Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Richard Nelson has laid out a plan designed to meet Louisiana’s growing workforce needs. Nelson says one of the initiatives is to provide more transparency to prospective students on the types of jobs they can get with an associate’s degree by visiting their website.
“Hey look, this is what the salary is if you complete this program. This is how long it’s going to take; this is the job; some of the companies that these people that graduate with these credentials; where they go to work, how much they make an hour,” Nelson explained.
There are about 125,000 students attending their 12 schools. Nelson has identified several ways they can boost enrollment and that’s by providing students with strong advising, childcare, transportation and ways to reduce student debt.
“These are barriers that have existed in the state for a long time. If we want to meet these workforce needs, we really have to think outside the box and really design it differently in order to close all these gaps,” Nelson noted.
In the last academic year, LCTC awarded nearly 53,000 credentials to 41,000 completers with nearly 20,000 graduates entering high-demand occupations. Nelson, who has been on the job for the less than a year, says one of his priorities is to align programs with Louisiana’s workforce needs.
“And that includes partnering with employers and with our corporate partners to make sure that the training that we’re giving is the training that they need, so that when folks show up on the job, they have the skills that they need,” Nelson said.
The average student who attends one of Louisiana’s 12 community and technical colleges is 26. They hope to lower that age, which would result in more adults in their 20s joining the workforce and receiving a good paycheck.
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