Gig Work, College Skills

Pushback from business groups about a new provision in a federal workforce bill draft threatens to scuttle bipartisan legislation many thought Congress might pass. Also, a partnership between an experiential learning company and a freelance work platform adds a new take on earn-and-learn in college.

Bringing Freelancing to College Education

A new partnership between Podium Education, an experiential learning company, and the freelance platform Upwork aims to let more students use the skills they’ve learned in class—and to make money now for doing so. 

The Big Idea: The partnership, announced today, is an extension of the work that Podium already does with more than 70 universities. Through their Global Career Accelerator, students learn marketing, data analytics, or coding skills for credit and get the chance to work on a specific project with companies like Intel and the nonprofit charity: water. With the new partnership, students who complete the coursework will get customized access to and onboarding with Upwork, as well as coaching on how to be successful in freelancing.

Given young people’s rising interest in pursuing freelancing as a career, the partnership with Upwork was a “perfect match,” says Christopher Parrish, a Podium co-founder and president of partnerships.

The company’s move is part of a larger push in higher education to expand access not just to internships, but to all kinds of work-based learning. Podium is among a number of companies—including Riipen, Parker Dewey, Forage, and Handshake—that have launched platforms in the past decade designed to make it easier for students and employers to connect to do projects, job simulations, microinternships, and full internships.

On the Ground: The University of North Texas participates in Podium’s Global Career Accelerator and the new Upwork partnership. It’s a majority-minority institution, where about four in 10 students are first generation. Adam Fein, the university’s vice president for digital strategy and innovation and chief digital officer, says incorporating freelance work into the curriculum is on par with adding microcredentials and certificates to a student’s array of options. 

“We’re really working hard to not be a single-product industry anymore,” Fein says. “We want to put our students in a position for success, and if that means gig work, great. If that means a full-time job, great. If it means just gaining more experience and something to put on their résumé, it’s good.”

“In the last couple of years, our career center has started to talk to our students about how it’s not one-size-fits-all. A job can look a few different ways.”

At Georgetown University, another Podium partner, Randall Bass, vice president for strategic education initiatives, doesn’t see freelance work replacing internships, but rather serving as the next step for students who are ready for it. Internships, he believes, are still valuable for students in figuring out what they want to do in the first place. 

“We need many experiences to become the people we are,” Bass says. “I don't think there’s any substitute for a really quality internship in which you immerse yourself, you work with other people and you test yourself in a particular context. The freelance piece is intermediate and advanced in terms of development. That’s when you know what you’re good at, what you can offer the world, and get experience doing that.”

And just like an internship, that experience might grow into a full-time job—not in-house, but freelancing. —By Colleen Connolly

Want to know more? We’ve got the full story, including more details about the partnership, over at Work Shift.

Workforce Bill Hits a Pothole

Washington insiders have remained surprisingly optimistic about the odds Congress might soon pass legislation on workforce education, particularly a bipartisan bid to update the $3B federal workforce system.

The bill to overhaul the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act has moved forward quickly. And while it has critics and lukewarm overall support, backers say the legislation is a worthy compromise that would make improvements to the fragmented and underfunded WIOA system while providing more accountability.

However, a discussion draft the Senate released in June has kicked up a ruckus that seems likely to nix the bill until after the turbulent election year. The disagreement is about new language requiring that WIOA funding recipients disclose that they comply with all applicable federal labor laws (page 370 in the draft).

One coalition of business groups calls the provision overly sweeping and undiscriminating, arguing that a minor violation could prevent a company from engaging under WIOA. Another coalition, which includes large corporations and higher education providers, told Senate leaders that the requirement could have “devastating consequences” in attracting and retaining employers to partner with the public workforce system.

“Employers are so important in job training. They’re the essence,” says Tamar Jacoby, a journalist who works with the Jobs and Careers Coalition. “The last thing we want to do is to drive them away.”

The National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are among a group of 19 trade organizations that oppose the language, Nick Niedzwiadek reported for Politico. They called it “blacklisting” in a letter to leaders of the Senate HELP Committee and argued that WIOA’s current requirements adequately punish providers for intentionally supplying inaccurate information or committing substantial violations of the law.

Observers point to past flaps over similar language about labor law disclosures. Some business organizations worry that unions could use the provision during organizing campaigns and collective bargaining negotiations.

“It’s a total nonstarter for business,” says Jacoby.

A very different take comes from Mary Alice McCarthy, a senior director at New America’s Center on Education and Labor. She says the language is a simple disclosure requirement on basic protections for workers under federal labor laws.

“We have the right to know if employers that receive direct subsidies obey the law,” says McCarthy, who calls the backlash from business groups the “perfect distillation of everything that’s wrong with WIOA and this approach to workforce development.”

Employers hold a majority of seats on workforce boards and are essentially in charge of the federal workforce system, McCarthy says. The “dramatic imbalance” in the WIOA power structure means businesses are wary of any attempt to add accountability. As for why the provision was added, she says more people are paying attention to worker rights these days.

“We need to step back and have a conversation about this system and what it’s for,” says McCarthy.

All hope is not lost for advocates of the WIOA update. Strong bipartisan support for the House bill adds weight as the Senate mulls the legislation, says Otto Katt, the workforce practice group chair at Lewis-Burke Associates, a Washington-based government relations firm. But the clock is ticking.

“The legislative calendar will make the Senate’s consideration of WIOA more and more precarious,” Katt says.

Open Tabs

Short-Term Credentials
As a growing number of states invest in financial aid for short-term training, those aid programs should cover the cost of attendance and finance holistic supports, according to a report from the National Skills Coalition. The analysis looks at nondegree aid programs across five states, including one in Iowa, which connects recipients with navigators on community college campuses who help students with basic needs and other barriers.

AI in College
Half of recent college graduates say the pace of technology makes them second-guess their career choice, and 70% say AI training should be included in courses, according to a survey conducted by Cengage Group. Another survey, from Wiley, found that 45% of college students used AI tools in their classes, compared to just 15% of college instructors. Many students (37%) said they were concerned instructors would think they were cheating if they used AI.

Federal Funding
The U.S. Department of Energy announced $24M in funding for 21 clean energy workforce projects from community colleges and unions. The infrastructure funds are focused on jobs that do not require a four-year degree. Also, the U.S. Department of Labor rolled out new funding through a $65M grant program for community colleges to develop training in critical industry sectors, reports Matthew Dembicki for Community College Daily.

Career Exploration
American Student Assistance and Jobs for the Future have partnered to create a new center and free digital platform to help 20M young people explore education and career options by 2030. The new ASA Center for Career Navigation, supported by a $25M grant, will primarily serve Americans ages 16 to 24 who are neither in school nor employed and will have a particular focus on illuminating high-quality nondegree pathways.

Local Focus
America Achieves has brought together $20M in philanthropic funding for a “Good Jobs Economy” initiative to help more communities implement strategies that marry economic growth and mobility. Selected communities will receive funds and technical assistance to develop their workforce, build local organizations’ capacity, and create plans for long-term funding. The effort builds on America Achieves’ work to help create tech hubs.

Microcredentials in Hiring
More than one-third of hiring managers report often evaluating job candidates who hold a degree and microcredential, with one-fifth seeing candidates with only a microcredential, according to a survey conducted by Northeastern University’s Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy. Hiring managers who had earned microcredentials that benefited their career tended to hire microcredential-only candidates more often.

Degree Requirements
Working Americans without college degrees said the biggest barrier they face in getting a good job are degree requirements for roles that don’t need them, according to a national poll conducted by YouGov for the Progressive Policy Institute. In a separate sample, working-class voters in four battleground states said the creation of affordable short-term training programs combining work and learning is the policy that would help them most.

Race and Mobility
The Black-white gap in upward mobility shrank by 27% in the last 15 years, although gaps remain wide, according to research from Opportunity Insights. Upward mobility for low-income white children in historically advantaged areas, including both coasts, fell markedly to rates on par with those in Appalachia. The research also suggests that investing in social capital may be as important as financial and human capital in economic mobility policy.

Learner Records
KKR, the global investment firm, will buy Instructure for $4.8B. Instructure’s learning management system, Canvas, has the largest footprint in North America. Last year it acquired Parchment, a digital transcript company, for $800M.

It was great to see many of you in DC for JFF’s annual shindig. If I missed you, let me know what you’re up to and what we should be covering? —PF