Middle-Skills Learning Opportunities within SUNY

Jeff Livingston: The Most Neglected Skills Watch Now

What are Middle-Skill jobs? Jobs that require more than a high school education but less than a bachelor’s degree. Include occupations such as machinists, technicians and healthcare workers. Account for nearly half of all current jobs in New York, and the majority of future job openings.

The Forgotten Middle A growing gap between qualified middle-skill employees and middle-skill jobs. There are approximately 4 million unfilled middle-skill jobs (Dimon, 2014). In 2009, 46% of jobs in NYS were middle-skill (3.8 million workers) Workers with two-year degrees in high demand occupations can earn salaries that surpass those of four-year degrees (Carnevale, Rose, & Cheah, 2011). Two-year degree holders in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) have greater lifetime earnings than four-year degree holders in most other career areas.

The “College-for-All” Mentality “Encourages all students to plan on college, regardless of their past achievement” (Rosenbaum, 2001). Pushes underprepared students toward a four-year college at the expense of vocational programs. Has created an surplus of four-year college graduates that exceeds the number of college-level jobs available. 35% of all four-year college graduates currently have jobs that require less than a college degree (Vedder, 2010). 12 to 24 million U.S. jobs – most requiring middle-skills training – may go unfilled between now and 2020 (Gordon, 2009).

Manpower Group Annual Survey reveals top 10 hardest jobs to fill in the U.S. in 2013: Skilled Trades Sales Representatives Drivers IT Staff Accounting & Finance Staff Engineers Technicians Management/Executives Mechanics Teachers

SUNY Middle-skill training opportunities Middle-Skills SUNY

Computers SUNY Associate Program Options Support Specialist Information Systems SUNY Associate Program Options Computer Information Systems (Several Tech Colleges and CCs) Information Technology (Several Tech Colleges and CCs) Networking Technologies (Several Tech Colleges an Several CCs ) Cybersecurity (Alfred and Several CCs) Geospatial Technologies (MVCC)

Construction SUNY Program Options Carpenters Electricians Operating Engineers Plumbers SUNY Program Options (Alfred, Cobleskill, Morrisville) Diesel Technology (Alfred, Delhi, Morrisville and some CCs) Construction Technology (Alfred, Delhi, Jamestown, MVCC) Welding (Alfred, Canton, Delhi and several CCs) Electrical Building Trades (Alfred, Delhi and some CCs)

Possible SUNY Program Options Healthcare Dental Hygienist Medical Lab Technicians Licensed Practical Nurses Radiation Therapists Radiology Technicians Surgical Technologists Possible SUNY Program Options Histo-technician (Cobleskill) EMT Paramedic (Cobleskill, several CCs) Nursing (Alfred, Canton, Delhi, Morrisville, most CCs) Dental Hygiene (Canton, Farmingdale, and some CCs) Polysomno-graphy (GCC, HVCC and MVCC)

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Related SUNY Program Options Aircraft Mechanics Auto Mechanics Heating and AC Installation Heavy Equipment Mechanics Machinists Related SUNY Program Options HVAC (Alfred, Canton, Delhi, and CCs) Automotive Technology (Alfred, Canton, Farmingdale and CCs) Advanced Manu-facturing (Alfred, HVCC and Onondaga) Aircraft Mainten-ance (MVCC) Machinists (Alfred and CCs)

Public Safety SUNY Program Options Fire Fighting and Prevention EMT, Paramedic Fire Fighting and Prevention Detectives SUNY Program Options Criminal Justice/Home-land Security (Canton, Delhi, Farmingdale and CCs) Chemical Dependency Counseling (Several CCs) Fire Protection Technology (Several CCs) Economic Crime (GCC and Niagara)

Service SUNY Program Options Chef Hospitality Restaurant Manage-ment Culinary Arts (Alfred, Cobleskill, Delhi, Morrisville and some CCs) (Cobleskill, Delhi, Morrisville and some CCs) Food Services Hotel and Restaurant Management (Delhi, Cobleskill and some CCs) Gaming and Casino Management (Morrisville and some CCs) Viticulture and Wine Technology (FLCC)

Green Energy SUNY Program Options Green Building Maintenance Conservation Forestry Green Building Maintenance SUNY Program Options Renewable Energy Technologies (Canton, Clinton, Jefferson, Morrisville) Wind Energy & Turbine Technology (Alfred, Clinton and HVCC) Green Building Maintenance & Management (Erie, Sullivan, Ulster) Environmental Science and Forestry (Several CCs) Alternative Energy (Schenectady)

Other SUNY Program Options Drafting (Alfred and several CCs) Architectural Drafters Civil Engineering Technicians Teaching Assistant Paralegals SUNY Program Options Drafting (Alfred and several CCs) Engineering Tech (Alfred, Canton, Farmingdale, Morrisville and several CCs) Early Childhood (Canton, Cobleskill, Delhi, Morrisville, several CCs) Paralegal (Several CCs) Veterinary Technician (Several Tech colleges and CCs)

Sources Carnevale, A. P., Rose, S. J., & Cheah, B. (2011). The college payoff: Education, occupations, lifetime earnings. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Goodwin, B. (2012, April). Research says/don’t overlook middle-skill jobs. College, Careers, Citizenship, 69, 86-87. Gordon, E. E. (2009, September). The future of jobs and careers. Techniques, 84(6), 28- 31. New York’s forgotten middle-skill jobs. (March, 2011). National Skills Coalition. Retrieved from http://www.fmsworkforcesolutions.org/Middle- Skills%20Jobs%20report%20(r).pdf Rosenbaum, J. (2001). Beyond college for all: Career paths for the forgotten half. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Vedder, R. (2010, December). The great college degree scam [blog post]. Retrieved from Innovations: Insights and Commentary on Higher Education, Chronicle of Higher Education at http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/the-great-college-degree- scam/28067