Episode 29—Higher Education's Response to Growing Workforce Needs

On today’s Enrollment Edge, Jay has a conversation with Dr. John Downey, President of Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia. As the President of a community college, Dr. Downey has a deep interest in the evolution of higher education to meet the growing needs of today’s workforce. As you will hear in the episode, there are stark realities facing all of all of us in the coming decades. Much of our conversation connects with a recent article by Emsi called the Demographic Drought – the coming sans-demic. We’ll talk about the immediate labor force needs and how higher education must find a response to the widening gap between those needs and traditional degrees, in order to avoid a "Hunger Games" recruitment environment.