IBM Partners with Public Schools to Give Students a Chance
The real world is a scary place. I speak from
hearsay, of course, as I have yet to actually step into that real world. Though
I have a foot in the door leading there, the majority of my body remains safely
tucked away in my stable, comfortable college world. However, I will be thrust
into that harsh reality in which so many live soon enough. I will have to face
the growing possibility of not finding a job with the current level of
unemployment across the country. I will have to take on the huge numbers of
baby-boomer offspring vying for a limited number of positions. I will have to
hope that my résumé shines just a little bit more than the other candidates.
So, what’s the point? Nothing is going to change any time soon. So, why should
it matter? Because we can change it.
We can affect the change we want to see in this
scary, real world. And people have already started. Pathways in Technology
Early College High School (also known as P-Tech) is a higher education institution
in Brooklyn, New York. P-Tech is partnering with IBM in order to educate and
employ students in the field of technology.
Currently, there are over 1600 job vacancies at
IBM due to the dearth of qualified applicants. The P-Tech partnership seeks to
remedy this issue. The high school aims to give students the skills and tools
they will need for future careers at IBM. The school functions under a “9-through-14
model” where students attend the school for six years rather than the traditional
four. In these additional two years, students gain more proficiency in
mathematics and science as well as earn their associate’s degree in applied
science. In order to achieve such proficiency, the individual school day has
also been lengthened by several hours.
This pairing of the tech industry with public high
schools solves several problems. First, IBM fills its job openings with
qualified individuals. Second, students receive instruction tailored to their
current interests and future careers. Third and possibly most important,
students receive a free college education in the additional two years at
P-Tech. Thus, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds can get an
education that they might not otherwise have received. Students are enabled to
enter the workforce with a competitive edge and job-readiness skills.
P-Tech hosts open admissions for students to
attend their school based on students’ top choices. Once the students are
there, they are taught skills and information that directly apply to IBM’s
work. But the school-IBM relationship does not end there. The school curriculum
was created with the help from IBM employees, and each student is matched with
an IBM mentor who they meet twice a week online. The relationship also extends
beyond P-Tech’s doors. Once the students graduate, they are guaranteed first
choice for available jobs at IBM.
IBM plans to expand this project into other
schools in order to foster the growth of students in the tech world. In the
next ten years, 14 million jobs will be created for those with associate’s
degrees. Hopefully, this IBM program will help fill many of those positions.
Suddenly, that real world doesn’t look so scary.
For more information on IBM's initiative, check out the CNN article.
Ms. Hood,
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting! I think that P-tech is offering a great opportunity for students by letting them start work in a field that they know they are already interested in and committed to doing. For many students that chose to come to college, once they graduate they are still unsure about where they are going to be employed and even what it is that they want to do. After these graduates are able to decide where it is they want to work they still have to go through additional training and education once they get there to ensure that they have all of the skills necessary for that particular job. P-Tech is different from college in that it allows students to skip the training and additional teaching aspects of starting a job because while in school they have been taught everything they need to know as future employees. I also love how P-Tech gives students that would otherwise be unable to afford college educations the chance to change their lives.
A few things stuck in my mind as I read this article- was could this possibly be the future of our county? soon will employers start picking out their future leaders at a young age and start training them immediately? I think that both of these questions require our attention as our country continues to improve its education rankings and claim the intelligence thrown.