What is an “On Ramp” or “Bridge Program”?
SkillUp Washington believes that the College for Working Adults (CWA) model offers tremendous promise for low-income residents to earn credentials that have value in the marketplace. And, they recognize the CWA will serve the most college-ready individuals. However, low-income residents who want to advance their education but are unprepared to enroll in college level courses will need additional assistance to prepare for regular college level programs. SkillUp Washington has made this preparatory work a critical component of our overall investment strategy. Our goal is to build a pipeline that will prepare the large numbers of low income residents who are not college-ready for entry into the CWA.
SkillUp Washington has outlined the need for such a preparation strategy; we have not prescribed how it should be implemented. We are looking for creativity and innovation from colleges, community agencies and other system players in developing the most effective strategy. The City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development, a member of the Collaborative, offered to jump start this process by asking Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI) to lead a process to gather some initial thinking from colleges and community agencies on what a system of On-Ramps and Bridges could look like that will meet the Collaborative’s objectives.
To view a table that defines an On Ramp or Bridge program, click here.
Last fall, SJI convened a Peer Learning Group for a series of discussions intended to develop recommendations to the investors of SkillUp Washington on an effective pre-strategy. The Peer Learning Group included staff from eight employment and training agencies and five community colleges. The initial group, which met for a total of sixteen hours over four months, included staff from Hopelink, King County Youth Work Training, Pioneer Human Services, PortJobs, Seattle Goodwill, SJI, YWCA and Youthcare, as well as Bellevue Community College, Cascadia Community College, Seattle Central Community College, South Seattle Community College, and Shoreline Community College. The preliminary recommendations developed by this group were shared with a wider range of community agencies who provided feedback. These agencies included the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council, Pacific Associates, Building Changes, FareStart, King County Adult Employment and Training, TRAC Associates, Center for Career Alternatives, Neighborhood House and Asian Counseling and Referral Services.
College staff noted they are seeing many more low-income residents seeking training. Even prior to the economic recession, the number of lower-skill, low-income residents enrolling in college has dramatically increased. With the onset of the recession, increased demand for postsecondary training among low-income residents is now running up against increased demand from newly laid off workers, creating steep competition for limited spaces at the colleges. Often, low-income individuals seeking to enroll in college are coming to the campus for the first time and/or have not been in an educational environment in many years. As a result, these students require extra one-on-one assistance from college staff to be successful. Unfortunately, the colleges are unable to provide all that is needed. In a wide-ranging discussion, college staff pointed to preparation as the single most helpful thing Community-based Organizations (CBOs) can do to support low-income students on their campuses.
To view the full report, please click here.