Unlocking the Potential of Phoenix Adults through Accessible Training

The path to economic opportunity increasingly requires adults to continuously upgrade skills. However, amidst already demanding work and family responsibilities, carving out time and funds for impactful training feels out of reach for many without significant systemic improvements.

As a higher education reform expert, I see Phoenix as being well-positioned to become a national leader in accessible adult continuing education. Major local academic institutions, employers and nonprofits have already built a strong foundation of programs. However, addressing persistent barriers to adult participation will be key to reaching more residents with transformative upskilling opportunities.

Navigating Key Barriers to Access

The Prohibitive Cost Burden

Surveys show that across the U.S., over 60% of adults cite cost as the primary deterrent to pursuing continued training. With hourly wages failing to keep pace with the rising cost of essential goods, fewer working adults have spare income to invest in building additional skills. Those out of work face even tougher constraints.

Expanding free and subsidized program options is thus crucial to making career-enhancing training realistically accessible for all adults regardless of economic status.

The Time Crunch of Working Learners

Most adults needing additional training hold down jobs, care for families or grapple with other obligations that restrict available time for education. With many surviving paycheck to paycheck, taking significant time off work for training is not viable.

Part-time, night and weekend programs with flexible participation options can help overcome scheduling barriers to enable more adults to train while balancing existing responsibilities.

Digital Access Gaps

Online training offerings have expanded massively since 2020, especially for working adults. However, around 15% of Phoenix households still lack home broadband access or device connectivity.

Local community training programs need to maintain off-line participation avenues while also resourcing access to technologies making web-based learning possible for digitally disadvantaged adults.

Transportation Limitations

Car-centric urban layouts like Phoenix can inhibit adults without private vehicles from reaching worthwhile training opportunities. As gas prices soar, even those with cars struggle to manage added fuel costs.

Boosting public transit and community carpool initiatives between neighborhoods and training hubs can open access for adults without transport independence.

An Overwhelming Program Landscape

Thousands of courses now exist locally across various providers, making it immensely difficult for unaware adults to navigate offerings and identify credible programs aligned to their needs.

Better centralized platforms enumerating vetted opportunities, like ARIZONA@WORK, are essential starting points before adults can take advantage of available training.

Insights from an Effective City Model

Denver stood out to me as a leader in adult skills training based on their innovative Denver Workforce Development Opportunity initiative launched in 2020. Via centralized planning and coordination between government, businesses and training providers, the program has strengthened alignment of adult offerings with true labor market needs.

I spoke to Alexandra Hall, Executive Director of the Denver Office of Economic Development and Opportunity spearheading DWDO, to understand their keys to success.

Hall shared that a crucial factor was the pooling of public and philanthropic funding to expand free and subsidized seats in demand-driven training programs. DWDO also co-located services across fourteen regional Opportunity Centers to simplify participation for residents.

Program graduate Toni Desantiago credits the convenient one-stop access with enabling her to complete an automation tech program while parenting and working part-time. She has since secured a manufacturing technician job paying 60% more.

DWDO also partners with community organizations and businesses to scale initiatives like skills training scholarships, digital equity campaigns and rideshare transports enabling adult access.

As Hall stressed, "only through strong local collaboration spanning sectors can we craft sustainable solutions meeting all barriers holding back adults from reskilling for economic mobility”.

Policy Reforms to Spur Progress

Scaled nationally, Hoover Institution research shows free community college access could add over $171 billion to the economy through increased wages and productivity. Based on Denver‘s model, I recommend the following policy actions to bring Phoenix closer to this upside potential:

Increasing Public Skills Investment

With over 80% of U.S. jobs requiring digital literacy and technical abilities, federal and state leadership to allocate more adult training funds remains imperative. Policymakers can reference the proven payoffs from past workforce initiatives to justify greater investment.

Employer Tax Incentives

Rewarding businesses who sponsor a minimum skills training hours quota for workers yearly through tax benefits can spur more corporate participation. Eligibility for these incentives should require meeting diversity thresholds ensuring opportunity for disadvantaged groups.

Accessibility Supports

Local and state governments should fund transit vouchers, rideshare credits, childcare stipends and digital device access to support working adults balancing obligations as they train. These wraparound services have proven cost-effective by removing barriers to completion.

Targeted Outreach and Guidance

Training funds should support the scaling up of local community advisors to conduct outreach clarifying options to disconnected adults based on their career interests and constraints. Once aware of aligned programs, adults require continued mentoring to navigate unfamiliar processes and paperwork accessing available aid.

Early data already suggests Phoenix‘s better-connected adult training landscape is spurring progress. But there remains immense untapped economic potential if participating rates can rapidly rise.

ASU researchers estimate just narrowing local racial economic disparities would add over $16 billion in regional GDP annually. Such growth depends on ensuring all Phoenix adults can upskill to compete for in-demand roles.

Denver‘s strong partnerships across sectors offer a model for how Phoenix public, private and social impact leaders can work collectively to that end. Expanding on that local collaboration will be key to unlocking the full promise of continuing adult education to drive equitable prosperity.