This article describes the community college’s involvement in contract training, explains how this involvement arose, and analyzes its impact on the community college. The analysis is based on national data on the general prevalence and form of contract training and on case studies of the forms it takes in 20 community colleges in five states servicing five different industries.
Contract training is sometimes elaborate, as in the case of entry-level training of skilled workers in auto manufacturing, auto repair, and construction. But contract training often is much briefer and dominated by the wishes of companies.
Contract training originated as a result of business pressure and of initiatives by community colleges and government bodies. Contract training has brought more students, revenues, and political clout to community colleges, but it has also resulted in greater business involvement in community college governance and possibly a redefinition of the institutional mission away from education and toward training.
This article was published in Teachers College Record, vol. 102, issue 1.
