Talk by Dr. Matthew T. Hora at the 2018 meeting of the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AACU) on the book "Beyond the Skills Gap," which won the Frederic Ness award.

1. Beyond the Skills Gap
Preparing College Students for Life and Work
By Matthew T. Hora, Ross J. Benbow & Amanda K. Oleson
AAC&U 2018 Annual Meeting
Matthew T. Hora, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts & Applied Studies
Research Scientist, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
University of Wisconsin-Madison
matthew.hora@wisc.edu @matt_hora
Slide deck posted on: www.slideshare.net
Image Source: http://www.magoda.com

2. Today’s Talk
1. Inspiration for the book
2. Connecting the dots: A systems view of college-work-
society dynamics
3. The centrality of culture
4. Implications for liberal education
5. Next steps

3. 1. Inspiration for the book
“Food travels 1,300 miles
from farm to table in the U.S.”

4. Farmers
Land & Soil
Family
& Friends
Community
Region
National
Global
Civic
Engagement
Lobbying
BIOLOGICAL
SYSTEM
SOCIAL
SYSTEM
ECONOMIC
SYSTEM
Agriculture
Ground Water
Government
& Policy
Food
Literacy
Biodiversity
Biodiversity
Transport
Chemicals
Sunlight
Food
Wholesalers
Food
Companies
Farmers Markets
and CSAs
Grocery
Stores
Restaurants
Land Use
Climate Change
Pollution
Animal Welfare
Wellness
Care
Prevention
Food Safety
Food Security
Trash Waste Waste
Nutrients
Water
Money
Food
Money
Food
Labor
Seed Know-how
Social Network
Media/Advertising
Access
Education
Food Culture
Social
Environmental
Economic
Farming
Farming
Commercial
Consumer
I N P U T S
HEALTH
SYSTEM
Regulations
Taxes
Subsidies
Ownership
Trade
POLITICAL
SYSTEM
D
E M A N
D
S U P P L Y
What's Your Relationship to Food? Look Closer.
www.nourishlife.org
copyright © 2014 WorldLink
Sources: http://www.nourishlife.com, http://www.youtube.com, http://www.genxfinance.com,

5. “I've frequently heard from employers that they cannot find
enough skilled workers to fill positions. The skills gap is a
very real concern in Wisconsin and around the country.”
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker 3/24/13

6. “Is the education system not adequately preparing the
workforce? The consensus is yes.
Too many colleges are graduating students with liberal arts
degrees in limited-job specialties such as Renaissance art.”
WI Policy Research Insitute, 2015
Image Source: http://www.atlantic.com

7. The dominant frame: A dysfunctional talent supply
chain caused by a failed educational system
Demand
Millions of good, middle-
wage jobs exist
Supply
Skilled applicants are in short
supply b/c higher education is
not aligned to workforce needs
A human capital account: education > skills > employment

8. Is the skills gap narrative an
accurate diagnosis of the
challenges facing higher education
and the labor market?

9. National Science Foundation-ECR Grant: 2012 - 2015
Study Methods
70 Educators
75 Employers
Manufacturing
(no food or
furniture)
(n=64)
Biotechnology
(n=11)
(n=34)
(n=36)
In-depth interviews - Document analysis - Factory/lab tours

10. 2. Connecting the dots: A data-driven,
systems view of college-workforce dynamics
DemandSupply

11. All educators
(n=49)
Manufacturing
Employers
Biotech
Employers
Term Salience Term Salience Term Salience
Technical ability 0.381 Work ethic 0.338 Experience on job 0.345
Work ethic 0.257 Technical ability 0.342 Lifelong learning 0.301
Technical
knowledge 0.238
Technical
knowledge 0.302 Technical ability 0.227
Problem solving 0.232 Lifelong learning 0.144 Communication 0.226
Teamwork 0.204 Problem solving 0.132 Problem solving 0.182
Communication 0.183 Adaptable 0.132 Work ethic 0.163
Critical thinking 0.156 Interpersonal 0.112 Detail oriented 0.153
Innovative 0.154 Attitude 0.112 Self motivated 0.150
Detail-oriented 0.145 Teamwork 0.112 Background 0.149
Lifelong learning 0.103 Communication 0.111
Technical
knowledge 0.141
Dot 1: Skills needs are multi-faceted & discipline-specific

12. We spend a lot of time here so having people that are just
horses asses for a lack of a better word - we just don't want
them here…
(a) because it's a pain to be around them, and (b) it takes
away the meaningful discussions and the problem solving,
which is basically what we do here.
Manufacturing supervisor, La Crosse, WI
Image Source: https://www.bmwusfactory.com

13. Dot 2: Hiring challenges are real, but not solely
due to inadequate education
0"
20"
40"
60"
80"
100"
120"
140"
Unqualified"(m
ath/reading/tech)"Lack"social"skills"Poor"w
ork"ethic"
Facility"locaCon"
Uncom
peCCve"w
ages"
Poor"industry"im
age"
Drugs/alcohol"
125"
36"
97"
18" 20"
48"
24"
WMC Listening Session Data (2012-2013)
(n=183 manufacturing employers)

14. Dot 3: Classroom instruction is a critical
venue for cultivating skills
Teaching Method Targeted Skills Example
Problem-based
learning
Technical knowledge/
ability, problem-solving,
communication
Fix broken robotic arm in
small teams
Multi-audience
writing
Technical knowledge/
ability, written
communication
Writing projects for
research, general public,
and policymaker audiences
Course-embedded
projects
Problem-solving, oral
communication, teamwork
Solicit real-world problems
from local employers for
course project
Classroom
management
Work ethic (self-regulated
learning)
Set and enforce strict
deadlines

15. Dot 4: Workplace training (& employer
responsibilities) are crucial yet often overlooked
41% - informal shadowing (e.g., follow Bob for 4 weeks)
11% - formal courses (e.g., new machinery)
A 2015 Manpower Group survey (n= 41,700) found that only
1 in 5 employers were providing training to existing staff.
Source: http://www.manpowergroup.com/talent-shortage-2015

16. Access to
College
State Government
Higher Education Employers
4-Year Institutions
2-Year Institutions
Advanced Manufacturing
Biotechnology
Hands-on,
experiential
education
Hands-on,
experiential
training
Comprehensive,
multi-disciplinary
education
Employer
investment in
training &
collaboration
Employer
investment in
training &
collaboration
Hands-on,
experiential
training
Centers for
Teaching &
Learning
Career & Academic
Advising/Supports
Hands-on,
experiential
education
Comprehensive,
multi-disciplinary
education
Centers for
Teaching &
Learning
Career & Academic
Advising/Supports
Adequate Funding for
Public Higher Education
Industry Clusters,
Workforce
Development
Initiatives
Curriculum &
Program Advising
Advisory Boards
Curricular Co-
Construction
Career Services
Work-based
Learning Programs
Field Trips
Classroom Visits
The skills infrastructure: Connecting the dots for systemic reform
Acquisition of Skills,
Knowledge, Abilities
Graduation
Graduates w/
21st Century
Competencies
Cognitive
Inter-Personal
Intra-Personal
Screening
& Hiring
Continual
Development of
21st Century
Competencies
Return to Higher
Education System

17. “Morale (on campus) is lower than it has been at any
job I’ve ever worked, including waiting tables at Pizza
Hut in high school, and detasseling corn when I was 14”
UW-River Falls faculty
How to undermine the skills infrastructure:
Lessons from Wisconsin
Ignore/denigrate the teaching workforce
Source: http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/news/education/3836301-students-return-budget-slashed-campus

18. 3. The centrality of culture
Culture as systems of meaning generated
over time by social groups in specific fields,
instantiated in artifact, ritual, and routine.
Source:https://www.pomona.edu/academics/departments/biology
Source:http://www.amstmadison.com/photo-archive/
Communities of Practice Occupational Communities

19. You know, what we (a manufacturer) measure when we’re
trying to hire somebody is YOTF.’ And I said, “What is YOTF?”
And the guy said, “Years off the farm.”
WI Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) Representative
Symbolic aspects of culture and work

20. 74% of employers screen for “fit”
with their organizational culture
See: Rivera, L. A. (2012). Hiring as cultural matching: The case of elite professional service firms. American
Sociological Review, 77(6), 999-1022.
“People who are absolutely perfect on
paper won’t get a job if they don’t fit
the company culture.”
Company history/size Employee attributes Managerial style

21. Education and hiring as gatekeeping into
disciplinary communities of practice
Screening
& Hiring
Graduates w/
21st Century
Competencies
Cognitive
Inter-Personal
Intra-Personal
Continual
Development of
21st Century
Competencies
Higher Education
Unique Institutional/Disciplinary Cultures
Labor Market
Unique Organizational Cultures
Cultural capital: Individual-level cultural
forms deployed to gain position
Students
Acquire New
Forms of
Cultural Capital
Classroom Learning
Social, Extra-
Curricular Venues
Workplace Training
Family
Culture
Peers
Embodied forms of field-specific knowledge, skills and dispositions

22. “We want to transform our work force to the point where
we need to hire fewer people”
Joey Hall, Pioneer’s executive VP for Permian operations
Limitations of the cultural perspective:
Structural forces
1. Personal care aides - 458,100 ($21k)
4. Fast food - 343,500 ($19k)
3. Home health aides - 348,400 ($22k)
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/business/energy-environment/oil-jobs-technology.html

23. 4. Implications for Liberal Education
The vocational argument
The reasoning/character development argument
The self-inflicted damage of vocationalism

24. Many companies will say, “Your 2-year degrees are so
bloated, why would I need someone that needs English
or history…”
They don’t understand that that’s going to make a really
good employee.
It’s happened where an employer comes back and says,
“You were right.”
WI Technical College Administrator

25. Pellico, L. H., Friedlaender, L., & Fennie, K. P. (2009). Looking is not seeing:
Using art to improve observational skills. Journal of Nursing Education,
48(11), 648-653.
Image Source: http://art.williams.edu/the-major/honors/
Enhancing job-related skills

26. “It seems to me that education has a two-fold function to
perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility
and the other is culture.
To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion,
is one of the chief aims of education.
The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think
intensively and to think critically. But education which stops
with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society.
The most dangerous criminal may be the man
gifted with reason, but with no morals.”
Source: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1947). The purpose of education.
The Maroon Tiger. Atlanta, GA: Morehouse University.

27. The dark side of the “skills gap” argument
Governor Walker’s attempted edits to the UW System Charter

28. “What's funny is that when we talk to our development
board or Northcentral Technical College and they talk about
the skills gap….they're talking about teaching people to
weld.
The gap we see is that people can't hold a job and
can't solve a problem.”
Manufacturing supervisor, Wausau, WI
A simplistic, structuralist account that harms
both vocational & democratic goals

29. Kestrel Aircraft to relocate in Superior creating 600 jobs
“This relocation will be a huge boost to the Superior-area economy, ” said Gov. Scott Walker.
Source: http://inwisconsin.com/press_releases/kestrel-aircraft-to-relocate-in-superior-creating-600-jobs/ Image Source: http://www.hondajet.com

30. Image Source:: http://www.witc.edu/newscontent/careerimpact/spring2013/preventing-a-skills-gap.pdf

31. A technical college instructor’s perspective
Transferable Skills Active Learning
Occupational Flexibility

33. Six things we need to do
Re-frame the debate: From “skills gap” to shared
commitment to education, workplace training, and
high-quality job creation
Invest in teachers and teaching: Provide
training, living wages (esp for contingent
faculty) and political support
Embed interactive learning across the curriculum
1
2
3

34. Six things we need to do
Ensure that internship and apprenticeship
programs are paid, equitable, & high-quality
Maintain the general ed/liberal arts tradition
Embed career advising throughout academic
programs
4
5
6

35. Next Steps
New NSF Project: Focus on “non-cognitive” skills in 4 regions of the US
Comparative analysis of US and Chinese college-work dynamics
Thank You! For more information: matthew.hora@wisc.edu and:
@matt_hora
New Research Center at UW-Madison
Focus on college internships
http://ccwt.wceruw.org/index.html