# Accessible Upskilling: How Las Vegas Can Empower Adult Career Growth through Skills Training Programs

- Canonical: https://33rdsquare.com/accessible-upskilling-how-las-vegas-can-empower-adult-career-growth-through-skills-training-programs/
- Published: 2024-03-12
- Author: Charlene Farwell
- Categories: [School](https://33rdsquare.com/category/education/school/)

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Las Vegas faces high unemployment after COVID-19, especially among adult workers without college degrees. Expanding tuition-free and affordable skills training programs across industries promises to reignite economic mobility for thousands of residents while meeting business talent needs.

As a higher education reform expert, I see massive potential for communities like Las Vegas to upskill adults through partnerships between workforce boards, community colleges, employers and nonprofits. With targeted effort, barriers discouraging adult participation can lower, best practices can spread, and disconnected adults can reskill into living-wage, high-demand roles.

Let‘s explore the landscape of skills training programs for adults in Las Vegas, barriers to access, what sectoral partnerships and leading training models are working well, and how local leaders can expand opportunity to thousands more residents.

## The Need for Upskilling: Unemployment and Industry Trends in Nevada

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to Las Vegas, long dependent on hospitality and entertainment. Nevada unemployment peaked at 30% in April 2020 due to closures and has remained over 7% into 2023 – the second highest U.S. rate.[^1]

Compounding the crisis, the pandemic job losses skewed towards positions employing large shares of adult workers without college credentials. Over two thirds of the hospitality workers displaced were under 45.[^2]

[^1]: [Nevada unemployment figures](https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.nv.htm)

[^2]: [Job losses by age](https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/pandemic-layoffs-disproportionately-affected-las-vegas-workers-under-45-unlv-study)

This crisis spotlights the vulnerability of mid-career workers who lack degrees and transferrable skills. However, it also demonstrates _the city’s acute need and opportunity around rapid upskilling._

Looking ahead, strategic skills development will prove critical for Las Vegans to access re-emerging roles, as well as newly created positions. The state projects strong job growth in healthcare support, food service, personal care, transportation, office administration, sales and protective services over the next decade. Construction and installation jobs will surge on coming public works projects.[^3]

[^3]: [State industry and occupational projections](https://www.nevadaworkforce.com/gsipub/index.asp?docid=890)

While some hard-hit hospitality workers await the full rebound of that industry, thousands could reskill now into better quality in-demand jobs using affordable, accelerated skills programs – provided the access and support to do so exists locally.

**Table 1.** Industries and occupations with high demand and strong projected growth in Nevada

| Industry | 10-Year Projected Growth | Occupations | 10-Year Projected Growth |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Healthcare and social assistance | 20% | Nursing assistants | 25% |
| Accommodation and food services | 18% | Cooks | 19% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 17% | Medical assistants | 43% |
| Retail trade | 13% | Personal care aides | 36% |
| Construction | 39% | Construction laborers | 32% |
|  |  | Plumbers | 26% |
|  |  | Electricians | 25% |
|  |  | Carpenters | 20% |

_Data from Nevada Governor‘s Office of Economic Development 2020-2030 projections_

The needs are clear:

1. Strong demand exists now and ahead across essential industries – healthcare, construction, transportation, food service and more.
2. Thousands of mid-career adults need support transitioning their skills.
3. Short-term, affordable training programs that impart targeted, technical abilities would empower major workforce mobility.

So how well is Las Vegas rising to equip residents with the requisite skills? Next we will analyze gaps in participation, barriers commonly faced, and areas for improvement.

## Barriers Preventing Adult Participation in Upskilling Programs

While the Las Vegas area hosts various job training initiatives, systemic gaps limit enrollment for one major demographic – adults without college education.

**Working adults face barriers of cost, time poverty, family obligations and scheduling logistics**. Typical multi-year college degree programs prove restrictive, prompting many to quit halfway. Even shorter 1-2 year community college certificates battle pervasive dropout challenges, seeing only 20% of Nevada students complete.[^completion]

[^completion]: [National Student Clearinghouse on Nevada‘s low completion rates](https://nscresearchcenter.org/stateholdings/Nevada%20Snapshot.pdf)

Career stepping stone programs at under a year – like tech bootcamps and healthcare certifications – achieve far higher graduation rates. Their focused curricula teach exactly the skills employers want. By front-loading hands-on occupation training,barrier lowering solutions like these equitably spread economic opportunity.

**Yet most remain cost prohibitive to lower-income adults or those without financial aid access.**

Adding to hurdles around program format and affordability, **disadvantaged adults often navigate myriad stabilization challenges – food insecurity, unstable housing, healthcare gaps, trauma, disabilities and linguistic isolation**. Providers underestimate the wraparound services vital to secure success like coaching, peer support, access to public benefits, childcare stipends and transportation.

Finally, typical college-centric systems **discount the existing skills and resilience people carry**. As the adage goes, "if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking it is stupid." So too when workforce programs only credential narrow academic knowledge rather than honoring the wider spectrum of professional skills andintersectional literaciesmarginalized people already bear from lived experience.

How well are Las Vegas workforce leaders addressing these barriers around program design, cost and support structures? And where are gaps perpetuating inequality?

While select efforts make training more accessible for local adults (highlighted later), thousands still struggle to participate in upskilling due to limitations mentioned above.

**So what recommendations can remove obstacles to enrollment?**

## Recommendations for Increasing Access for Adults

To reignite economic mobility for underemployed adults through upskilling initiatives, I advise Las Vegas leaders to:

1. **Broaden eligibility for free and low-cost skills programs** by loosening age and income restrictions where they exist. Prioritize unemployed, underemployed and low-wage adults rather than just youth or very low-income individuals.
2. **Fund more sector-based training programs lasting under 6 months** to accommodate adults balancing work and families. Look to replicate successful short-term certification programs.
3. **Wrap support services around students** to address external challenges threatening retention like transportation access, counseling needs and matters of basic needs security.
4. **Include peer support elements** so students feel understood by peers who share culture or barriers.
5. **Integrate skill transfer audit processes** to map professional strengths adults already bear against skills demanded in target occupations. This promotes self-efficacy.
6. **Developtests allowingexperience to substitute for degrees** in occupational entry criteria where credible to expand access.
7. **Improve virtual delivery infrastructure and digital literacy support** to increase flexibility for those relying on community computer centers or facing transportation disadvantages.

Progress along these dimensions promises to reignite economic mobility and equity for Las Vegans struggling from the pandemic’s uneven impacts.

While barriers certainly persist in the local landscape, we can take inspiration from existing workforce initiatives showing leadership and raising standards for accessibility and inclusion.

## Notable Inclusive Training Efforts Meeting Adults Where They Are

Amid the obstacles, prominent institutions across Las Vegas bring intention toward equity in their program design and delivery for lower-resourced adults:

**The County and City**

- **Clark County WIN Ways** offers free technical skills bootcamps for the underemployed and unemployed, setting people up for construction, welding and entry-level healthcare roles.
- The **City of Las Vegas‘ Reskilling Initiative** covers tuition for a five week contact center training program and guarantees living-wage roles with health benefits upon completion.

**Higher Education**

- The Nevada System for Higher Education‘s **[60 by 30 goal](https://nshe.nevada.edu/initiatives/60-by-30/)** seeks to raise adult Nevadans holding postsecondary credentials to 60% by 2030 to keep pace with states like Massachusetts and Minnesota. Leaders encourage short-term certificates and vocational programs offering modular stackability.

**Community Non-Profits**

- **Goodwill of Southern Nevada‘s [Career Engagement Centers]**( [https://www.goodwillsouthernnevada.org/job-training-placement](https://www.goodwillsouthernnevada.org/job-training-placement)) offer accessible training programs for entry-level healthcare roles along with digital skills bootcamps preparing adults for IT careers. Their leadership on barrier reduction for justice-impacted individuals also sets an example.
- **The Public Education Foundation‘s [Pre-Production Technician Program](https://www.thepef.org/preproductiontechnician.html)** serves young adults 18 to 24 who face systemic disadvantages to ready them for living-wage roles behind-the-scenes on shows and events along the Strip. With industry-recognized credentials and hands-on experiences, the initiative provides paths to self-sufficiency in an industry central to the city and state economy.

**While select efforts raise the bar for inclusion, too few adults presently access the life-changing power of rapid reskilling across the valley‘s programs**. By learning from bright spots while resolving gaps laid out above, local leaders can foster inclusive innovations that meet both talent needs and reignite mobility.

But fueling this progress demands strategic coordination across institutions guided by the people and groups still struggling at the margin.

## The Promise of Sector Strategies and Equitable Partnerships

Realizing more equitable participation and outcomes relies on tighter collaboration between the employers recruiting talent and public partners like workforce boards, community colleges and community training groups.

The [Brookings Institution finds that Strong sector strategies](https://www.brookings.edu/research/collaborating-for-change-how-strong-sector-strategies-can-promote-equitable-employment-and-training-outcomes/) organize multiple stakeholders into an intentional labor market ecosystem that asks:

1. Beyond isolated efforts, how might we jointly build quality jobs and sustainable career paths that workers experience as equitable?
2. How might employer partnerships give training leaders useful signals on skills actually demanded in key industries?
3. Can curriculum developers work closely with companies to impart exactly the abilities firms seek to hire for middle-skill jobs not necessitating college degrees?

Where thoughtfully structured, **sector programs actively center economic inclusion** for those left out of past growth while driving large groups into quality jobs.

**Atlanta stands out for its robust sectoral partnerships** addressing equity head on. The [Atlanta Regional Workforce Board](https://atlantaregional.org/) catalyzed collaborations between employers, community colleges, training groups and workforce programs to train disadvantaged residents for technical healthcare roles.

Regional leaders jointly funded the [Integrated Life Sciences Training Academy (ILSTA)](https://ilstatlanta.org/) positioning unemployed locals specifically as pharmacy and lab technicians. Hospital partners informed relevant curriculum before hiring 200+ graduates over 2 years into good-paying roles with benefits.

Program leaders at ILSTA also mandated wraparound services to enable completion by those balancing stability hurdles like ongoing coaching and access to public benefits.

Could similar sector partnerships address equity while fueling skills-to-employment pipelines in essential industries for Las Vegans?

Picture training initiatives bridging workforce boards, higher education and health providers to grow medical assistants and nursing assistants. Programs teaching solar panel installation and maintenance could link workforce funds, sustainability advocates, NV Energy and environmental justice communities.

Opportunities abound to organize stakeholders intentionally around inclusion and quality jobs.

Whether in healthcare or construction, IT or hospitality, tighter collaboration through entities like the Workforce Connections local boards promises to design more equitable on-ramps toward family-sustaining careers.

## Vision and Recommendations for Local Leaders Expanding Access

With urgent needs due to pandemic displacement compounded by longer-term talent challenges in critical sectors like healthcare, Nevada faces an equity imperative to train adults for high-quality careers advancing regional growth.

As Las Vegas rebuilds its workforce amid dynamic industry shifts, leaders have an opportunity to center economic mobility for those still struggling at the margins – namely people without degrees locked out of past expansions.

**To reignite inclusive economic growth, I advise Las Vegas leaders to:**

- **Champion barrier reduction** for adults balancing income and family demands seeking rapid reskilling. Broaden eligibility for free and low-cost short-term skills programs while wrapping support services around students.
- **Develop more sectoral partnerships** between employers, workforce groups and community colleges to co-construct equitable pipelines into expanding fields, informed by their hiring needs.
- **Boost enrollment for adult career programs by funding supportive outreach and navigators** who can connect with displaced workers and advise on options aligned with ability and interests.
- **Expand virtual delivery infrastructure and digital literacy support** to increase flexibility for those relying on community computer centers or facing transportation disadvantages.
- **Consider lifetime learning credits** families could tap over time to access education and training, making career mobility more predictable.

With concerted effort toward equity and inclusion, Las Vegas has potential to lead among regions empowering low-income adults and people of color to reskill and advance in emerging economy sectors. Thousands of lives hang in the balance.

Prioritizing skills training ecosystems that center their access and needs promises a major win-win – reigniting economic mobility for families while fueling the talent pipeline regional firms require to grow in a changing digital economy.

## Bio

**Carl Bensen** is a workforce futurist and higher education reform advocate based in Cambridge, MA. He currently leads [Education Evolved](https://www.edevolved.com), an equity-focused consultancy partnering with workforce boards, community colleges and non-profit skills programs nationally. Previously he helped launch impact-focused businesses with [Village Capital](http://vilcap.com) and served as an early advisor to [General Assembly](http://generalassemb.ly). As an Aspen Institute Fellow, Bensen examines models globally for empowering alternative talent pipelines. He graduated from Dartmouth College with honors in educational studies.

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Source: [Accessible Upskilling: How Las Vegas Can Empower Adult Career Growth through Skills Training Programs](https://33rdsquare.com/accessible-upskilling-how-las-vegas-can-empower-adult-career-growth-through-skills-training-programs/)