Paul Fain

Washington, D.C.

Journalist and Analyst at Freelance

Writes about connections between education and work. Not here much. Reach me at pfain.highered at gmail or at https://t.co/stmJuVBYOM…

Articles

Indiana College System Taps Employers as Co-Developers of Talent

2 weeks ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

Indiana will need to upskill or reskill more than 82K working learners with nondegree credentials every year for the state to meet its workforce demands and ensure economic growth. That’s the bottom-line finding of a new study from Ivy Tech Community College, the state’s two-year college system, and TEConomy partners, a research firm. Ivy Tech currently enrolls 25K learners annually in skills training and other workforce-related programs, such as apprenticeships.
Start-Up Aims to Push Transferable Training for EV Technicians Nationwide

3 weeks ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

The U.S. market for electric vehicles has been bumpy of late, with cooling demand and partisan headwinds. Yet EV sales still grew rapidly last year in this country, and the industry is expected to drive substantial job growth across manufacturing and , as well as for automotive technicians.
More Apprenticeship Cuts

3 weeks ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has put a dent in optimism among workforce pros that the Trump administration will back nondegree training with money that matches its rhetoric. In addition to apprenticeship-related federal cuts we reported on last week—including grants for apprenticeship-degree programs and research projects—budget slashing at the U.S. Department of Labor is coming into focus.
Frontline Justice

3 weeks ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

Alaska’s take on a new job role—community justice workers—is poised to go national. A taskforce works to set standards for training that avoid over-credentialing. Also, recent essays and coverage from Work Shift, including Merit America’s pivot to train workers for advanced manufacturing and the semiconductor industry.
Recent Highlights

4 weeks ago | the-job.beehiiv.com | Paul Fain |Robb Mandelbaum

I’m on vacation this week, mostly. But below is some recent content we’ve published, and this week’s Open Tabs. The newsletter will be back in your inbox next week. Thanks for reading.
Big Tech’s Certificate Push Gains Momentum in Brazil

4 weeks ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

Big Tech companies have ambitious goals for tapping their professional certificate programs to close skills gaps in tech. And the U.S. is a small piece of those campaigns. Microsoft, for example, says it reached more than 30M learners with a global initiative the company launched during the pandemic. It recently announced AI and digital skills training plans for millions of people across Poland, South Africa, Nigeria, Malaysia, and other nations.
The Mountain West Moves to Build Quantum Computing Careers - Fast.

1 month ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

The Mountain West is becoming a global epicenter for quantum computing. In Colorado alone, the industry’s 3K current jobs are projected to grow to 30K over the next decade. Many of those well-paying roles won’t require an advanced degree, or even a four-year degree for thousands of anticipated jobs for welders, fabricators, and technicians. An ambitious new project seeks to develop the quantum workforce pipeline, with a goal of training more than 10K workers for quantum careers by 2030.
Blind Spot on AI

1 month ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

Students and workers will need help adjusting to a labor market that appears to be on the verge of a historic disruption as many business processes are automated. Yet job projections and policy ideas are sorely lacking. Also, LinkedIn’s unrealized potential on career matching, and the Education Department’s potential final mission.
Democratizing Legal Help with a New Kind of Frontline Job

1 month ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

Most Americans struggle with a legal problem at some point, whether it’s a dispute with a landlord or a challenge accessing public benefits. Yet low-income people typically can’t afford a lawyer, and more than 90% fail to get enough help with their civil legal problems. To expand access to high-quality legal assistance, the nonprofit Frontline Justice is leading a campaign to create a new type of job role—fronline legal helpers.
Workforce Projects Eyed as Part of Widening DEI Purge

2 months ago | workshift.org | Paul Fain

Workforce education grants are among $2B in National Science Foundation awards that are being scoured. Meanwhile, the Trump administration cuts funding to research and expand apprenticeships. Also, a look at the stakes for state data systems, and an essay on how to break the cycle of low-wage work. Educators are scrambling to determine what counts as prohibited affirmative action amid an expanding crackdown by the Trump administration.