In a March 2026 webinar hosted by Education Design Lab, panelists reflected on the shifting relationship between higher education and the workforce one year after the release of Who Needs College Anymore? by Lab founder and board chair Kathleen deLaski. The conversation brought together perspectives from philanthropy, higher education leadership, and workforce research to explore how institutions are adapting to rapid change — particularly the growing influence of AI and alternative pathways to careers.
Moderating the discussion, Education Design Lab CEO Lisa Larson noted that many innovations once considered fringe — apprenticeships, experiential learning, and industry credentials — are getting more attention.
“Many of the models Kathleen spotlighted [in the book] … have continued to move from the margin closer to the mainstream.”
DeLaski highlighted progress in apprenticeships and industry-recognized credentials but noted persistent challenges in scaling employer participation.
“Partnerships are the future … If we want learners to have real-world experience, we have to connect them with the real world.”
But what does that mean for community colleges with limited resources? She notes an example from what Lee Lambert, Chancellor of Foothill-De Anza Community College District, has done in this clip.
From the employer perspective, Stephen Moret, president and CEO of Strada Education Foundation, emphasized that while AI is transforming workplaces, the most valued skills remain surprisingly consistent.
“The top three skills employers look for are critical thinking, communication, and collaboration — the same as 10 years ago.”
Moret also underscored the importance of work-based learning, citing research showing that even a single internship can dramatically improve career outcomes.
“A single internship reduces the likelihood of underemployment by 50 percent.”
Lee Lambert, Chancellor of Foothill-De Anza Community College District, urged institutions to recognize that AI is no longer just a tool but an emerging infrastructure reshaping how learning and work intersect.
“We’re moving from the information highway into an intelligent systems era.” (BTW, his January op-ed in CCDaily is worth a read: The next 1,000 days: Higher ed in the Vera Rubin Era.)
Across the discussion, panelists agreed on a central takeaway: The future of higher education will not hinge on a single pathway. Instead, colleges must embrace a broader ecosystem of options — from degrees to micro-credentials to apprenticeships — while strengthening partnerships with employers.
“The assumption we need to retire,” Moret said, “is that there’s only one viable pathway to opportunity.”
Your questions, answered
The panel fielded a handful of thoughtful questions from the live participants. Below are the questions (and answers!) we didn’t have time to address during the webinar:
Q: I’m glad that credential programs are growing at community colleges, but are we seeing that employers are recognizing and valuing these? Which industries seem to be the most receptive?
Industries undergoing rapid changes and transformation, facing labor shortages, or requiring specific technical skills and employers value candidates who hold recognized micro-credentials. Lumina Foundation published a report in 2025 with helpful learner and employer insights. We have seen interest across all sectors — generally IT, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, construction, and business recognize micro-credentials along with degrees.
Q: What is the distinction between internship and apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships are usually longer term — 1 to 4 years — structured training programs that combine on-the-job training and classroom instruction. Registered apprenticeships through the DOL have governmental oversight and result in a nationally recognized credential. There are also non-registered or informal apprenticeships that are less standardized, may be shorter, and are not necessarily nationally recognized.
Internships are generally shorter in length from weeks to months, often focused on entry-level roles, have been both paid or unpaid and focus on gaining experiences in a specific field.
Q: Interesting problem: How to provide students in post-secondary education with “real life” entry-level experience so they can leapfrog entry-level jobs … industry/post-secondary partnerships?
One consideration is to consider embedding employer work into the curriculum and the credential itself — through industry-aligned micro-pathways that include projects, activities and simulations, work-based learning experiences that are co-designed with employers and mapped to specific jobs. When learners have a set of real-world, validated experiences and a skills-aligned credential, they are demonstrating they have done entry-level work.
Q: I was struck by Kathleen’s opening comments about the challenge of getting large numbers of employers to hire 17-year-olds as apprentices. Do you think it’s a fool’s errand to think that this will change — or under what conditions would a large number of employers hire youth apprentices? (Maybe waiting until 18+?)
It may well be hard to scale youth apprenticeships in job categories we’ve typically classified as “white collar” jobs. Most of those jobs require giving employees access to computer systems and engaging in independent work, without a lot of supervision. I profile NYC schools in my book, that is figuring out how to do it at scale. They are now requiring students to do one apprenticeship in high school. The program is called FutureReady NY. Happening at ⅓ of NYC high schools. This is the best example I have seen for scale. Separately, New America is managing a network of youth apprenticeship programs, under the heading of PAYA.
Q: Much has been said about the limited nature of available internships and apprenticeships … but community options are limited by young peoples’ creativity, rather than employer resources, time and programming. What role do you all imagine for less formal, yet easily scaleable, high-quality, service-based learning experience has within career access?
Less formal, high-quality, potentially service-based learning could function as career exploration or discovery as well as work-based learning where learners solve real problems for local organizations, build verifiable skills, and potentially earn a credential that signals those skills to employers.
Q: Over the last few decades, the public has increasingly judged higher ed by jobs, earnings, and mobility, while many institutions still see their purpose as broader and resist being defined mainly by labor market outcomes. Is this tension mostly about economics and accountability, or about who gets to define higher education’s ends and how success should be measured?
From Education Design Lab’s point of view, it’s not really about choosing between jobs or broader learning. It’s about who gets to define value. The Lab’s mission is to co-design skills-focused pathways with learners, employers, and institutions so that economic outcomes — like good jobs and mobility — are non-negotiable, but they are embedded in a larger vision of human potential. All in all, we believe in defining success in higher education toward learners and communities with positive outcomes in the labor market.
Poll results
We also asked the audience two poll questions. Here are the results (with thanks to Rachel Wimberly for turning the data into visuals):
