The Challenge
SOURCES: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Current Population Survey. Data are for persons age 25 and over. Earnings are for full-time wage and salary
workers. *BLS, Employment Projections: 2015-2025 Summary.
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What is a Best Bet?
A college or job training program that:
 Is compressed and leads to a credential (less than a
bachelor's degree), often stackable
 Is accessible to your students (or at least a subset of
them)
 Has strong retention (75%+) and completion (65%+ for
certificate program; 55%+ for associate’s degree
program) rates
 Has evidence of high job placement – at least 75% of
program graduates are able to gain jobs in the industry
BEST
BET
. . . and that prepares students for an entry-level
job that:
 Is grounded in student career interest and accessible to
applicants with little or no industry experience
 Requires less than a bachelor's degree
 Is projected to grow and has openings in the region
 Has a median wage that is at least 80% of the region’s
median wage
 Offers career advancement potential
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IDENTIFYING BEST BETS
Learn the labor market
– What entry-level jobs are in
demand and offer a good
starting wage?
– What are employers seeking?
– How can students get a foot
in the door?
Investigate postsecondary
programs
– What programs are offered in indemand fields, and who offers them?
– Does the program enroll students
like yours, and are they persisting?
– What supports do students receive?
– Are graduates employed in the field
for which they trained?
Strengthen employer
relationships
– What education/training, skills, and
experiences are needed for ‘in
demand’ jobs with regional
employers?
– Which entry-level jobs offer the
best career advancement
opportunities?
– How can training program curricula
better meet employer needs?
Determine best bets
– Review findings from the labor market,
postsecondary programs, and employers
against a set of best bet criteria
– Even if a program is a best bet, it will not
be the right fit for every student –
consider what kind of students may or
may not be well suited for each best bet
Localized Labor Market Analysis
Postsecondary Program
Analysis
Analysis of Employer Interviews
Each profile:
• Captures important
occupational
information
• Summarizes what
employers are looking
for (requirements and
preferences)
• Provides an overview of
an associated
postsecondary program
• Identifies career
trajectory
opportunities, including
wage growth
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• The Best Bets Process: Engaging with the Framework
The LMI data important for uncovering Best Bets
Wages
• Particularly the occupation’s 10th percentile wage in your metropolitan
statistical area (MSA) – often a good indicator of an entry-level wage for those
with little or no industry experience (or, sometimes between the 10th and 25th
percentiles)
• Median wage in your MSA – often a helpful indicator of what one could earn
after working in the occupation for several years – also a key benchmark to
look at relative to the MSA’s median wage for all occupations
Growth
• Percent change (also referred to as growth or growth rate) projected for your
state over the most recent 10-year period
• High growth doesn’t necessarily mean great opportunity, and low (or even
negative) growth doesn’t necessarily mean poor opportunity
Job Openings
• Job openings projected for your state over the most recent 10-year period
• See if job openings are reported annually or in total over a 10-year period – that
has significant implications about potential demand
Education and/or
Work Experience
• Typical education needed for entry (in U.S.)
• National % of workers in the occupation with a bachelor’s degree or higher –
sometimes, in some regions, jobs that typically require an associate’s degree
are − in reality − inaccessible without a bachelor’s and/or significant experience
• Typical work experience needed
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VALIDATING THE DATA
For a given occupation,
you should know:
However…
Wages
• Find out about benefits (e.g., health insurance, tuition remission,
retirement plans, long-term disability insurance) – students need to know
about the value of these incentives
• Wage gains associated with career advancement
Growth
• Growth does not always mean job opportunity, and projected declines may
still yield high numbers of quality jobs
• Occupations with projected declines may still have numerous job openings
due to people leaving jobs for various reasons (replacement jobs)
Job Openings
• Contact employers and workforce development organizations to find out if
occupations really have job openings in your region
Education, and/or
Work Experience
• The level of education required for entry into a given occupation may differ
by region and employer
• Major economic events (e.g., a recession) can affect the
education/training/work experience employers require/prefer when hiring
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BEST BET OCCUPATION CRITERIA
• An entry-level occupation that:
 Is grounded in student career interest
and accessible to new/recent
graduates with little or no industry
experience
 Requires less than a bachelor’s degree
 Is projected to grow and has openings
in the state
 Has a median wage that is at least
80% of the region’s median wage
 Offers opportunities for advancement
IMAGE SOURCE: © Blend Images / Fotolia
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THE CHALLENGE
• Research suggests that it is critical for a student to enter a program of study as
quickly as possible. Students who do not enter a program of study within a year
of enrollment are far less likely to ever enter a program or complete a
credential.*
• Finding the right program from the start is also important because most
students don’t understand the costs of changing majors in terms of time and
money.
• Each time a student changes a major, he/she loses $45,000 on average, between
lost tuition credits and lost wages from entering the workforce later than
expected. In addition, he/she will also incur more student debt over time.**
For these reasons, students must understand programs of interest from a labor
market, postsecondary, and employer perspective.
SOURCES: *Community College Research Center, Get With the Program: Accelerating Community College Students’
Entry into and Completion of Programs of Study, 2012; **College Factual
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GATHERING THE RIGHT INFORMATION ON PSE PROGRAMS
Using the Postsecondary Interview Protocol:
- How much information can we get about a postsecondary
program online?
- Look up a local community college in your region
- Find a one year technical program/certificate that is being
offered
- Answer the questions on your postsecondary interview
protocol
- For Example:
- Austin Community College – check out “quick
careers”
- Community College of Vermont – check out
Certified Production Technician
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GATHERING THE RIGHT INFORMATION ON PSE PROGRAMS
Program Design and
Structure
• What will students learn as a result of completing the program?
• What is the program’s instructional approach (e.g., hands-on
learning vs. lecture-based)?
• What is the cost of the program? Median student debt upon
finishing the program?
Entering and
Succeeding in the
Program
• Are there minimum scores required on entry-level tests?
• Is there a waitlist and, if so, what can students do in the interim?
• What supports exist to ensure that students are successful?
Alignment with
Employers
Program Outcomes
• What job(s) does the program prepare graduates for?
• How does the program involve employers (e.g., design,
internships, etc.)?
• Can ex-offenders work in the occupation/field?
• What are rates of persistence and completion in the program?
• What percentage of graduates get hired? Where do they typically
go, and how much can they expect to earn?
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BEST BET PROGRAM CRITERIA
• A program that:
BEST BET
PROGRAM
 Is compressed and leads to a credential (less than a
bachelor’s degree) that is often stackable
 Is accessible to your students (or at least a subset of
them)
 Has strong retention and completion rates. Retention
should be 75%+ from one semester/cycle to the next.
Completion should be at least 65% for a certificate
program and at least 55% for an associate’s degree
program.
 Has evidence of high job placement – at least 75% of
program graduates are able to gain jobs in the
industry
Since there is no best bet program for everyone, it's critical that you think about
what kinds of students would be a good match for each one you identify.
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GETTING EMPLOYERS ON BOARD
• Postsecondary program coordinators and staff of non-credit workforce divisions
(ask about employers who have hired program graduates, employers serving on
college advisory committees, etc.)
• Your local Workforce Investment Board, OneStop Career Center, and Chamber of Commerce
• Labor market research – Identify employers tied
to in-demand occupations (e.g., your state LMI
office may have a ‘major employer’ database for
your region). Search Career Infonet’s Employer
Locator tool.
• Local news reporters who write about trends in
the local economy, including growing and
declining occupations/industries, employers who
are hiring, etc.
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VALIDATING BEST BET OCCUPATION CRITERIA WITH
EMPLOYERS
 Is the occupation really accessible to
new/recent graduates with little or no
industry experience?
 Does it really require less than a bachelor’s
degree?
 Is it expected to grow and does it have
openings in the state/region?
 Does it pay a median wage that is close to
the region’s median wage?
 Does it offer career advancement?
IMAGE SOURCE: © Blend Images / Fotolia
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