Demand for workers
with specialized
online skills prompts
colleges to develop
new workforce
training programs
The Social
Community colleges have long taken pride in their ability to adjust to changing workforce needs. The local plumbers union requires a new certification. No problem. Adjust. A biotechnology manufacturer seeks workers to staff its tate-of-the-art research facility. Not a problem. Adjust.
BY ELLEN ULLMAN
But what happens when a new industry materializes almost overnight?
From January 2011 to June 2011, Internet staffing firm Onward Search reports that
the number of jobs with the phrase “social media” in their description increased by
more than 45 percent. With the explosion of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites—Facebook alone now boasts more than 800 million users worldwide—
more employers want workers who can skillfully navigate the social media universe.
And community colleges are quickly becoming the place to turn.
