Education Design Lab Launches Community College Growth Engine Fund

Last week, Education Design Lab (EDL) announced the inaugural Community College Growth Engine Fund cohort. Each of the six institutions selected will receive $100,000 and extensive hands-on support from EDL to implement a micro-pathways project that connects low-wage and unemployed workers to work-relevant credentials, leading to quality employment opportunities. Read the full press release to learn more.

As a data partner, Emsi is proud to support the mission and work of Education Design Lab. Kelly Ryan Bailey, director of Emsi open skills, also serves on the advisory board for EDL, and recently sat down with Chike Aguh, head of economic mobility micro-pathways at EDL, to learn more about how the Community College Growth Engine Fund will expand opportunity and employment for over 4,000 learners.

Congratulations to the inaugural cohort!

• Austin Community College District will up- and re-skill displaced workers as Certified Production Technicians (CPT) and Certified Medical Assistants (CMA) to support Central Texas’ fast-growing health care workforce; 

• The City University of New York will prepare students for careers in community health and for IT roles with New York metro area tech employers;

• Ivy Tech Community College, the largest-singly accredited community college, will upskill students for roles in advanced manufacturing and IT;

• Pima Community College will prepare workers for roles in robotics and building and construction jobs to meet demand from industrial, technology and defense employers in southern Arizona;

• Prince George’s Community College will partner with technology and health care employers in the National Capital Region to create pathways to allied health, nursing and tech careers;

• Seattle Colleges will help the underserved—especially homeless, unemployed, and formerly-incarcerated individuals— learn digital skills and entrepreneurship to transition into roles in the Puget Sound region’s creative, services and technology industries.

Emsi is honored to already work with five of the six recipients (and several CUNY colleges) by providing labor market data to inform program decisions and help students launch successful careers. If you’d like to learn more about using Emsi skills data at your institution, let us know! We’d love to learn more about the work you’re doing and explore how our data can help.