In a new poll, about a quarter of Hispanic students in post-high school education and training programs report feeling discriminated against, harassed, disrespected or unsafe.

Researchers from Gallup and Lumina Foundation also found more than half of Hispanic students have considered stopping out in the past year.

Courtney Brown, vice president of strategic impact and planning for Lumina Foundation, said the problem is growing.

"Unfortunately, you know, we're seeing that number go up," Brown observed. "Last year, the number was about 45% struggling to stay in school. This year we found about 50%. That's concerning."

Students reported the most discrimination took place in certification programs, many of which involve hours spent on work sites off campus. According to UnidosUS, in Texas in 2019 almost 665,000 Latino students were enrolled in higher education; almost 40 % of the total college population.

According to Excelencia in Education, about 46% of Latino students in Texas make it to graduation at four-year institutions, a rate 12 points lower than white students. Brown noted the reasons students stop out vary, with cost and caregiving responsibilities high on the list.

"That's why having on-campus child care is so important," Brown contended. "Having a food bank, having emergency financial services, because sometimes a flat tire may be all it takes for a student to not be able to make it to class, not able to make it to their job, and then consider stopping out."

Texas colleges have many programs to help Latino students stay in school. This year six of the 19 finalists for the Excelencia in Education annual prize are from the Lone Star State, including Houston Community Colleges, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas Women's College, and a community program called Breakthrough Central Texas.


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More than two million jobs will be created in California each year through 2031 - and 72% of them will require more than a high school diploma, according to a new report.

Researchers at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce project the national economy will generate 18.5 million job openings per year, on average - and about 12.5 million of them will require at least some college education.

Georgetown Center Chief Economist Nicole Smith co-authored the report.

"There's a growing number of healthcare support jobs, a growing number of sales jobs, food and personal services jobs," said Smith, "and even blue-collar jobs that require more and more postsecondary education and training."

The report predicts the U.S. will have 171 million jobs in 2031, an increase of 16 million net new jobs from 2021.

Enrollment at California's community colleges dropped 18.5% at the start of the pandemic, a 30-year low.

It has rebounded 5% this school year, mostly among students ages 18 to 20, or over age 30. Enrollment among students in their 20s has dipped 2%.

Smith said she's concerned the United States isn't producing enough people with the skills, credentials and degrees needed to meet future workplace demand.

"We're not graduating fast enough," said Smith. "We know that colleges' and universities' enrollment has fallen substantially and it's not just COVID - enrollment was on the decline long before COVID. I would be concerned that the opportunities are going to go unfilled."

Last year, the state launched "California Reconnect," a program that helps people ages 25 to 54 who have some college credits return to school to finish their certificate or degree.

Participants can get professional coaching and may have unpaid fees forgiven.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

By Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation.
Broadcast version by Brett Peveto for Maryland News Connection reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration

From skilled trades to health care to information technology, these are just some in a wide range of industries facing a common challenge: they don’t have enough workers.

Employers are feeling the squeeze. A 2023 Manpower survey shows 75% of employers in the U.S. are facing difficulty finding skilled talent with an estimated 68 workers for every 100 open jobs in the United States.

Finding and training workers with specific skills is a priority and a growing number of businesses are turning to apprenticeships to provide hands-on training and build a future workforce. And they are partnering with community colleges as part of the solution.

Preparing for the Future Workforce Through Apprenticeships

Howard Community College (HCC), for one, is embracing the role. HCC, based in Columbia, Maryland, offers associate degrees and certifications, with more than 20,000 students a year.

“As the only higher education institution in Howard County, we will play a huge, monumental role in getting people skilled up quickly and to work,” says Daria Willis, Ph.D., president of Howard Community College.

To address the demand for a skilled workforce, it currently offers apprenticeship programs in ten occupations – with surgical technologist, IT support technician, plumber, child care professional, and construction manager among them.

More apprenticeships are in the pipeline and HCC plans to build a Workforce Development and Skilled Trades Center on campus to be completed by 2026 with backing from the community.

Willis explains: “As we do the design for this, we are trying to make sure that we have enough welding bays and automotive capacity. And we are really looking at solar and wind technology, all the up-and-coming things. The wave of the future is changing, and we want to be a part of that.”

For Willis, it’s part of a wider effort to realign career pathways to careers in a county that ranks as one of the most affluent in the country. “Most of our community members are highly educated. They send their kids to really good colleges, four-year schools that are snooty-wooty and all that good stuff, which is great.

“But there’s also an underlying group of people who don’t have that access. And even in those more snooty households, there are kids that just don’t want to go to the four-year school and they never really had an avenue in Howard county to do that,” she explains.

A Hunger for Skilled Trades Training

Until recent years, HCC’s focus had been on preparing students to transfer to a four-year college or university. In 2019, though, it changed the model to add apprenticeships. In the skilled trades, HVAC (heat, ventilation and air conditioning) apprenticeships were first offered, followed by electrical and plumbing apprenticeships.

According to HCC, there were roughly a dozen students to start and that number now tops one hundred.

“What it did for me was to really counter the argument that said in Howard County, we don’t do that. My predecessor used to say ‘we are a boutique college, we don’t do that. Our county, our students don’t do that.’ No, that’s not true. Our county does do that and there was actually a hunger for it,” says Minah Woo, vice president of Workforce Innovation and Strategic Partnerships at Howard Community College.

Beyond the need from employers to find skilled workers, apprenticeship programs can also open doors for students facing barriers to attend college and learn those skills because of tuition costs. Woo notes a rising poverty level in a county known for its wealth. “You need to have more than one pathway to success, one pathway to a career. We as a college need to provide them this other pathway,” adds Woo.

Breaking New Ground with IT Apprenticeships

HCC’s location – less than an hour from Washington, D.C. – is also providing some unique opportunities. There’s a demand for skilled workers at companies in Howard County working with government customers.

AT&T is among them. In 2020, it launched its first cohort of IT apprenticeships with Howard Community College, touting it as the first of its kind in the state of Maryland. “It’s just been the best decision we could have ever made,” says Brenda Anderson, associate director of Project Management at AT&T.

“By us creating this apprenticeship, we’re molding our own talent, we’re developing hopefully career-long employees by taking this risk on them. And we have gotten some superstars out of this.

“It is just a way to give back to the community in general, but to really help some of this younger workforce get developed because eventually the workforce is so saturated with older people that are going to retire,” explains Anderson.

She says the IT apprenticeship takes two years, on average, to complete with students taking between 18 and 24 credits and working roughly 20 hours a week while getting paid around $21 an hour to start.
They do not complete an associate degree but instead work toward industry-based certificates that include Security Plus certification.

Because the company works with government agencies that can include access to sensitive information, apprentices must obtain a high-level government security clearance before being hired full-time. The process, says Anderson, can take an average of 18 to 24 months. To date, Anderson says she’s hired 80 apprentices with 30 to 40 being hired full-time. The rest, she says, are waiting for their clearances and doing other work in the meantime.

Apprentices, are mainly hired into entry-level positions as hardware technicians, network engineers, and systems administrators and pegs the usual starting salary in the ballpark of the mid- $60,000 range, depending on specific roles.

Anderson now speaks with other employers about the benefits of apprenticeship programs. “I think a lot of industries and a lot of employers don’t realize that this could be an option for them,” she explains. “I know I’ve spoken at a lot of panels and in a lot of meetings and just kind of educating the employers on what’s involved.” She adds. “Is it a risk? Sure. But is it worth the risk? You betcha,” Anderson concludes.

Getting a Foot in the Door

One Howard Community College student who secured her full-time job through the apprentice program is Amrita Assim. The mother of two started attending HCC part-time after her family moved to Maryland. She had earned an associate degree in Business Administration in California, but says she had a hard time landing a job there and was looking for a new career. She started learning about cybersecurity and focused on networking.

“I started to hear about how much they want more women to be in this field so I started taking classes and enjoyed them,” Assim explains. When she received information about the IT apprenticeship program, she didn’t hesitate. “I thought: ‘Why not sign up?’ And I was chosen,” she adds.

She now works as a systems administrator, is working to grow her career, and wants to return to school to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in cybersecurity.

“The apprentice program is such an easy way to get your foot into a workplace for students because, in general, it’s hard for students to find a job these days with all the experience they’re asking for kids to have just coming out of college. I think this is a great opportunity for anyone,” she adds.

Providing opportunity and breaking down barriers is what Howard Community College’s President Daria Willis is striving to deliver. “I used to attend a church in Texas called ‘the church without walls.’ I love that concept and when I think about community colleges, we need to be those institutions without walls, without barriers, to give access to everyone who wants it.”


Ramona Schindelheim wrote this article for WorkingNation.


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As college costs continue to skyrocket, many students find themselves unable to afford tuition. In response, some schools are taking proactive measures, including eliminating tuition in certain cases.

Spring Hill College in Mobile is offering tuition-free graduate degrees to all incoming freshmen. Starting next fall, a student must live on campus, stay enrolled all four years, and graduate with a grade-point average of at least 3.0 to qualify.

Nathan Copeland, vice president of enrollment at Spring Hill College in Mobile, said it is a way to remove financial barriers and enhance student opportunities.

"While we anticipate that it's going to help our enrollment, one of the things we're really looking at is adding value to our students," Copeland explained. "Because we always hear that college is expensive, and the question of, 'Is college really worth it?'"

He emphasized it will also be necessary for a student to meet the prerequisites for their master's degree. And he noted current and transfer students won't be missing out, as long as they keep a 3.0 GPA and fulfill the program's prerequisites, they'll receive a 25% discount on grad school costs.

Studies indicate most students take four to five years to complete their undergraduate degree, although some take six years to finish. Apart from lessening the financial burden of graduate school, Copeland added they hope the tuition-free program serves as a motivator for students to achieve their goals.

"We think it's going to help the college in a couple of ways, like retention, and even increase our academic excellence," Copeland stressed. "We'll have students who, because there's that GPA threshold to get the free master's program, we anticipate working a little bit harder to make sure that they can maintain that GPA so they can get the free master's."

Other colleges in states like Illinois, Iowa and Virginia are implementing similar programs aimed at reducing college costs. Some include tuition "resets," to significantly decrease expenses.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.