Across industries, getting a job has only gotten harder – and it’s increasingly hardest for the people who earn the least.
That’s the conclusion of a new report by The Project on Workforce out of Harvard University, which also raises the question: How can educators, policymakers, and workforce leaders best help people at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder access the careers they want and experience greater economic mobility?
The report classifies 42 million Americans as “low-wage earners” – defined by report authors as those who earn less than $40,000 per year – and says that they struggle the most with finding new jobs. Less than half of workers earning low wages say that their current job is related to the career they want. “Those workers often become trapped in a cycle of low-wage employment with minimal prospects for advancement,” the Harvard workforce report says. “There is an urgent need for a system of career navigation that will disrupt this cycle and help all workers advance.”
The report notes that two factors in particular can make the difference between struggling to hop from job to job and getting on a good career path. Both of them can be addressed by educators, policymakers, and employers.
Get The Right Advice – And A Second Opinion
A key finding of the report is that the people earning the least are also the most likely to rely on the guidance of friends and family – “social capital” – to find a new job, while they are the least likely to use online tools or career counseling.
“Individuals with a high school diploma or less are more likely to turn to family for information” in their job searches, the report says, while “for workers with at least some college experience, online career search tools are most utilized.”
In all, 62% of “low-wage workers” relied on social connections to find a job. And while that can be helpful the report also notes that “receiving career information from more than one information source is correlated with being on a pathway to an ideal career.” People who use job websites and connect with career counselors in addition to their friends and family are more likely to get on a career track they like.
Unfortunately, the report says, “those sources appear underutilized” by workers earning low wages.
Knowing What You Need To Know
Getting the right advice is one key factor – another is knowing what skills employers are looking for, having those skills, and being able to communicate what you know to prospective employers.
“Among workers whose current job aligns with their career path,” the report says, “86% report that they know what skills are valuable to employers, 82% report having such valuable skills, and 83% say they can easily communicate those skills.”
Once again, communication is key. For job seekers it’s not just about having the skills to be good at a job (though that’s essential): It’s about being able to find employers and professional connections looking for those skills, and making it clear that you have them.
Making Communication And Job Searches Part Of The College Curriculum
This is what the Calbright model of higher education and jobs skills training is designed to do. Calbright communicates with businesses and industry leaders across California, as well as their employees, to determine what skills are being hired for and what skills actually lead to success on the job for California adult learners.
Calbright then teaches those skills to adult Californians, for free and on flexible timelines. Everyone gets support when they need it. But it doesn’t stop there.
Calbright also has a robust Counseling and Career Services program that helps students develop their resumes and LinkedIn profiles, connects students to professional networks, provides practice interviews, gives access to online job postings, and offers free career counseling. That means Calbright students have a team of people on their side, helping them communicate who they are and what they can do to the companies they want to work for.
It makes a difference. Students like Maurice, Jimmy, and Alicia credit Calbright’s Counseling and Career Services program with helping them find the job they wanted – and their Calbright professors for teaching them what they needed to thrive in it.
“I found Calbright and the first thing I did was go to Career Services and work with the resume builder,” Alicia said. “Then I used that resume to get a job.”
“Career counselors and faculty don’t really beat around the bush,” Maurice said. “They’re like ‘we use this method because we know that this is what makes people hireable as soon as possible.’ I would say the help from my instructors and from Career Services was gold.”
What happens in the classroom alone isn’t enough. Technical skills also require communication skills and career counseling to add up to a good career and greater economic mobility in the 21st century economy. Higher education needs to adapt to meet the needs of students and employers. The Calbright model is one way colleges can help provide access and support to good careers for everyone.
