CLARKSTON, Ga. (CBS46) – A growing number of young people are ditching college degrees for trade or tech schools, and the job market here in Atlanta is taking notice.
Big companies are no longer requiring a college degree, which is saving college students money and it’s directly benefiting technical schools like Georgia Piedmont Technical College in Clarkston. Enrollment this semester is up a 12-percent from last fall.
The current job market has many companies reconsidering their hiring requirements.
“We’re in a weird space right now. We have a red heart economy, and you have worker shortage, and they just can’t get enough,” said Dr. Tavarez Holston, Georgia Piedmont Technical College president.
A new survey shows many big companies, including Tesla, IBM, and even Google, which has a strong presence in Atlanta, are dropping their college requirement for prospective applicants. Instead of a four-year degree, they’re adopting a more skilled-based hiring approach.
Georgia Piedmont Technical College President Dr. Tavarez Holston says it’s proof the current college model isn’t working for many companies.
“You start a program, you’re a freshman go through, and you matriculate all the way to your senior year or whatever that happens to be of your learning, and then you go and get a job. Well, the job market is dictating something totally different from that now,” said Dr. Holston.
Dr. Holston says instead companies are more willing to bring in workers with a minimum skill-set – train them, and even offer incentives to further their education while working.
Today, some 40-million Americans have student loan debt. The average tuition at Georgia Piedmont is just over $1,500 a semester. Students say the college’s lower tuition is part of the appeal.
“This semester I’ve been able to afford to go to this school and still have a little bit left over to get my books and stuff. Rather than when I was at a four-year college, I still had to take out additional loans,” Antoinette Ezebuiro, a Georgia Piedmont student.
Dr. Holston says it’s important to understand that learning isn’t linear. He says people shouldn’t see education as a beginning or an end.
“Learning is most powerful when it’s applied within context, in real-time. At least that’s our approach in technical education,” Dr. Holston. “These two things leverage the power of short-term certificates and credentials. A learner acquires the required knowledge just-in-time. They use what is known to get a job done. Then, at the appropriate time, they level up to the next skill set. “
Holston suggests this is the future of higher education, if not already in play.
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