The U.S. Department of Labor wants to add more than 300,000 registered apprenticeship positions nationwide, part of a bigger push to expand this kind of on-the-job learning. So how should employers, and the schools that support them, actually get started?

Today’s guest is Jessica Desmond, the Regional Director of Career Services and Apprenticeships at ECPI University. Desmond tells host Jason Altmire how ECPI partners with employers to design registered apprenticeship programs across more than 1,000 approved occupations, beyond just the skilled trades that have been traditionally associated with apprenticeships. Fields like advanced manufacturing, IT, cybersecurity and software development are all in the mix. She explains how strategic apprenticeships can help students get placed in the field, while employers have the opportunity to train a pipeline of loyal, skilled workers.

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

After more than a decade in the U.S. Department of Labor, workforce development expert and the CEO/Founder of JOBS THAT WORK Solutions, Nick Beadle, has seen firsthand how billions of dollars in workforce funding gets allocated, and why those dollars don’t always reach the people it’s meant to help.

Beadle tells host Jason Altmire about what he calls a "relatability gap" between policymakers and the workers and providers they're meant to serve. He unpacks the stigma surrounding skilled trades, what employers still misunderstand about apprenticeships, and how career ed providers can better position themselves for the funding landscape ahead.

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

More than three years into the generative A.I. boom, higher education leaders are still asking the same question: how do we use this responsibly? Today's guest says it's time to shift from experimentation to practical implementation, and he revisits his own 2026 A.I. predictions to see how they're holding up.

Cengage EVP & Chief Digital Officer, Darren Person, tells host Jason Altmire that A.I. for its own sake won't improve learning, measurable outcomes will. Person explains how human-in-the-loop tutoring tools are reshaping teaching, why he's skeptical of "AI can do everything" claims, and what schools should look for when vetting A.I. vendors.

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

America's healthcare shortages across nursing and allied health roles are reaching a critical point, with a projected shortage of nearly three million workers across all healthcare roles in just the next few years. Today’s guest, Tess Michaels, the founder and CEO of Clasp, joins host Jason Altmire to discuss how her organization is working to address those shortages through scholarships and employer partnerships. 

Clasp connects employers and students by offering tuition repayment benefits in exchange for a commitment to work for that employer after graduation, reducing turnover and recruitment costs for businesses while lowering the financial risk of training for high-earning healthcare fields. Jason and Tess also discuss how new federal student loan caps may threaten access to advanced healthcare degrees.

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

Billions of dollars in AI investment are reshaping the American economy, and the workers who will physically build that future aren't coming out of four-year universities. They're being trained at career schools like Midwest Technical Institute, where Founder and CEO Brian Huff has spent decades preparing skilled tradespeople for the jobs that keep the country running. 

But cultural bias against the trades is holding back the pipeline of talent America urgently needs. Huff joins host Jason Altmire to make the case that hands-on careers deserve the same respect as traditional degrees and explains what higher ed leaders can do right now to change that. 

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

While students and employers both wrangle with the best ways to use artificial intelligence in an evolving workforce, career colleges are well positioned to leverage the technology to better prepare students for today’s labor market and streamline how the colleges themselves operate. 

Today’s guest is Lauri Kien Kotcher, the CEO & Co-founder of Different Day. Lauri tells host Jason Altmire that AI tools can be critical in providing timely replies to student inquiries, streamlining transcript processing and offering personalized communication to keep students engaged and interested in events on campus. She says these tools can even make inroads on reducing student attrition and become a key strategy for creating and cultivating the next generation of career education professionals.

A masonry instructor in rural North Carolina pulled a quiet freshman aside and told him he saw something special in him. That student went on to earn two master’s degrees and eventually became Executive Director of the National Technical Honor Society. Peyton Holland knows what the right mentor at the right moment can do to help a student and he's dedicated his career to replicating it.

He joins host Jason Altmire to discuss how NTHS goes beyond recognition to give CTE students real leadership experience, flexible scholarships, and a community that connects programs across every discipline. Peyton says these opportunities allow students to take responsibility for more than just their grades; they are able to take early ownership over their work and become the leaders that employers want to hire. 

New findings from the National Bureau of Economic Research find strong relationships between America's community colleges and local labor markets, but what does that mean for higher education? Josh Goodman, Associate Professor of Education and Economics at Boston University and co-author of the report joins host Jason Altmire to discuss how strong labor markets drive down demand for education as people are incentivized to enter the workforce rather than pursue a degree. 

On the other hand, a weaker labor market sees a significant increase in community college enrollment as people want a next step even if they can’t find employment. Because colleges play a key role during difficult economic times, Josh argues that policymakers should rethink how they fund post-secondary education in order to support a vital tool for rebuilding America's economy.

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act set into law a new framework for holding higher education responsible for graduates’ earnings. While the framework is set to roll out soon, today’s guests say the guidelines are a flawed “one size fits all” approach that’s too broad for America’s cosmetology sector.

Today’s guests are Brenda Scharman, owner of Cameo College of Essential Beauty; Lynelle Lynch, CEO and owner of Bellus Academy; and Ryan Claybaugh, Vice President of Operations for Paul Mitchell Advanced Education. They tell host Jason Altmire the proposed framework pits a workforce of young, high school graduates against workers with advanced postsecondary education and perpetuates gender inequities by comparing an industry with a large number of part-time workers and more than 90% women to wealthier, male-dominated fields.

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

With nearly 200,000 registered nursing job openings annually, the U.S. nursing shortage is reaching a critical point. On this episode of Career Education Report, host Jason Altmire speaks with Susan Mayer, Chief Learning Officer of Achieving the Dream, which supports over 300 community colleges to create opportunities and remove barriers to learning. Mayer explains how innovations like part-time programs, simulation technology, and credit for prior learning can help colleges expand the capacity of their nursing programs and bring more learners, including CNAs and LPNs already in the workforce, onto an RN pathway. She argues that solving the shortage requires community colleges to rethink not just how they teach, but who they're designing their programs for.

To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.