Latest news with #postsecondaryeducation
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Social Development Bank launches 'Education Financing' product to empower students on their academic journey
Riyadh – The Social Development Bank (SDB) has launched the 'Education Financing' product, aimed at empowering students to pursue their post-secondary education through digital financing solutions. The product seeks to expand access to knowledge and provide financial support to ambitious students at the diploma, bachelor's, and master's levels. This initiative aligns with SDB's efforts to enhance integration between educational and financial institutions via a unified digital platform. The platform enables students to submit applications and complete procedures quickly and easily through an integrated process that begins with academic and financial eligibility checks and ends with the direct disbursement of funds to accredited educational institutions. The maximum financing amount available through 'Education Financing' is SAR 100,000, which can be disbursed either in instalments or as a lump sum, depending on the nature of the academic program. The entire financing process is managed electronically, ensuring the highest standards of governance and data integration. SDB's dedicated education portal provides a comprehensive digital platform that allows students to apply and enables educational institutions to review applications and verify eligibility. Funds are disbursed directly to these institutions, ensuring that support reaches eligible students and contributes to improving the quality of educational services in line with Saudi Vision 2030. As part of its commitment to empowering individuals and investing in human capital, SDB has signed a strategic agreement with JeelPay — the first fintech company licensed by the Saudi Central Bank to provide education financing — to offer SAR 50 million in funding for students seeking to continue their academic journey. The agreement supports the 'Education Financing' product indirectly through a dedicated financing portfolio aimed at supporting students at the diploma, bachelor's, and master's levels using advanced financial technologies. This step reflects SDB's ongoing strategy to support target segments with innovative financial tools that enhance quality of life and create developmental impact — in alignment with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 for a thriving economy and vibrant society.
Associated Press
24-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
What Texas lawmakers did this session to close the state's workforce gaps
Workforce training played the quiet middle child during this year's regular legislative session. While louder, more polarizing issues took the spotlight, Texas lawmakers also passed landmark bills that will reshape how students prepare for life after high school. The session opened with unexpected attention on workforce training when Gov. Greg Abbott made it an emergency item, signaling his desire for lawmakers to treat the issue with urgency at the highest level. Texas employers have been sounding an alarm: They can't find skilled workers to do middle-skill jobs like welding and plumbing. The shortage threatens to slow the state's economy, a point of pride for state leaders. The health care and teacher workforces have also been struggling with persistent vacancies. Expanded career training would help the state meet its goal to get 60% of working-age Texans a postsecondary degree or credential by 2030, which Texas leaders set to fill critical workforce gaps. The workforce legislation that reached the governor's desk this session opened new pathways for high school students to access career training and laid the groundwork to build a homegrown nuclear energy workforce. The state's technical colleges could also see a long-awaited boost to expand their footprint. High school students will have access to more career support Under House Bill 20, high school students will soon be able to swap a core academic class — including graduation credit requirements — for a college-level career and technical education course. They'd have to pass end-of-year assessments for courses they've taken previously in that subject before making a swap. Half of Texas students do not enroll in college right after high school, data shows. Rep. Gary Gates, the Richmond Republican who authored the bill, said he wants students who are not interested in college to set off on a path to well-paying jobs earlier. He intends for HB 20 to facilitate more partnerships between high schools and Texas Technical College. Gates told The Texas Tribune he has tried to pass this bill before. Some critics vocalized their concerns again this session that students who swap out classes will miss out on foundational academic knowledge. Ultimately, the bill passed with near-unanimous support from legislators. Gates believed that Abbott's designation of career training as an emergency item gave the bill extra momentum this session. 'It's one thing to fight me when I'm down here in the cellar,' Gates told the Tribune earlier this session. 'But when it became a little bit more higher profile of a bill, they didn't fight back.' Students who want to enter the workforce right away will see bolstered career advising. Two pieces of legislation — House Bill 120 and House Bill 2, the Legislature's $8.5 billion public education funding package — expanded state subsidies for career readiness assessments and explicitly directed school counselors to advise students on career training. HB 120 also zeroes in on helping students get ready for military service, which the state sees as one of its markers of student success but is often an overlooked career pathway. Student participation in Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, a high school military training program, will now count toward the state's career training requirements for school districts. On top of that, HB 120 triples school districts' funding — from $50 to $150 — for every student enrolled in a P-TECH, a school where students work toward getting their high school diploma, an associate's degree and a workforce credential. An early version of the bill proposed a big investment in college and career advising but that provision did not make it across the finish line. Two-year colleges get a boost The two-year-old colleges Texas depends on to get young people ready for the workforce came out of the session with funding wins. Texans at the November polls will vote on creating an endowment for Texas State Technical College after legislators passed Senate Joint Resolution 59. Unlike other two-year colleges, Texas State Technical College does not have the authority to raise bonds, and underfunding has led to a halt in critical capital improvements. If voters approve the constitutional amendment, TSTC officials say they will use the money to fix campus infrastructure, upgrade classroom equipment and expand its footprint across the state. In 2023, a similar piece of legislation made it through the Legislature, but was among the slew of vetoes Abbott made to signal his disappointment on property tax negotiations. The funding boost for technical colleges almost got caught in political crosshairs again this year when House Democrats threatened to shoot down all constitutional amendments over school vouchers. The Legislature also revisited the funding formula for community colleges, which they overhauled in 2023 to move away from enrollment as a measure of success and instead incentivize student degree and credential completion. This session, they aimed to connect more Texans to higher education. Under Senate Bill 1786, community colleges will receive funds when their students transfer to private universities, not just public ones. This will help schools like McLennan Community College, which has a strong pipeline of students who transfer to Baylor University next door. SB 1786 also narrows the definition of a 'credential of value,' tying it more closely to wage-related returns on investment for students and to labor market needs. In addition, the bill expands the FAST grant, which waives the cost of dual credit courses for low-income students. High school students who qualify for free and reduced lunch at any time in the school year and students in the Windham School District, the high school education system in Texas prisons, will now qualify for the grant. Finally, the bill calls for stronger coordination between the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Education Agency when giving out career and technical education grants. Growing apprenticeship programs and Texas' nuclear industry Political momentum behind apprenticeships has been growing. The earn-while-you-learn model is seen as a win-win: Young people can start making money right away instead of waiting to complete their degree, and workforce leaders get to fill vacancies and reverse their critical Texas-sized shortages. In 2019, the Legislature seized that momentum, establishing an apprenticeship grant to incentivize employers to grow and create work-based learning programs. But program growth stagnated because of a mismatch in state law and federal policy. The 2019 law required apprenticeship programs to get approval from the U.S. Department of Labor. Meanwhile, the federal agency ceased action on this type of program in recent years. TWC's hands were effectively tied and couldn't take advantage of the grant. House Bill 3260 modifies state law to allow TWC to grow the program without dependence on the U.S. Department of Labor. Texas lawmakers are also developing the worker pipeline for an emerging energy sector. As hopes build for Texas to lead the way in advanced nuclear energy, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, zeroed in on training young people around the state to carry out nuclear-grade welding and radiological monitoring. Senate Bill 1535 directs the Texas Workforce Commission to create an advanced nuclear workforce development program. The workforce agency would determine curriculum requirements for degree programs that would meet industry needs. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
CBC
26-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Nunavik school board working to bring post-secondary education to the region
Nunavik's school board, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq (KI), has partnered with Montreal's John Abbott College to bring some post-secondary courses to the region. There's currently a 10-day sewing arts workshop, and recently an Inuit media course. They are worth just a handful of credits, but it's a start for Phebe Bentley, KI's director of post-secondary student services. There is currently no college or university campus located in Nunavik. In contrast, all three territories and Labrador have at least one post-secondary institution. Under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, KI doesn't have the administrative jurisdiction to provide post-secondary education. "We're hoping at the end to have a full program, but right now we're kind of exploring and seeing what works," Bentley said. Roughly 4 per cent of Nunavimmiut have completed post-secondary education, according to KI, and most opportunities for training for Nunavimmiut right now are offered through employers. "If you change employers, then you may or may not be able to continue … so post-secondary education in Nunavik is not accessible to youth or to the general public," Bentley said. Salluit's Andrew Papigatuk, who now lives in Montreal, was one of the students in the Inuit media course held earlier this month in Inukjuak. "It opened my mind to limitless opportunities … I'm hoping in the near future, more people will be seeing more of my stuff," he said. Even while in high school, Papigatuk knew he wanted to work in video production. He moved to Montreal several years ago to be a video editor, where he was able to gain skills on the job. "I think it would be great if more opportunities to train other people were offered, which is why I'm completely supporting courses like this," he said. Students heading south for further education A 2022 report from an independent task force on Northern post-secondary education detailed a series of barriers for Nunavimmiut who want to pursue post-secondary education — with relocation being the most significant one. "It's a whole different environment for them. They don't have family around anymore. They're not in their own environment … that community feeling is not as strong down here than it is up north," Andrew Papigatuk said. In 2019, the federal government approved a 10-year budget to support the Inuit post-secondary education strategy. Some of that funding went towards sponsoring students from their communities through distance learning. But the federally commissioned task force found that online learning didn't work well in Nunavik, with many students dealing with poor internet connectivity and a lack of study space due to overcrowded homes. "It is a basic issue of regional inequity that undermines any further exploration of distance education," the report reads. "Until there is reliable, fast, affordable and accessible internet throughout Nunavik, distance education will continue to be functionally inaccessible to Nunavik students." Post-secondary institution in Nunavik a longer-term goal A 2023 study, commissioned by Quebec's Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEQ), identified two models of post-secondary institutions in Nunavik — which would consist of a main campus, plus satellite campuses and learning centres for other communities. KI also conducted community consultations, with the report now being finalized. A key theme so far, says Phebe Bentley, is the need for a post-secondary education model that's culturally relevant to Nunavik — and not just a "cut-and-paste" of models in other parts of Quebec. "I think overwhelmingly people want an education system that is rooted in Inuit culture and language, but they also want it to be paired with a degree or a diploma where they can work in today's society," she said. The task force report found a lack of Inuktitut teachers to be a growing concern, and that worries Bentley too, though she believes new funding from the provincial government for a teaching certificate can help. "If we really want to decolonize and we want our language to continue to thrive, especially in this digital age where there's a threat to indigenous languages … I think just to show them the importance [of that] and helping them and supporting them … that's all that we can do." For now, the goal for Bentley is to get KI jurisdiction under their modern treaty to open up a full-time post-secondary program in Nunavik within the next decade, as she believes already there's existing infrastructure in the region for that. A full post-secondary institution, however, is a longer-term goal, but she is optimistic. "That involves a lot more funding … but we already have some options in place."
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘It feels very disrespectful': AUPE VP says Alberta divesting from post-secondary education
Bobby-Joe Borodey, a vice-president with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, talks about 18 programs being reviewed and potentially cut at NAIT. Bobby-Joe Borodey, a vice-president with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, talks about 18 programs being reviewed and potentially cut at NAIT, union members voting in favour of a strike and the government securing a lockout licence. Bobby-Joe Borodey, AUPE VP, discusses post-secondary education funding and contract negotiations with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: Let's touch first on that point about the NAIT situation. There 18 programs potentially on the chopping block. What do you take from the dialogue around the decision making process there? Bobby-Joe Borodey: Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise when the government announces that there will be zero increases to base grant funding, institutions first look to cut programs and people. So again, it's unfortunate, but doesn't come as a surprise. MH: Enrollment being down, rising costs, even the impact of tariffs — How do you weigh that against the level of funding that's coming from the province? BJB: We have to recognize that the decrease in enrollment is primarily due to the limitations placed around institutions being able to accept international students. Ten, 12 years ago, institutions were told to prepare for a decrease in the demographic in post-secondary education and to prepare to take on international students, and so many institutions pivoted to do that, only to now be limited in the number that they can enroll. That's why we're seeing the results that we're seeing here today. MH: What's the impact of that at the ground level? BJB: If you are cutting programs, it would likely stand to reason then that there is less work, and so we will see a direct impact to job security with respect to the workers in those post-secondary institutions. Essentially, we see a province that's divesting in the post-secondary education system in this province. MH: We're talking about NAIT. AUPE members are employed at a number of post-secondary institutions across the province outside of NAIT. What are your observations? What's happening at other schools? BJB: It's a similar pattern, or a common thread, for sure. All of our institutions we represent, 16 in the province, are engaged in collective bargaining right now, and while they are all different employees, they are experiencing pretty much the same. They are being told that positions are likely to be cut, and in some institutions, we've already seen those cuts to positions. Programs will be decreased, and essentially with respect to bargaining, we're seeing very low in wage increase proposals from each of those employers. MH: How significant are the employee cuts? BJB: They are very significant. Specifically, Red Deer Polytechnic just recently laid off 33 members within their institution, 17 of which were AUPE members, and so those are big cuts. MH: Okay, so members are in the bargaining process where post-secondary is concerned. What does that bargaining look like? Where does it stand? BJB: For the most part, it's at a standstill. For those who have been engaged a little bit longer in the process, we are seeing positive results on non-monetary asks. However, immediately once we move to monetary decisions and bargaining, we're either seeing a stall or incredibly low offers with no appetite to move off of those offers. MH: What does that say to you? BJB: It tells me that policy wise, they're looking to save money on the backs of their workers. Initially, it feels very disrespectful, and it really just impedes the ability to negotiate fairly for fair collective wages. MH: What does that say to you about the future of post-secondary education then in our province? BJB: It may be an overstatement, but I do believe it is decimation to what used to be a very robust system. Students will leave the province, and we know that if they leave the province to pursue education elsewhere, the likelihood of them coming back to Alberta is slim. Obviously, that has economic ripples in every facet of our economy. MH: We have a growing population, it was just this week we learned that Alberta touched that 5 million mark. Would it not go the other direction? BJB: Not likely, especially on the heels of these program cuts because if students are not able to access the programs that they want to pursue for their future careers, they have no choice but to go elsewhere. Or they're faced with a situation whereby they have to travel great distances within their own province just to access those programs, and it's very likely that they'll be concerned about whether or not the program will be there for them to complete. If it's a diploma or a degree, for example, if it's suspended in the middle of that programming, they're typically left trying to trying to find an alternative solution to achieve their degree or their diploma. MH: Your union drawing lots of attention in the past number of days after members directly employed by the province voted 90 per cent in favour of strike action. You've been at the bargaining table with the government in that regard for more than a year. Why no mediated settlement? What's holding that up? BJB: The parties are just too far apart at this particular point in time. So again, we were able to come to consensus on non-monetary issues, but we went in with an ask that we felt was fair, they came in with a very low offer and there was very little wiggle room. So at this particular time, the two groups were just too far apart to even really get value from a mediator. MH: Yet, I understand you had 80 per cent turnout for that vote to reach that 90 per cent figure of voting for strike action. What does that say, then, about the willingness of AUPE members to actually walk off the job? BJB: Well, it sends a very clear message, and it says that accepting nothing or little for so long is no longer an option, and that our members truly can't afford not to go on strike if their employer is not prepared to offer them wages that will allow them to live, feed their families and not have to pick up second jobs just to make ends meet. MH: How worrisome is it the government has secured a lockout license as a potential response? BJB: Not too worrisome. We recognize that it is typically a tactic in a situation such as this. We're hopeful that we can come to an agreement, especially after the mandate results. The fact that we have the strong strike mandate behind us will hopefully be one of the levers we can pull to get negotiations going again. But as far as the lockout, we're not overly concerned at this particular time.
