lies in local community colleges. They play a crucial role in educating diverse student populations with the technical and power skills to thrive in in-demand careers of the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the American Association of Community Colleges: 42% of community college students are the first in their families to attend college, 13% are single parents, and 12% have disabilities. While community colleges help learners from various walks of life acquire valuable degrees at a fraction of the cost of four-year universities, they need help designing curricula and career pathways that adapt to the future of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing and implementing new programs in a fast-evolving school-to-employment world is no easy feat. Entrenched incentives make it hard to change the status quo. Community college administrators and faculty need support in creating stackable micro-credentials to create more actionable career pathways for learners that lead to quality jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Education Design Lab?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Education Design Lab (the Lab) launched the Community College Growth Engine Fund<\/a> (CCGEF) to build the capacity of community colleges to design market-driven educational pathways for learners who have been on the wrong end of the growing skills gap.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CCGEF provides community colleges with a structured pathway design process, technical assistance, and a national learning community to position themselves as key regional talent suppliers. To date, CCGEF colleges have designed 30+ career-connected micro-pathways<\/a> tied to in-demand occupations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In expanding its efforts in partnership with Maricopa Community College District (MCCCD), the Lab will lead a two-year initiative to develop employer-validated micro-pathways in information technology (IT) and advanced manufacturing. The Lab will bring together regional employers and educators to design and pilot micro-pathways with the required technical and soft skills to fill in-demand jobs. MCCCD intends its pathways to serve low-income and un-\/under-employed learners needing skills training to connect to work. By the end of year two, the partners will have: <\/p>\n\n\n\n