As part of its expanding efforts to create global engagement opportunities for U.S. community colleges and their students, ACCT on October 23rd convened the India-U.S. Workforce Partnership Workshop in Seattle, Washington, in conjunction with the 2024 ACCT Leadership Congress.
Supported by Cognizant Philanthropies, the Workshop brought together more than 30 government, industry, and higher education leaders to discuss collaboration pathways between the US and India to support workforce development in both countries.
Participants identified key priority industries and sectors for which workforce training is needed, ranging from cybersecurity, data analytics, and other tech fields, to global health, food security, entrepreneurship, automated manufacturing, and “lifestyle” areas such as fashion design. In addition to discipline-specific skills, the group underscored the importance of addressing fundamental skills such as applied mathematics, critical thinking, problem solving, and the ability to contribute to diverse teams.
In exploring the role of community colleges and potential bilateral collaborations to address these workforce needs, participants emphasized the importance of engaging with industry partners from the start in designing curricula, programs and partnerships. Interdisciplinarity, inclusivity, and equity – between partners, and in terms of student access – also emerged as key themes, and on a practical level, the need to create relevant credentials that meet industry standards and will be recognized widely.
Recommendations from the workshop will inform the development of ACCT’s India-U.S. Workforce Partnership Lab, also supported by Cognizant Philanthropies, which will pair two U.S. and two Indian institutions to develop workforce-focused partnerships over the coming year.
Following the model of the U.S.-UK Community College and Technical Education Exchange, participating institutions will develop initial collaborative activities and lay the foundation for a sustained and expanding relationship.
Following the workshop, participants had the opportunity to tour South Seattle College’s Georgetown campus to learn about apprenticeship programs, and see college-industry collaboration in action.
A second India-U.S. Workforce Partnership Workshop will take place in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2025.
